There are some influential figures from the circle of the best German football women who have enjoyed the growing popularity and its accompanying effects. The associated appearances in the spotlight away from the stadiums are a welcome change for them. Sara Däbritz is not one of them. She likes to limit herself to what she considers essential: her commitment to and for the team.
“Basically, I think that you should never pretend, neither on nor off the pitch,” says the 29-year-old, who is often rather casually acknowledged in the public perception of national coach Horst Hrubesch’s selection despite her experience from 103 international matches . Which, as she says, doesn’t bother her. The Franconian native describes herself as “not a loudspeaker” and considers her actions to be authentic given her character: “Loud players should be loud, quiet players should be quiet.”
With a victory to the Olympics
And only if everyone is given a role that is appropriate to their type and accepts it with dedication, says Däbritz, who also studies business psychology, can a willingness to perform develop in the cooperation that will bring everyone forward significantly. She and her teammates in the national team now have nothing else in mind.
This Friday (9 p.m. on ARD) they will compete in the semi-finals of the Nations League in France. A win would secure them qualification for the summer Olympics in Paris. For Däbritz, the confrontation with “Les Bleus” in Lyon takes place under special circumstances. This is also why she appeared more open-minded in front of the cameras and microphones.
The city in the Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 510,000, has become her dear home. She has been under contract with Olympique Lyon since the summer of 2022. The club is considered one of the top addresses in international comparison. Däbritz moved from Paris Saint-Germain to the league leaders and absolute top club in Division 1 Féminine. In the past seventeen years, Lyon have been champions sixteen times and Champions League winners eight times.
The lifestyle of the “Grande Nation” hits your nerve. She likes “the coziness” and “from a culinary point of view it’s also delicious”. In terms of sport, it’s a good fit for the former Freiburg and Bayern player, who can act as a stability factor in midfield with her ball security. In the Lyon stadium, which has space for almost 60,000 visitors, she announced from her personal feeling that there would be a “good atmosphere” with a “big crowd”. The French have already qualified as Olympic hosts, have nothing to lose and are willing to trip up the Germans this time.
Competition revived by Hrubesch
Especially since they often lost out on previous occasions; in the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals in Montreal, when they lost 4-5 on penalties, or in the 2022 European Championship semi-finals in Milton Keynes, when two goals from Alexandra Popp made the Germans celebrate 2-1. Däbritz, who knows well from her everyday life at Olympique Lyon, which has seven French national players under contract, how great their respect is, sees the DFB team in a “certain way” as a fearful opponent for “Les Bleues”.
After the latest impressions of the preparation at the DFB campus in Frankfurt, she added that she was “sure” that “we will field a great team”. And the way she interprets the term team spirit, the fact that she will probably not be part of the starting line-up does not change the conviction: “Overall, we have an outstanding squad. Every position is competitive.”
Marc Heinrich, Frankfurt Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Marc Heinrich, Frankfurt Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Marc Heinrich, Frankfurt Published/Updated: Recommendations: 3
Hrubesch has invigorated the competition. Lina Magull and Lena Lattwein were removed from the squad. Jule Brand has to prove herself again, while Sjoeke Nüsken fills the defensive role in midfield with an energy that allowed her to overtake established colleagues – like Däbritz – in the ranking. The former Frankfurter rarely had good cards under Voss-Tecklenburg. Since this season she has been playing big at Chelsea FC and also radiates her self-confidence in the DFB jersey.
“Unforgettable” atmosphere in the Olympic Village
Hrubesch gives the team confidence “across the board,” said captain Alexandra Popp about the personnel decisions: “So not just one to eleven, but all of them.” Däbritz described the anticipation of the showdown with the French as “huge”: “ The atmosphere is great, the energy is there in training.”
And she experienced what can be achieved through functioning group dynamics, not least eight years ago at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, when the DFB ensemble won gold. The medal has a place of honor in her parents’ home in Ebermannsdorf, and she still remembers the atmosphere in the Olympic Village as “unforgettable,” reported Däbritz. She now also draws motivation from memory – and talks about it from her own experience (preferably), especially internally: Only those who are capable of everything can surpass others.
