If one day Horst Hrubesch gets tired of the operational work on the pitch, he could offer crash courses for football officials and those who want to become one. His specialty: creating a spirit of optimism with clear, unambiguous, not many words.
When he was introduced as interim coach of the German women’s national soccer team on Friday, he didn’t need a long speech to anchor the Hrubesch style that is now in effect again. In 2018 he stepped in to bridge eleven months before Martina Voss-Tecklenburg could take over.
Now the now 72-year-old is temporarily taking over as the successor to the national coach who was ill. And he stood out clearly at the first public opportunity by not talking about “processes that take time” in a continuous loop, as Voss-Tecklenburg did; and load control for highly challenged national players. Instead, he came forward with clear positions on what he was demanding and with a clear analysis of what had recently gone so fundamentally wrong.
On his approach: “I’m not interested in what the opponent plays, but in what we play. We’ll instill that in the girls again, and then we’ll determine what happens.” On what’s important to him: “It’s important to stay honest: If I do everything and tackle everything – I will do that with mine Staff set an example.” On the prospects for the next four Nations League games this year: “We will win the games. We just have to be there at the Olympics.”
Frank Heike and Marc Heinrich Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 6 Marc Heinrich, Frankfurt Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 14 Christian Kamp Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 6
Qualifying for Paris 2024 as one of only three European teams is the ultimate goal of Hrubesch’s tenure. The recent 2-0 defeat in Denmark, even if it was followed by a 4-0 home win against Iceland, is a big burden. When the German team meets Wales in Sinsheim on Friday (5.45 p.m. live on ARD) and plays in Iceland four days later (8 p.m.), the squad will largely be the one familiar from the past few months. Hrubesch “didn’t want to change everything in such a short space of time,” but also says: “There won’t be any free tickets, everyone starts from scratch.”
The difficult past few months for the DFB women, including the completely unsuccessful World Cup, “irritated him as to why they didn’t take this final step even though they had all the shares in their hands after the European Championship,” said Hrubesch. He will ask the players about it.
Less sadness, more fun
There was no real analysis of the World Cup debacle at the DFB due to Voss-Tecklenburg’s illness. Bernd Neuendorf said on Friday at the Frankfurt DFB campus that he had a picture for his part. The association president continued to say that Voss-Tecklenburg would be dealt with “sensibly, well-mannered and responsibly”. But at the press conference it became clear from some formulations that there would be no way back for “MVT” at the DFB. Neither on the coaching bench nor on the yet-to-be-filled position of “director of women’s football”.
According to reports, the lawyers on both sides of the Voss-Tecklenburg case have already taken over communication in order to terminate the contract, which runs until mid-2025. By installing the popular and already successful Hrubesch in the DFB cosmos (European champion with the male U19 and U21), the association has above all gained time. Time to put things in order in many places, including in the women’s sector.
Neuendorf spoke of an “extremely high level of acceptance” of Hrubesch among the players and a “lucky coincidence” that the association was able to win him. In addition, Hamburger SV was extremely cooperative. Hrubesch’s job as head of young talent at his favorite club is suspended during the training courses with the DFB women. Hrubesch said he kept in touch with some of the players. But it should be clear that the former national striker is no longer familiar with the smallest aspects of women’s football since his appearance in 2018.
For this expertise, Hrubesch is working again with assistant coach Thomas Nörenberg, as he did back then. Voss-Tecklenburg’s assistant Britta Carlson remains on the coaching staff. What Hrubesch wants, in short: less complexity, more speed; less sadness, more fun; away from the prefabricated and rigid-looking build-up game, towards sometimes long balls. He “learned to love women’s football back then,” said Hrubesch. “What I was able to take with me was sensationally good for my life.” Because it reminded him of his own time as a young player. “You always get 100 percent, in training, in games when dealing with each other.” That’s why it was “a given” for him to help a second time. In adversity.
