GERMAN Ambassador Josef Beck acknowledges that any decision to retain his countryman Winfried Schafer as Reggae Boyz coach is entirely Jamaica’s.

However, the diplomat would like to see Schafer stay, as he believes the experienced coach can take the island to the 2018 World Cup finals.

“I think a coach like Schafer, with all his experience, when he gets the support from the football association, he could bring them up to a level that Jamaica could qualify next time,” Ambassador Beck told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.

“My understanding is that there is an interest on both sides to keep him… we have to see what comes out of it,” the diplomat said.

Schafer replaced former Reggae Boy Theodore Whitmore as head coach of the national team in July this year with Jamaica sitting at the bottom of the hexagonal qualifying play-offs, having secured a mere two points from six games.

At the time Schafer, whose contract ends later this month, told journalists that he accepted the job because he believed in the Reggae Boyz and their chances of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup Finals in Brazil.

Football analysts agreed that since the German, under whose leadership Cameroon went to the World Cup quarter-finals and won the African Nations Cup in 2002, took over the Reggae Boyz, the team has shown significant improvement.

However, the Boyz failed to book a spot in the 2014 World Cup finals, ending their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Honduras in Kingston on October 15.

Ambassador Beck, though, believes that had Schafer had more time with the Reggae Boyz, the result would have been different.

“I think he could have got them to this World Cup had he come one year earlier, since there’s talent,” said Beck.

“If you look at the matches, there wasn’t much difference between teams like Panama, Honduras, Jamaica. I saw the game against Honduras; they (Jamaica) could have won it… so the talent is there. They have to function more as a team, they have to become more structured,” he said.

“If he gets time, and with the support of Captain (Horace) Burrell, I think he can bring the Jamaican team up to a higher level,” said Beck.

He admitted that he was “a little afraid” at the beginning of Schafer’s tenure as he thought the players would have had some difficulty understanding him because of his German accent. “But I realise that he has a very good way of communicating with the players. I think that they believe in him,” the ambassador said. “I think he established a very good connection with the players here.”

Schafer being retained as the Jamaica coach would also have a positive spin-off for Germany, as Beck said it would boost his country’s image, given the importance of football to Germany, which has won the World Cup three times.

But just as important to the German envoy is the fact that Schafer’s continued tenure here would help to further strengthen Jamaica/German relations.

“Sport is something which unifies countries,” he said. “I would definitely like to see Schafer continue his work with Jamaica over the next several years, but the decision is totally Jamaica’s.”

Asked for his view on the performance of Jurgen Klinsmann, another German coach in the CONCACAF region, ambassador Beck said the former German national striker has done a good job so far.

Klinsmann, who became head coach of the United States men’s national team in July 2011, won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2013 and has guided the Americans to next year’s World Cup, finishing at the top of the CONCACAF hexagonal.

“If you look at the numbers, he is, I think, the most successful coach so far,” said Ambassador Beck. “I mean, they have won 16 or 17 games in a row, so I think he has done a very good job. The question now is how far can they go in Brazil.”