The situation with the women’s national team is completely complicated due to the illness of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg.
The German Football Association did not want to answer the question of when and whether the head coach will return to her position on Tuesday (September 19, 2023). The topic will not be commented on publicly out of respect for the national coach. This is what an association spokeswoman said.
“We have a duty of care, and in the meantime our duty of care is to ensure that Martina gets well again. That is our goal. Everything else follows after that.”said Joti Chatzialexiou, Head of National Teams. The 55-year-old Voss-Tecklenburg herself has not yet commented on her state of health. Your contract runs until 2025.
Start of the Nations League
The German selection starts the Nations League against Denmark on Friday (September 22nd, from 5:45 p.m. in the live stream on sportschau.de) in Viborg. The game continues against Iceland in Bochum on September 26th (6:15 p.m./ZDF). Another opponent is in Group 3 of League A Wales. Only the group winners make it to the final round, where the only two European Olympic places are played.
Voss-Tecklenburg’s representative Britta Carlson, previously her assistant coach, has to deliver positive results in the upcoming Nations League games just a few weeks after the World Cup debacle – after all, the games are about the Olympic tickets for Paris 2024.
But the 45-year-old doesn’t want to become a national coach herself. She could imagine being a head coach at some point, “But that’s more at club level. That’s not an option for me at national level.”
Carlson denies rumors
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf had previously contradicted rumors about an impending replacement of Voss-Tecklenburg and said: “I ask for your understanding, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is ill. That requires respect and care that we not speculate about it.”
Recently there were also reports that players had complained about poor communication and tactical deficits in the coaching team around Voss-Tecklenburg at the World Cup in Australia. There the German women around captain Alexandra Popp surprisingly failed in the preliminary round.
Former national player Carlson, who has been assistant coach of the women’s team since 2018, contradicted speculation that there was a falling out between her and Voss-Tecklenburg after the World Cup exit: “Our relationship hasn’t changed.”
Waiting for the sports director
The fact that the process of coming to terms with the so far unique preliminary round elimination has not yet been completed due to Voss-Tecklenburg’s absence makes the sporting situation extremely difficult. Chatzialexiou spoke of a “Backpack“. In addition: the announced sports director, who is only responsible for women, is still a long time coming.
Chatzialexiou was recently unable to recommend himself for this given the crisis in the men’s and women’s selection teams. Carlson will also only be a temporary solution, which will likely result in a major change in the women’s coaching team.