Martina Voss-Tecklenburg will no longer return as national coach of the German footballers.
The German Football Association announced on Saturday (November 4th, 2023) that the cooperation with the 55-year-old, who was recently on hiatus, has ended with immediate effect and the contract has been terminated. In a joint conversation with Voss-Tecklenburg on Friday, it was agreed that “The team needs a fresh start in terms of sporting leadership.”
Voss-Tecklenburg last looked after the national players during the embarrassing World Cup preliminary round exit in the summer, after which she called in sick and was recently on vacation. “On behalf of the DFB and also personally, I would like to thank Martina Voss-Tecklenburg for her cooperation over the past few years.”said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf: “During this time, important impulses were given in the area of women’s football.”
Financially agreed
The meeting on Friday took place in a “trusting atmosphere” took place, the DFB further announced. Voss-Tecklenburg is said to have made financial concessions to the association when it came to severance pay for her contract – thus clearing the way for a quick agreement.
After Voss-Tecklenburg’s withdrawal due to illness after the World Cup, assistant coach Britta Carlson initially took over the head position before the association re-installed Horst Hrubesch as interim coach at the beginning of October. What caused irritation was that Voss-Tecklenburg gave public lectures outside of football during her vacation instead of pushing forward with World Cup analysis.
Criticism from the players
“It gives me a few question marks, of course. I would have wished for something different. To say: OK, let’s first clarify what happened at the World Cup,” midfielder Lena Oberdorf said. None of the players have publicly advocated for the national coach to return.
Voss-Tecklenburg took over the selection of the German Football Association in 2018 as Hrubesch’s successor. At the 2019 World Cup in France, she and the German team failed in the quarter-finals against Sweden and therefore missed out on taking part in the Olympics. At the European Championships last year, the former national player led the DFB players into the final. There they lost 1-2 to hosts England, but the successful tournament caused euphoria at home.
No review of the World Cup
The first preliminary round elimination at a World Cup in the history of the women’s national team was all the more surprising – but there was no reappraisal. Shortly after the World Cup, the DFB announced that Voss-Tecklenburg was ill and would be taking a break for the time being. But communication was unfortunate in the following weeks. The impression arose that the association was completely unaware of the national coach’s public appearances during her vacation. Further sporting collaboration, as Voss-Tecklenburg was striving for, seemed to be ruled out.
Immediately after the early tournament exit in Australia and New Zealand, Voss-Tecklenburg left her personal future open. A concrete statement about consequences would be “not right, because it also happens out of emotion”Voss-Tecklenburg said at the time: “That’s why I try to stick to myself, stay objective and take responsibility.”
Hrubesch should fix it
This has now happened to the extent that the national players are now clear that the chapter at the DFB is over. HSV veteran Hrubesch should ensure the desired qualification for the 2024 Olympics. The European teams can only secure the two places allocated to them via the Nations League to back up. The final tournament takes place in spring and only the group winners take part. The Germans’ toughest competitor in the preliminary round is Denmark, where the DFB team lost 2-0 in their first game under Carlson. The second leg will take place in Rostock on December 1st. With a 2-0 win or a win with a difference of more than three goals, the Hrubesch team would take the lead in the table. The last preliminary round game will take place on December 5th with the Welsh women having no points so far.