She is one of the main characters who has made all the successes possible so far, but even after the final whistle she always preferred to be on the edge of the pitch to watch with satisfaction as the players tried their luck after their first five victories at the European Championships that women savored.
For Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and the German Football Association (DFB) team, reaching the final on Sunday (6:00 p.m. CEST in the FAZ live ticker for the European Football Championship, in ARD and on DAZN) at London’s Wembley Stadium is a sporting dream come true. After this openly stated goal, the selection and the trainer were smiled at. Diligence, cohesion and playful finesse were underestimated. In the upcoming duel with the England selection, there is a chance of winning the first title since winning the Olympics in 2016.
The architect of this upswing is the national coach, who showed a good hand in putting together her squad and led the protagonists to top performance with discipline and empathy. Their premiere three years ago was much more sobering: At the World Cup in France, the German women failed in the quarterfinals. The fact that Voss-Tecklenburg could still be sure of the support of the association is due to their high level of expertise. The native of Duisburg had already done considerable development work at the Swiss Association.
DFB director Oliver Bierhoff appreciates their meticulousness. He made three training camps possible, in which the heterogeneous group achieved a good level of fitness and grew together as individuals. The team spirit led, enthusiastically, to the final.
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s contract runs until the summer of next year. She has a changeable relationship with the DFB: she was a European champion four times as a player. The fact that she returned to the national team after the birth of her daughter was anything but a matter of course at the time.
Her career suddenly collapsed before the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Voss was suspended because of a dispute with her then partner and teammate Inka Grings. She later got a farewell game from the federation nonetheless, which paved the way for a comeback in a dutiful position.
In her free time, the national coach, who has been married to the Lower Rhine building contractor Hermann Tecklenburg since 2009, likes to read a book. She also had five with her in England, which by her own admission helped her switch off in between and gather the energy to write a chapter in German football history that only lacks the happy ending.
