For Horst Hrubesch, there hasn’t been any time to get used to it, to test ideas for their suitability for reality in several experiments, or to calmly work on the desired formation in his current focus of activity. In October, the Hamburg native, who also heads the youth performance center at HSV, stepped in as interim coach for the German women’s soccer team for the second time.
And the fact that his temporary assignment included the requirement from the start to quickly get the hang of it and build on better moments, even without extensive practice opportunities, did not deter the soon-to-be 73-year-old, but rather aroused his ambition. “It always started straight away,” he said, describing his mostly good experiences from the first four games, from which he gained an insight from which he derived a work assignment in preparation for the (provisional) climax of the joint activity: “We want to avoid “To chase after it,” said Hrubesch, who announced a performance on the verge of optimal.
It is important to use your own skills “100 percent” and then the mission will go well. “We are able to decide for ourselves what happens,” he announced, “we go in with the attitude of playing our game.”
Required in France
In the coming days, the German football women cannot count on the home advantage, which has made some difficult tasks a little easier for them in recent months. In order to qualify for the Olympics as one of two teams, the 23-man squad coached by Hrubesch must master the challenges in a Final Four tournament with the other Nations League winners, which is used for the selection of the German Football Association (DFB ) provides for two away games; Although she could have gotten a less favorable constellation in the lottery process.
At the start of their week of truth, the DFB ensemble is called upon to play in France this Friday (9 p.m. on ARD) – a competitor that has already qualified as the host of the Summer Games in Paris. If there is no success against “Les Bleues” in Lyon and a place in the final, there is an additional chance to earn luck in the game for third place on February 28th either in Sevilla or Heerenveen. World champions Spain and the Netherlands meet in the second semi-final.
During training on Tuesday at the DFB campus in Frankfurt, which for once was not constrained by a tight schedule, Hrubesch initially took on the role of observer and let his assistants, especially Julius Balsmeier, direct the proceedings.
Only when the 100-minute session was over did Hrubesch (more audibly) take command and gather his fellow competitors around him at the kick-off point. The message he conveyed reflected the optimism with which he has been working since his comeback in association service: “We agree that if we bring our quality onto the pitch, we will make it positive.”
Of the German squad that won Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro eight years ago, only Kathrin Hendrich, Svenja Huth and Alexandra Popp (all VfL Wolfsburg) as well as Sara Däbritz from Olympique Lyon are still among the nominees who are now returning to the competition to realize a particularly brilliantly illuminated stage for world sport.
“It’s not about me”
“I would like to experience it again,” said Hrubesch, who led Germany’s men’s soccer team to the final at the Maracanã Stadium in 2016, which resulted in the silver medal after a 5-6 defeat on penalties.
“But this isn’t about me,” added the former exceptional striker, who said that “all the girls” were driven by the enthusiasm to experience the extraordinary atmosphere in the Olympic Village. However, this requires a place in the final on August 10th, because beforehand all tournament games will be played decentrally in the arenas of the Grande Nation.
Hrubesch fondly remembers the Olympic encounters with athletes from all over the world and “many shining eyes” that “fascinated” him in the long term. A win against France, an opponent who, like his team, he considers to be among the “world’s best,” would pave the way. They wanted to use the first match point, said Hrubesch, who also had penalty shootouts practiced for this purpose.
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It makes “no sense” to lose given the individual potential. In addition, “everyone stands up for each other” in his group. The German team is a “structure that works together,” was Hrubesch’s announcement after the extensive test by example. The players now have to support the truth of the thesis with their energy.
