Football Voss-Tecklenburg falls ill
The completely tricky situation with the women’s national team
As of: 8:58 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
“Internal discussions that we have to have” – the future of Voss-Tecklenburg remains unclear
The future of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg remains unclear ahead of the upcoming games against Denmark and Iceland. The sporting director blocks all inquiries, saying it has not yet been possible to come to terms with the end of the World Cup.
For the German footballers it is now about the Olympic ticket. The situation for the association is very difficult given the absence of the national coach. Your representative doesn’t want to be the boss. It is unclear whether Martina Voss-Tecklenburg will return.
The national team has found a new national coach in Julian Nagelsmann. The situation with the women’s national team is completely complicated due to Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s illness. The German Football Association (DFB) did not want to answer the question of when and whether the head coach will return to her position on Tuesday. The topic will not be commented on publicly out of respect for the national coach. An association spokeswoman announced this at the beginning of a press conference on Tuesday on the DFB campus.
“We have a duty of care, and in the meantime our duty of care is to ensure that Martina gets well again. That is our goal. Everything else follows after that,” explained Joti Chatzialexiou, head of national teams. His own future role at the DFB is also unclear. Voss-Tecklenburg’s representative Britta Carlson, previously her assistant coach, has to deliver in the upcoming Nations League games just a few weeks after the World Cup debacle, where the all-important Olympic tickets are at stake. However, the 45-year-old does not want to become a national coach herself. She could imagine being a head coach at some point – “but that would be more at club level. That’s out of the question for me at the national level.”
“There is great concern that the euphoria will die down” – fan frustration after Germany’s exit from the World Cup
The German national team said goodbye to the World Cup early with a weak performance in the preliminary round final against South Korea. After the historic end, the frustration of many DFB women’s fans runs deep.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf had previously contradicted rumors about an impending replacement of Voss-Tecklenburg and said: “I ask for your understanding, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is ill. That requires respect and care that we don’t speculate about it.” Recently there were reports that players had complained about poor communication and tactical deficits in the coaching team around Voss-Tecklenburg at the World Cup in Australia. There the German women around captain Alexandra Popp surprisingly failed in the preliminary round.
Women are fighting to qualify for the Olympics
While the German men’s selection doesn’t face the next challenge of the home European Championships until next year, the women’s team is already looking to qualify for the Olympics for Paris 2024 this fall. The selection starts this Friday (6 p.m./ ARD) in Viborg against Denmark in the Nations League. On September 26th (6:15 p.m./ZDF) the game will be against Iceland in Bochum. Another opponent in Group 3 of League A is Wales. Only the group winners make it to the final round, where the only two European Olympic places are played.
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The 55-year-old Voss-Tecklenburg herself has not yet commented on her state of health. Her husband Hermann Voss-Tecklenburg told the “Bild” newspaper: “The World Cup in Australia took a lot out of her. She came back from Australia already sick, she was mentally and physically weak.”
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Ex-national player Carlson, who has been assistant coach of the women’s team since 2018, contradicted speculation on Tuesday that there had been a breakdown between her and Voss-Tecklenburg after the World Cup exit: “Our relationship hasn’t changed.” She had past ones Week expressly rejected Sky information that she had conducted a survey among the national players as to whether they wanted to continue working with Voss-Tecklenburg: “The claim is completely unfounded and calls into question my long-standing integrity as an assistant coach.” She has in In consultation with the national coach, we spoke confidentially with players whose views should be incorporated into the World Cup analysis.
Big change possible in the coaching bench
The fact that the process of coming to terms with the so far unique preliminary round elimination has not yet been completed due to Voss-Tecklenburg’s absence makes the sporting situation extremely difficult. Even Chatzialexiou spoke of a “backpack”. In addition, the announced sports director, who is only responsible for women, is still a long time coming – despite the busy allocation of positions at the DFB. Chatzialexiou was recently unable to recommend himself for this given the crisis in the men’s and women’s selection teams. His own future is also “not relevant” at the moment, he said.
The future in the DFB is uncertain for both of them: Voss-Tecklenburg (l.) and Panagiotis Chatzialexiou
Quelle: picture alliance/dpa/Sebastian Christoph Gollnow
Either way, Carlson will only be a temporary solution, which could result in a major change in the women’s coaching team. Voss-Tecklenburg continues to be the national coach even when she is on sick leave. After all, Neuendorf quickly jumped to the head coach’s side – from a distance – after the disaster of the European runner-up in Australia. Your contract runs until 2025.
