Women’s national team
And it was a blast: Hrubesch was nervous about returning
Interim national coach Horst Hrubesch photo
© Uwe Anspach/dpa
Horst Hrubesch will take a seat on the bench again today as head coach of the German national soccer team – the 72-year-old is not completely unmoved by the comeback.
Interim national coach Horst Hrubesch has been in the football business for a while – and is still nervous about his return to the coaching bench.
“It would be sad if it wasn’t like that,” said the 72-year-old before the German players’ Nations League game against Wales today (5.45 p.m./ARD). “I’m certainly tense too,” said Hrubesch at the press conference before the important duel in Sinsheim. In 2018 he already stepped in as national coach.
Horst Hrubesch, the success coach
It is Hrubesch’s ninth international match as women’s national coach, and he won all games except for one draw. The rest of his DFB career was similarly successful. The HSV idol coached DFB youth teams 56 times and only lost three games. Hrubesch won the European Championships once with the men’s U21 and U19 teams, and in 2016 he led the German men’s team to Olympic silver.
The difference to his first interlude with the women in 2018? The 1980 European champion said the additional preparation time for the first competitive game and “the fact that I know most of them”. He knows what qualities the players have. It immediately went “boom” and the switch was immediately flipped. “I didn’t think it would be so exciting again, the whole story.” He has “a lot of fun” working with the team.
The local TSG players Sarai Linder and Paulina Krumbiegel also want to have fun in front of the 18,500 fans expected in the Hoffenheim Arena. The latter turns 23 today, Linder celebrated her 24th birthday on Thursday. Both would happily accept three points as a gift. “We want to bring lightness onto the pitch,” said Linder, “live offensive football.” This is also because captain Alexandra Popp, the most important goal provider, will be out due to muscular problems.