The best critics are often in exile, so when the German media went searching for the appropriate condemnation of their dismal World Cup exit to Paraguay on Monday, they found it on RTÉ.“Hamann attacks Nagelsmann,” screamed the headline on Bild, Germany’s bestselling newspaper, above a reproduction of Dietmar Hamann’s comments immediately after Germany’s first penalty shoot-out defeat at a World Cup.“Talk is cheap, and I’ve never been convinced that this is a team united,” began Hamann, before criticising manager Julian Nagelsmann’s non-scouting of alternate squad options, upcoming opponents and the playing conditions for Germany this summer. That RTÉ quickly clipped Hamann’s comments and posted them on social media helped them spread to his homeland.“When I started here in 2010, things may not have spread as quickly, but now so much is online,” Hamann says. Yes, Hamann has been opining on RTÉ for 16 years. Only Richie Sadlier can vie with him for the title of “senior analyst” vacated by John Giles. “The people at RTÉ are great,” he says, “that’s why I am still coming back.” Hamann also enjoys coming to Dublin, even if these late kick-offs are hostile to visits to a couple of his favourite pubs. A demanding tournament schedule means preparation in the morning, a walk around Stephen’s Green after lunch, and then a move to Montrose before the evening’s broadcast. Hamann’s playing days were coming to an end when he was recruited to the RTÉ panel along with Ossie Ardiles for the 2010 World Cup. Ardiles brought an impossible glamour: one RTÉ staffer recalls the Argentinian excusing himself from a meeting to take a call, returning to explain “it was Diego”. Diego was Maradona, who wasn’t exactly at a loose end given he was managing Argentina.RTÉ Sport’s 2010 World Cup coverage launch: (back row) Ronnie Whelan, Richard Sadlier, Dietmar Hamann, Liam Brady, Eamon Dunphy, Ossie Ardiles, Darragh Maloney and Bill O'Herlihy.