“Building Block in this Puzzle”
Prinz sees himself as “a building block in this puzzle”. The fact that the German squad found the unit they are currently presenting in England after a number of difficulties – the DFB honorary captain “has a big part to play in that”, explains midfielder Linda Dallmann. She tells of a kind of crisis meeting within the team, “after which everyone wanted to get out quickly and implement it immediately”.
Her colleague Lena Oberdorf sees it pragmatically: “You know that if you have problems or need a few tips, you can come to her.” Prinz himself says that she tries to “notice the mood, to support where I can, to have an open ear.”
Deeply relaxed and completely free of vanity, the former world-class striker reports on her work in the DFB video. “When the pressure is on, it’s more my way than when it’s easy peasy. When everything is going well, I actually have the least to do.” She finds it very, very exciting to exchange ideas with the players, “how they feel, explain, perceive things”.
Pressure in the KO phase increases
In the meantime, all teams at the European Championship are very well trained and athletic in terms of football and tactics. “The components that are on the psychological level are becoming more and more important,” says Prinz.
The team psychologist is also an important partner for Voss-Tecklenburg. “In addition, she takes care of me from time to time,” she revealed in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. “Sometimes I want to achieve too much at once. Then my energy balance is in “overload” and Birgit takes me aside and puts everything back on track.”
Of course, she does not reveal how Prinz helps the German players to cope with the pressure in the quarterfinals. But basically she sees it like this: “If I enjoy something, things go much easier. Just be in the situation, enjoy them as much as possible. If you know what you can do, then it should actually work.”