Interim national coach Horst Hrubesch responded to the question about a long-term commitment to the German women’s national team with a joke and a reference to his age.
“Nobody has to persuade me. I always ask my wife”said the former center forward with a laugh in an interview with “Kicker”. “I’m having a lot of fun with it”emphasized Hrubesch and then added: “But it’s also clear: I’m 72 years old and I realize that this also takes a toll on the substance.”
Hrubesch: First of all, win the Nations League
Under the direction of the 1980 European champions, the German Football Association’s selection qualified for the final tournament of the Nations League after a false start and thus has a chance of qualifying for the Olympic Games in Paris. “But it’s important to me to emphasize that we don’t just want to be at the Olympics, we also want to win the Nations League as a first step. The Olympics come after that. We will attack,” Hrubesch announced.
The opponents in the semi-finals on February 23rd are the French women, who automatically qualified for the Olympics as hosts. This means that even if they lose, the German team still has the chance to win one of the two Olympic tickets with a win in the game for third place.
“Nothing from the past has been rehashed”
After the first preliminary round exit at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand under the then national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Hrubesch stepped in as national coach of the women’s team for the second time after the first two games in the Nations League. He is also director of the youth performance center at Hamburger SV.
“I’m a positive guy and don’t look back. That’s why I didn’t deal with anything from the past, but rather belonged in the team.”reported the vice world champion from 1982. “What was crucial was that the girls accepted me and how we communicate with each other, including with the clubs and the DFB. It’s a complete package.”
Gave the “girls” room to breathe
Everyone did a good job, it worked from the first minute, praised Hrubesch. “We gave the girls room to breathe and didn’t schedule one session after the other. Football is simple. It hasn’t changed either.”