Before the European Championship final in Wembley, DFB director Oliver Bierhoff spoke enthusiastically about the German footballers.
“Everyone who comes to the women’s national team is immediately enchanted by the atmosphere,” he said in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag”. He has already observed this in international matches outside of the tournament: “The atmosphere is very informal, very honest, sporty,” explained the 54-year-old European champion from 1996.
Bierhoff also praised the behavior of the players at the European Championships in England, where the DFB women are playing against the host team for the title today (6 p.m. CEST/ARD and DAZN). “The pictures at the tournament speak for it: there are tough duels, fouls, yes – but dealing with them is more relaxed,” he said. “The times that women spend lying on the floor are definitely less.”
Bierhoff admitted that he was not the greatest women’s football expert. “I don’t want to say that at all.” He came to women’s football as a newcomer in 2019 with no particular prior knowledge: “I was impressed by Horst Hrubesch’s enthusiasm for women’s football, who coached the national team for a short time.”
Bierhoff estimates the chances of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s team for the final to be 50:50. “What makes me optimistic is the energy and spirit our side have shown throughout the tournament,” he said.