You have to imagine the final locker room discussion between the German footballers on Tuesday evening in the basement of the Ruhr Stadium as a kind of security conference. It is fitting that the cabin corridor in Bochum is lined with a photo wallpaper with motifs from a mine tunnel typical of the Ruhr area. It is well known that even deep underground there was once constant danger and uncertainty.
“Security” was the dominant vocabulary in Bochum. After the 4-0 win against Iceland, goalkeeper Merle Frohms spoke of a longing for “security on and off the pitch”. What she meant was that, in view of the security provided by the first victory in the second game of the Nations League and Olympic qualification, there must now be certainty as quickly as possible about who will look after the footballers in the next two games at the end of October against Wales and on Iceland. Since, according to reports, it will not be national coach Martin Voss-Tecklenburg who has reported sick, the German Football Association (DFB) must make a decision as soon as possible. “We need clarity as quickly as possible,” said captain Alexandra Popp; She would very soon want to find out ultimately who the DFB would like to see as a coach from now on: “Martina, Britta or I-don’t-know-who.”
Britta, that is the assistant coach Britta Carlson, who was quickly promoted to interim head coach after Voss-Tecklenburg reported sick almost three weeks ago. The 45-year-old from Kiel says she doesn’t want to remain a permanent head coach, but when she was asked on Tuesday evening whether she would step in again for the next two games at the end of October if necessary, she nodded and said: “Yes, and so I have I also have that in my contract.”
“We have the information: She is not feeling well,” says midfielder Lena Lattwein
At the beginning of September, a good month after Germany’s elimination in the preliminary round of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand at the end of July, Voss-Tecklenburg reported sick. Her husband, the Lower Rhine building contractor Hermann Tecklenburg, said she was exhausted. There is no further information to date, not even from the coach herself. Carlson said on Tuesday evening that she had sent Voss-Tecklenburg a text message when national player Melanie Leupolz recently announced her resignation from the national team. Carlson said she had not spoken to Voss-Tecklenburg on the phone. “We don’t have much contact – because she’s sick we have to leave her alone.” Voss-Tecklenburg and Carlson only extended their contracts until 2025 in April.
Open detailed view
National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (left) is currently being represented by Britta Carlson – it is unclear whether one of the two will lead the German footballers at the next international matches.
(Photo: Memmler/Eibner/Imago)
The team also claims to have no contact with the coach. As a result, the players don’t know reliably how she’s doing. Captain Popp said: “I hope that Martina will get well again soon, but we as a team have left her alone for now.” Midfielder Lena Lattwein initially said she didn’t know how the coach was doing – and after a short press, she revealed: “We have the information: she’s not feeling well.”
No contact with the coach and the assumption that she is not doing well – this vague information is putting those responsible at the DFB under increasing pressure in their search for a stable solution for the time being, including Joti Chatzialexiou, job title “Sporting Director of National Teams”. The 47-year-old from Frankfurt announced on Wednesday that there was no news to announce, but he said live on ZDF in the Bochum stadium on Tuesday evening: “The unfavorable situation with Martina’s illness had arisen at very short notice before the international match measure, which is why it applied First of all, just focus on these two games.” We will now discuss “everything else in a timely manner”. He certainly doesn’t want to take exclusive responsibility for the current situation. “You might be overestimating my role a bit,” he said. “I gave feedback to our president, who, together with the committees, is responsible for personnel.” So the ball is in Bernd Neuendorf’s court.
Captain Popp is flirting with resigning from the national team
The German team had initially lost 2-0 in Denmark in the Nations League, which was installed as Olympic qualification, and now retained the chance of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris by winning 4-0 against poor Icelanders. Relieved by this, the players, who had been extremely cautious in the previous days, dared to increase the pressure on the DFB leadership on Tuesday evening. “It’s time for a decision to be made,” said Lattwein somewhat impatiently, “because this uncertainty is weighing on us.” The goalkeeper Frohms demanded: “We hope that there will be clarity by the games in October.” There is already a first rumor in the person of the recently dismissed Turkish national coach Stefan Kuntz, known for many years as a master of team building in the German men’s U-21 team. There has not yet been any contact with the DFB, Kuntz told Saarländischer Rundfunk.
Meanwhile, captain Popp is flirting with the emerging speculation that she is thinking about retiring from the national team. “The matter is open,” she said on Tuesday, “but as long as we have not regained safety on the square, I want to continue to help.” Popp was asked whether she would be sure to take part in the next two important games at the end of October. She shrugged her shoulders with a smile and said as mysteriously as she could: “I think!”
