There were good reasons why a whole corner of the sofa was reserved for Sara Däbritz on the media day of the German women’s national team. The 85-time national player is now in the spotlight because the claim to leadership for the upcoming European Championships in England (July 6th to 31st) inevitably weighs on her.
“I am aware of this role and I accept it”says the 27-year-old, who needed less than an hour’s drive from her home town of Ebermannsdorf in the Upper Palatinate to the third and final European Championship training camp at the DFB outfitter’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, which now lasts until June 29.
Test match against Switzerland in Erfurt
When the only test match against Switzerland in Erfurt (June 24th, 2022) and soon the important European Championship opening game against Denmark in Brentford (July 8th, 2022) are scheduled for the German soccer players, spokesman Almuth Schult, who has been moved to the second rank, and after her Captain Alexandra Popp, who had just returned to rehabilitation training on Tuesday, was hardly able to advance on the field due to a Covid infection.
National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg therefore said specifically about Däbritz: “We need them. She will be a central figure in our game, one of the most important axis players.” The 54-year-old appreciates her dynamism and energy, but the technically gifted all-rounder also has finesse and elegance in her repertoire.
Move to Lyon as an award
It is not for nothing that the eight-time Champions League winner Olympique Lyon she signed for three years, having previously worked for rivals Paris St Germain had played where she had moved from Bayern Munich in 2019. “For me this is the right place to take the next step – I know the league, the language and the football culture.”says Däbritz, who claims to be in France “a bigger presence and better physique” has appropriated.
Even before her holiday in Mallorca, the assertive midfielder has completed the move to the liveable city at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, where women’s football is held in the highest esteem. Däbritz will soon be part of a team with world-class players like Norway’s Ada Hegerberg and France’s Wendie Renard “sporty challenge” wanted her.
At the 2017 European Championship, number 13 also went under
Before that, however, the EM tournament awaits, in which the eight-time European champion Germany still looks a bit like a piñata. Däbritz witnessed the elimination at the EM 2017 in the Netherlands against Denmark herself – she too went down in the quarterfinals in Rotterdam, which were postponed due to rain.
On a good day, the number 13 comes into its own in a 4-3-3 system from a flexible half position. The fact that Lena Oberdorf from VfL Wolfsburg has her back as a stable anchor in defensive midfield benefits her offensive qualities. In the end, it was Däbritz’ determined tackle that opened the door to the round of 16 with the winning goal against Spain (1-0) at the 2019 World Cup.
The mix in the team should now be right
But both among themselves and in interaction with the fairly freshly put together team of trainers, there were a few things that stuck; the quarter-final loss against Sweden (1:2) was no coincidence. But the down-to-earth Däbritz believes these mistakes will not be repeated three years later: “Things haven’t gone perfectly lately, but we’re on the right track.” The mix in the team is right.
At her first European Championship in 2013 in Sweden, under the then national coach Silvia Neid, she was one of the discoveries that she was able to celebrate at the age of 18 on the Römer in Frankfurt. Stuck from her first major tournament, “that we caught everything with the team spirit”. At that time, Nadine Angerer and Saskia Bartusiak, who set the tone, after a weak group phase (Däbritz: “We muddled through a bit”) an internal discussion – and the solidarity should last until the final in Solna.
“It’s part of talking about things, even if things don’t go well,” says Däbritz today. According to her first impressions in the Franconian province, everything is fine with communication, because the much sought-after leader has stated: “Everyone talks all day.” Even without media appointments.