Long-time national goalkeeper and ARD expert Almuth Schult sees interim coach Horst Hrubesch as a good interim solution for the women’s national soccer team. It is also important that there is clarity for the upcoming Nations League games.
“Horst Hrubesch is authentic, he can inspire people and knows how to get the players involved. That’s exactly what the team needs now,” said Schult to NDR about the 72-year-old, who took over as head coach for eight months in 2018 unsuccessful national coach Steffi Jones took over.
“It is clear that there cannot be a long-term outlook at this point in time due to the unpredictability of Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s illness,” added the 32-year-old.
“Positive feeling for the next course”
In September it became known that Voss-Tecklenburg was ill – she had returned from the World Cup in Australia, which was a failure for the Germans, “mentally and physically weakened,” her husband Hermann Voss-Tecklenburg told “Bild”.
Even after his term as national coach, Hrubesch followed the national team’s games closely, said Schult: “Many of the players already know him. So everyone will travel to the next course with a positive feeling and that’s important now.”
On October 27th (5:45 p.m., live on Erste) the team led by captain Alexandra Popp will play their home game against Wales in the Nations League, and on October 31st (8 p.m.) the DFB women will play in Iceland.
Künzer: “DFB bought itself time”
Former national player Nia Künzer also welcomed Hrubesch’s personnel: “He is known for being able to build a good rapport very quickly and influence a team,” said the 43-year-old in “kicker”.
In addition, the decision gave the DFB time to “advance the search for a sports director and the clarification of the coaching question,” Künzer continued. She considers Voss-Tecklenburg’s return “very unlikely”.
