None of his sprints to the right, left, and down through the middle. None of these hard-hitting shots will be admired, and none of these angry chase scenes once he’s lost the ball: Christopher Rühr isn’t there. It’s the constraints of studying medicine that he finally has to push after eight years, because otherwise it’s too late.
What the 172-time national hockey player misses is the European championship for women and men in his own country – in Mönchengladbach, to a certain extent in the center of German hockey. It should be a festival, playing with the crooked stick is one of the more important disciplines in this country, it is learned in schools as in countless clubs, and if it were up to what the national players last noticed in the Rhineland, then a big party awaits them: ” In the test games in front of a large crowd, we felt that something was building up. I think that as organizers we are better prepared than ever for this home European Championship,” says Mats Grambusch, attacking player and captain of the Germans. At first glance, this is surprising because most of them were dog-tired until not too long ago.
Some national players needed a kick to get back into their sport properly
While attacker Rühr now has to learn from books, some colleagues have other concerns. The Krefeld midfielder Timor Oruz, for example, found longer phases this spring to be leaden: “I fell into an unbelievable hole,” he told the dpa news agency. A great “emptiness” grabbed him, and: “The break was actually much too short for what we experienced there.” They took part in the World Cup in India at the end of January, with a long preparation, the tournament itself with many impressions, the ups and downs and in the end a victory that you had long awaited for, but which you had to cope with afterwards. And it goes on. Not only will they experience a major home event from Friday (opening games, women 5 p.m.: England – Ireland; 7.30 p.m.: Germany – Scotland), but eleven months later the highest hockey highlight, namely the Olympic tournament, this time in summer 2024 in Paris.
Unlike the women’s team of trainer Valentin Altenburg, which has its most recent world championship long behind it and generally has a regular hockey calendar, some of the men now needed a kick to get back into their sport properly. Teams reflect the whole range of human temperaments, some are optimists, others overcautious, some ambitious, others natural talents, some like to be monitored by a training app, others not.
But what was the use? At some point the whistle sounded for the next departure. Or rather, the players took their phones, opened the training app, and off they went to the first small session for the next big championship. Of course, Mats Grambusch was there again and said: “We have a good staff, so we are also well monitored and had no choice but to get back into training and get our fitness back in shape.”
Coach Henning’s strategy is a mixture of cool tactics and pure joy
And while the players gradually settled into their everyday lives, the small European Championships at home also gained their own importance in these 18 months of the three major events, namely: just as important as the other major events. It lasts just over a week, but it is the first major event on German hockey turf in 13 years, the ranks are almost sold out and those who take a seat on the Gladbach seats are said to be well acquainted with this sport. So the atmosphere should be great, and national coach Andre Henning’s strategy is a mixture of cool tactics and pure joy: “We’re turning the classic tournament into a tournament and for now we’re just looking forward to the European Championship.” Means: Paris is still very far away at the moment – and in twelve days suddenly very close again.
Imagination is also a pillar for motivation. Despite their successes, Henning’s and Altenburg’s teams, like many teams, have their own problems and minor illnesses in the game. In men, these malaise mainly appear in the last quarter of an hour, when the whole thing is at stake. They miss scoring chances, the seven-meter assists are imprecise, and the defense also becomes uncertain.
The final phase is a bit ailing, but the German hockey players, who always think psychologically, wouldn’t be among the best in the world if they didn’t turn every ailment into an opportunity. “The problems that arise, including among each other,” says women’s coach Altenburg, “are also an opportunity to grow closer together.”
And for every problem there is also a solution. Both German teams still have to work on their weaknesses in the final phase. Until they get a grip on them at some point, they still have an antidote: their goalkeepers are among the best.
