“The Olympics would be a highlight”
“Header monster” Hrubesch defies age limit
December 14, 2023, 12:04 p.m
Horst Hrubesch describes himself as an “old man”; at 72, he could have been retired for a long time. But retiring is out of the question for the DFB women’s interim coach. On the contrary, the Olympic flame is already burning within him.
Even at the age of 72, Horst Hrubesch is not yet thinking about saying goodbye to football. “I have to admit: Every now and then I sit at home in the evening and my head is rattling because of all the topics. Especially at the moment. But as long as I feel like I can give something to football, I’ll keep going. There’s no age limit me,” said the interim coach of the DFB women and youth director of the second division club Hamburger SV to the “Hamburger Morgenpost”.
The HSV icon still has big plans, especially with the German women. At the end of February, the final round of the Nations League will be about qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris: “The Olympics would be an absolute highlight again. For the girls, but also for me,” said Hrubesch. The semi-finals are against France. If the neighboring country, which is set to host the Summer Games, makes it to the final, the third-placed team in Paris would also be there – so the DFB team only has to win one game.
The former national player can imagine looking after the DFB selection in the French capital: “If everything is guaranteed, in terms of health and also in terms of the agreements between the DFB and HSV.” He recently thanked his club, for which he played 159 games between 1978 and 1978 and lived up to his name as a “header monster”, for their understanding and patience in the current situation. Just like the team, who would have welcomed him so well as an “old man”.
Hamburg’s youth director advises HSV talent and U17 world champion Bilal Yalcinkaya, who is courted by many clubs and whose contract expires at the end of the season, to stay in the Hanseatic city. “I don’t know whether it would be the right thing to change now,” said Hrubesch and added: “It’s about showing Bilal a path. We did that. But if it’s just about financial things, it will be natural difficult for us.”