At the World Cup in Australia, things aren’t just going wrong on the pitch, things aren’t going well within the DFB team either. But the players now have to focus on the next career highlight. Interim coach Horst Hrubesch apparently also demonstrates qualities as a therapist
Lots of laughter, a snowball fight and a Laura Freigang, who was forced onto the cold, wet, white ground by the cheering Lina Magull. The DFB team players are having fun. Instead of perfect grass, interim national coach Horst Hrubesch’s team suddenly had a thick blanket of snow on the SV Wittenbeck grounds. Not ideal for training, but no one wanted to be put off. Two days before the all-important game, second division team Hansa Rostock has now prepared its training ground.
Because time is short, everyone has that in the back of their minds. On Friday (8.30 p.m./ZDF and in the ntv.de live ticker) The preliminary decision is pending as to whether the DFB women can continue to dream of taking part in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The team in Rostock has to win by two goals against Denmark in order to keep their chance. On Tuesday (7.30 p.m./sportschau.de and in the ntv.de live ticker) The final group game follows with pointless bottom side Wales. Only the group winners are allowed to fight for the last two European tickets for Paris in the final tournament in February – so far Denmark is ahead thanks to the 2-0 win in the first leg.
But the players smile away from the pressure. “We know that we are capable of beating Denmark,” says goalkeeper Merle Frohms, who returned to the team after a concussion. No “miracle things” are needed for this. She has “100 percent trust in the team.” Midfield ace Sara Däbritz pointed out that the DFB women had already been in such a “pressure situation” before: in September 2018 – with the same coaching team, Horst Hrubesch and Thomas Nörenberg. Back then, the team had to win against Iceland in order to book their World Cup ticket. The mission succeeded.
Back to the relaxed nature of the DFB team
This time too, the players are confident in their abilities. “The coaching team exemplifies the belief, I feel the belief in the whole team,” says Däbritz. Nobody within the DFB can avoid the coaching questions. Hrubesch only stepped in as an interim solution after the then national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, whose contract has since been terminated, took sick leave following the World Cup debacle.
Like five years ago, the 72-year-old is supposed to be the savior and bring the team to the tournament. It is unclear whether he will be there himself. It’s not planned – but it’s not ruled out either. “With his personality and his matter-of-fact manner, he has brought a lot of reputation to the German team,” said former national goalkeeper Almuth Schult, who is currently without a club after the birth of her third child, to the German Press Agency about Hrubesch. “The players really appreciate something like this after things have gone a bit haywire in the last few months.”
Little by little it becomes clear how serious the tensions within the team appeared to be before and during the World Cup in Australia. From the late squad nomination only at the end of the training camp and the long uncertainty associated with it, to ridiculous signs like “Stay Hydrated” (“hydrate throughout the day and control your urine”), “the right sleeping clothes” and “your bed has a function : Sleep!” in the apartments, to anger that the team headquarters chosen by the DFB in Wyong was about 100 kilometers north of Sydney and therefore in the “wasteland”, as Lena Lattwein had called it. “For the first time we were extremely far away from the shot, which I didn’t see as optimal,” said captain Popp in the current part of the documentary “Born for this”, which will be shown in the ZDF media library parallel to the international match on Friday, which is what the broadcaster is saying has created its own competition.
Däbritz, Popp and Huth are already Olympic champions
The sharp cut from Voss-Tecklenburg to Hrubesch, who has been in contact with many players since 2018 and is popular in the team, is apparently a balm for the battered souls. According to Däbritz, the two games under his leadership – a confident 5-1 against Wales and a poor 2-0 against Iceland – brought back joy in the game and lost confidence in their own quality. The game against Denmark now also shifts the focus. Svenja Huth and Sjoeke Nüsken don’t want to deal with the past and all these unfortunate details at the moment and have not yet watched the two new documentary episodes. The wounds should not reopen.
The dream of the Olympics is important. Captain Popp and Huth were already there when we took part in 2016, as was Däbritz. It was “unforgettable” and “indescribable” in Rio – probably also because the DFB women returned with the gold medal around their necks. It’s “something special because you’re representing your country and you’re there with other sports,” said the 28-year-old from Olympique Lyon. “It’s worth fighting for, giving everything for, and I hope that we can experience that as a team.”
If this dream comes true, it still remains to be seen who will be on the sidelines. However, the players cannot and do not want to answer the question of whether Hrubesch will stay. “This is certainly a question that is currently relevant for those responsible and that they are giving enough thought to,” says Frohms, who also describes Hrubesch and Nörenberg as “great guys”.
Her former goalkeeper colleague Schult also raised the question of whether she was a man or a woman: “Basically, I don’t see any difficulties if a coach is brought in who doesn’t come from the women’s field. You can get used to it. That wouldn’t be any different with someone from abroad, for example. ” The Wolfsburg goalkeeper can only agree with this: “The important thing is that it fits. How old, what gender – it doesn’t matter.” Däbritz agrees: “It doesn’t matter.” Now it’s right. And the way it is now, the Olympic qualification is here. Snow doesn’t count as an excuse.