Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has arrived as national coach. A learning process was needed for the successful EM present.
With a view of the illuminated Tower Bridge, the German soccer players swore to the European Championship semifinals against France over steak and vegetarian burgers. Of course, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, who has made a remarkable change as national coach, was right in the middle of the team evening on the Thames: she has long since become a project manager.
“I was always very dominant. I wanted to do everything alone as a coach, from start to finish,” said Voss-Tecklenburg, describing her management style before joining the German Football Association. After six years as the Swiss national coach, she took over the reins from interim coach Horst Hrubesch just a few months before the 2019 World Cup.
Different association, new team of coaches, a much larger staff – everything needed time to grow together. That was shown all too clearly in France when they lost to Sweden in the quarter-finals of the World Cup (1-2). “We had to be clear about ourselves first before we demand clarity from the players,” is one of the 54-year-old’s core statements about this behind-the-scenes learning process. Now she can delegate.
“It builds a great understanding for each other”
Voss-Tecklenburg has also changed the way she interacts with the team. More composure, less “wagging fingers” is the motto of the 125-time international.
“She’s taking the team more with her now than in the past, because of course she’s built a completely different relationship with the players over the three years. That pays off,” said Joti Chatzialexiou, sporting director of national teams in the DFB, the “ARD “.
“MVT” describes the development and its effect in a very similar way: “It builds a great understanding for each other, more trust. All of this helps to deliver more consistent performance.” From a player’s point of view, striker Laura Freigang puts it in a nutshell: “The wheels are meshing.”
Her protégés have also noticed that this experienced specialist is willing to continue learning for the greatest possible success and yet always remain true to herself. The process isn’t over yet, the World Cup is coming up in Australia and New Zealand next year.
Overview, discussions, empathy and meticulous work
When the minimum goal of semi-finals was reached at the European Championships, the team again noticed a change, albeit a small one. “A lot fell off her because there’s a lot of pressure on her shoulders,” said full-back Giulia Gwinn.
It took overview, discussions, empathy and meticulous work to reach this point. Voss-Tecklenburg admitted she doesn’t get much sleep during this European Championship in England. This is not only due to numerous meetings, but also to the communicative nature of the native of Duisburg, who is often one of the last people to sit together and play cards in the evening.
But even a powerful woman like the four-time European champion needs time for herself at some point, without football. In the morning she goes swimming in the pool of the team hotel, on the day off Voss-Tecklenburg lay down in the hammock without further ado.
Even in such quiet moments, the national coach shows special discipline. She absolutely wanted to read her novel – two hours later “What I never said: Gretchen’s family of destiny” by Susanne Abel was read.