National team
Wück succeeds Hrubesch as a DFB footballer
Christian Wück will be the new coach of the DFB footballers after the Olympics. photo
© Jürgen Kessler/dpa
No woman or man from women’s football: The DFB is surprising with the internal solution to the national coach question. The association initially does not reveal any significant details.
On International Women’s Day the DFB clarified the national coach question for German female footballers – and placed the office in the hands of a man who had not previously worked in women’s football.
Christian Wück will be Horst Hrubesch’s successor after the Olympic Games in Paris this summer; he will lead the European vice-champions to a successful European Championship 2025 in Switzerland if they qualify. How long the 50-year-old coach’s contract will last was left open in the association’s announcement.
Wück comes to the new position as the U17 world champion and European champion. After the devastating World Cup knockout in Australia under Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and the phase under interim coach Hrubesch, he represents fresh momentum and a spirit of optimism. “Christian Wück is a proven expert and he speaks the language of the players. He has proven in the past that he can develop personalities and form teams into a close-knit unit,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf.
Meinert becomes an assistant
Hrubesch himself, who will look after Alexandra Popp’s team until the Olympic tournament, expressed his enthusiasm. “I appreciate Christian Wück and know him from the time I first worked for the DFB. He has shown what qualities he has as a coach,” said the 72-year-old.
Considering the fact that the DFB had now announced the personnel, there had been surprisingly few speculations and rumors in the previous days. Former national player Maren Meinert will assist Wück. Another assistant position is to be awarded “promptly,” as it was said.
The fact that the DFB and the new sports director Nia Künzer did not shy away from publishing the decision on Women’s Day of all days also shows how convinced the association is of the solution. Künzer praised the passion, expertise and very clear concept of the future boss. “It is also important for us to introduce young players to the senior national team or to train current players into leading players – he is the right person for that. The overall package was convincing for us,” said Künzer.
Big rise for Wück
Wück, who has been leading DFB youth teams for over a decade, was particularly impressed by how well he can develop players. The Franconian native spoke of “a great honor” and said he didn’t have to think about the matter for long. “It makes me proud that I will accompany and shape this path to the Olympics,” said Wück, for whom the change is a huge advancement.
Hrubesch secured the German women’s participation in the Olympics in Paris last week with a 2-0 win against the Netherlands in Heerenveen. The ex-professional’s commitment was limited from the outset until then. Hrubesch then wants to concentrate again on his role as youth manager at Hamburger SV.
He had already helped out as coach of the DFB women in 2018. Before the summer games, Hrubesch will qualify for the 2025 European Championships in Switzerland at the beginning of April. In the group games, the DFB team will face Austria, Iceland and Poland.
To Paris with Hrubesch
By signing Wück, the DFB is clarifying a long-standing personnel issue. After the World Cup debacle in Australia with the elimination in the preliminary round last summer, national coach Voss-Tecklenburg called in sick and her employment relationship was terminated after a stalemate. In the meantime, her long-time assistant Britta Carlson stepped in. After participation in the Olympics was in jeopardy, the association brought back Hrubesch, who enjoys great trust among the players.
Before Hrubesch and then Wück from the summer onwards, there was only one man who was responsible for the women’s national team: Gero Bisanz as the first head coach from 1982 to 1996. Tina Theune won the World Cup title with the DFB team in 2003, Silvia Neid in 2007 The latter also won Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 with, among others, today’s DFB captain Popp.
“I’m not going to Paris to play. I want to get to the final,” Hrubesch said after the win against the Netherlands. He brought home silver with the German men from Rio in 2016. The 2025 European Championship – three years after the German women reached the final of the European Championship in England – would then be the new national coach Wück’s first tournament.