Women | After qualification: Olympic champion Kemme warns Germany

The qualification has been achieved and the DFB women are taking part in the Olympic Games. New tasks await the national coach, while the association has to set the course for the future.

A column by Tabea Kemme

Paris is booked. The national team secured its Olympic ticket after a convincing away win in the Netherlands. A big and important success for the team of national coach Horst Hrubesch, in which the manner was decisive in the end.

Germany accepted every duel from the start, the team had a good structure and was well coordinated. And perhaps the most important thing: every player went beyond her limits, as the national coach so beautifully put it.

The team showed a clear reaction after a bumpy performance against France and rewarded themselves for the effort they put in. Despite the difficult path, in the end there is an absolutely deserved participation in the Olympics. Germany was not impressed by the home bonus that the Netherlands had in the stands.

Coach Hrubesch knew what was at stake. He was already at the Olympic Games in 2016 and clearly conveyed to the players the enormous importance of qualifying for Paris. What is crucial for me in his coaching is that he allows the players to make mistakes. He gives them enormous self-confidence.

You appear completely different when you are told that bad decisions are part of the game – and you have ten other teammates on the pitch that you can rely on. The fact that Horst gave the players this feeling of mutual trust cannot be overestimated. Not all trainers can do that.

Now he also wants to get to the Olympic final – Hrubesch set this route immediately after the final whistle. I’m an absolute fan of wanting to get the most out of it. Of course, you always need the luck of the match and draw, coupled with top form on the day.

In Paris, however, as of now, only 18 players will be part of the final squad. That was already the case in Rio in 2016. It was all the more important back then that the players who were back-up accepted this role and supported us fully. In the end, that was also crucial to our success.

And in the summer it will also be important that no one puts their own dissatisfaction at possibly only traveling as a supplementary player above the well-being of the entire team. Communication is crucial and it is the coach’s job – perhaps the most difficult job – to create perfect balance within the team. With his clear announcements, which were disappointing even for experienced players like Lina Magull, Lena Lattwein or Nicole Anyomi, Hrubesch has recently proven that he is a communicator. There will always be competition in the squad. But a culture of fear must not arise.

Regardless of the outcome of the tournament, upheaval is imminent. Alex Popp, Svenja Huth, Kathy Hendrich, Marina Hegering, Sara Doorsoun – was that it for them after the Olympics? Or do you still want to play the 2025 European Championship in Switzerland? The change must take place promptly. The youngsters are already catching up with 22-year-old Vivien Endemann, who made her professional debut against the Netherlands.

The Olympic qualification has now given us some time to determine a successor for Horst Hrubesch. Despite all sporting goals, long-term planning will be the DFB’s top priority. But now it’s time to play a successful tournament in Paris, without taking the European Championship qualifiers in April too lightly.