When Horst Hrubesch came from the cold of the first December evening into the heated interior of Rostock’s Ostseestadion, it seemed as if the change of surroundings had stimulated his thoughts and feelings. On the pitch, the interim national coach primarily analyzed the football he had seen from the German national team. He praised his players on the TV microphone. There could have been more goals, of course, but in the 3-0 win in the Nations League group game against Denmark they “played the way we wanted from the first minute. They did perfectly implemented.” When he sat at the press conference in a black turtleneck sweater, the 72-year-old basically made a declaration of love.
“Attitude, will, belief – sensational,” said Hrubesch. He, who has experienced so much in this sport as a player, coach and official, seemed visibly moved. The common interpretation of the past few weeks goes like this: Experienced coach helps an unsettled team out of the crisis and saves them from a completely botched year in terms of sport (although that is not entirely certain yet).
But there is also another point of view and Hrubesch presented it on Friday evening. That rather he it is that he has to thank him for what this team has given him in return. “They really stand by each other. That always fascinates me, they also take the old man with them,” said Hrubesch. “I don’t see it as normal and can actually only compliment the girls and the staff on how they have welcomed me and how things are working at the moment.”
Basically, it was a continuation of a verbal hug from October. As soon as Hrubesch was introduced, he raved about the team that he had already taken over for a few months in 2018. “I just learned to love the team,” he said. “What I got there, what I was able to take with me, was sensationally good. Also for my life.” At that time the joy of seeing each other again must have prevailed, now it was a great relief. Thanks to an energetic performance with goals from Alexandra Popp (14th minute), Marina Hegering (25th) and Klara Bühl (90th + 3) Qualification for the Summer Games in Paris 2024 is still possible. As group leaders ahead of the Danes with the same points, the DFB women could fight for one of two European Olympic tickets at the final tournament of the Nations League in February with a win in Wales this Tuesday (7.30 p.m., sportschau.de).
“Every player has a smile on their faces,” says defender Giulia Gwinn
Having to win and then being able to win, and with the required result: four months ago, the way the DFB women dealt with such a pressure situation was completely different. And perhaps this thought came to some people’s heads and resonated with the satisfaction of this 3-0: At the World Cup in the summer, the Germans could only securely reach the round of 16 with a win against South Korea. They were the clear favorites – and as such appeared frighteningly overwhelmed and unsettled. In the end there was a draw, which wasn’t enough because of the parallel game.
Big relief: Interim national coach Horst Hrubesch hugs midfielder Sjoeke Nüsken.
(Photo: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa)
The historically early end would have been enough to trigger a crisis; as is well known, turbulent weeks followed with then national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s sick note, her controversial appearances during a vacation and the separation at the beginning of November. As captain, Hrubesch brought calm back into this wild sea with assistant coaches Thomas Nörenberg and Britta Carlson. Above all, honest and direct interaction with each other has solved blockages. “Every player has a smile on their lips. We can achieve a lot as a collective on the pitch. At the moment I have no doubts,” said Bayern Munich’s Giulia Gwinn. Hrubesch played a big part in this: “We’re going back to the basics. There’s not too much input, we’re just sticking to ourselves.”
The pragmatic approach of the 1980 European champions caught on from day one. The national team seems liberated – even if there is still a way to go in terms of play before we can talk about being able to keep up with the best internationally. A series of missed chances against Denmark, who appeared too harmless, reminded us of this. Popp explained that Hrubesch thinks everyone is important, “and that makes the structure come together again.”
In midfield, he initially relied on veteran Sara Däbritz as usual, but in the absence of the ailing Lena Oberdorf, Sjoeke Nüsken, who moved from Eintracht Frankfurt to Chelsea, was added instead of Lina Magull. Sydney Lohmann started further up front, but also helped in the center. The fact that Elisa Senß (for Däbritz) impressed in her international debut in the second half was further evidence of the healthy state of mind of this team. The Leverkusen player had recently caught Hrubesch’s eye in the cup game against Hamburger SV and now contributed to the convincing performance of the midfield, so Hrubesch openly said: “Some people will have to stretch to get past them.”
In this condition, the prospects for the final tournament of the Nations League are also much better. Especially since the competition has problems: World champion Spain, although like France already securely through, lost 2:3 against Italy. Sweden will miss the Olympics for the first time after losing to Switzerland. European champions England are tied for second place with the Netherlands in Group A1 and have to worry about participation.
It’s great “what Horst has achieved here with his coaching team: you can see that the team has a completely different body language, they are on fire, they run for the coach,” said Andreas Rettig in Rostock. The DFB managing director may soon be able to celebrate two successes: Who will fill the director position responsible for women will soon be announced. According to reports, the choice fell on Nia Künzer, world champion in 2003. Her most pressing task will be to find a successor to Hrubesch. Actually, this matter no longer seems that urgent.