Marbella instead of Cologne, work instead of partying. Even the biggest revelers in the DFB team subordinate everything to success, even during the carnival season. Because at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in the summer, the ambitious goal is: winning the title.
“Pirates – wild and free, Dreimol Kölle Ahoy”. The carnival classic booms unmistakably from the mini box on Marina Hegering’s backpack. With a big smile, the VfL Wolfsburg defender climbs off the national team bus. But also with a tear in the buttonhole. Because the 32-year-old, the oldest player in the training camp in Marbella, Spain, is – together with her teammate Kathrin Hendrich – the biggest carnival fan in the DFB team.
Hendrich has the carnival gene
“I’ve already walked as a vampire, in a dinosaur costume or as a bumblebee,” reveals Hendrich, who is always in a good mood by choice from Wolfsburg and comes from Eupen near Aachen in Belgium and practically carries the Rhenish carnival gene. “Most of my family goes on the train. They also send photos and videos from their carnival parties.” Parties that Hendrich missed again and again. “Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to celebrate carnival for years because we’re always on the road a lot.”
Top conditions in Marbella
Marbella instead of Cologne – that’s what the general schedule wants it to be. And of course national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, who has big plans for her vice European champions. Finally, the Summer World Cup in Australia and New Zealand (July 20th to August 20th) is approaching. And every minute wants to be put to good use.
“We made a conscious decision to go to a training camp and not play a mini-tournament at this time. Because we know that we have top conditions here. We know that we have good pitches and good weather and the girls love it when the sun shines a bit.”
Popp really wants to go to the World Cup
Almost 20 degrees in bright sunshine, the women’s carnival Thursday is by far the best day of the almost one-week training camp in the Marbella Football Center, which began on Tuesday. Four football pitches blend into a huge golfer’s paradise. Surrounded by the mountain peaks of the Sierra Blanca.
“The training conditions are great. The place is perfect, we have a weight room right there. You can sweat, work hard and develop,” says Alexandra Popp, who returned to Wolfsburg from the European Championships in England with six goals and as a superstar – and now really wants to go to the World Cup. Even if there were rumors in between that the striker would give up voluntarily. “The basic tenor is that I want to be at the World Cup,” she told NDR on the first day of the training camp.
Voss-Tecklenburg sees “still a lot of potential”
Just being there is not enough for the German women’s national team. Both captain Popp and the national coach give the title as a goal. In the NDR interview, Voss-Tecklenburg repeatedly spoke of a “mission” in the inviting garden and pool area of the “La Quinta” team hotel. And in order to make this mission a success, the 55-year-old, who has been the national coach for more than four and a half years, works meticulously with her team in Andalusia on small things.
“We want to optimize things and see a lot of potential to become even more stable at the World Cup, maybe even more dangerous, to be able to surprise the opponent more.” Maybe next Tuesday in a friendly against the strong Swedes – in Duisburg, the hometown of Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. The young Alexandra Popp played her first international match there and could now celebrate her 125th appearance in DFB dress.
On Shrove Tuesday against Sweden
The national players were able to watch their upcoming opponent Sweden with their own eyes on Weiberfastnacht. The Scandinavians tested successfully (4:1) on a secondary pitch against China. Other nations also appreciate the perfect conditions of the facility.
Should there be an enthusiastic performance in the packed Duisburg stadium on Shrove Tuesday and a successful World Cup in the summer, Marina Hegering and Kathrin Hendrich’s renunciation of the carnival would definitely have been worthwhile.
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Sports current | 02/17/2023 | 5:17 p.m
