Hamburg When the German women’s national team plays at the World Cup in the coming weeks, Horst Hrubesch will be there – on television. The ex-national coach still has a special connection to the selection.
His tenure as national coach of the women’s soccer team was relatively short. Nevertheless, Horst Hrubesch still has a special relationship with the national players in the team of his successor Martina Voss-Tecklenburg almost five years later. “I feel very connected to the girls. Except for the very young players, I’m actually still in contact with everyone, it never broke off and stays forever,” said the 72-year-old of the German Press Agency. “Especially on birthdays, when we have special successes or when we are injured, we call each other.”
The German women’s team will start the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Monday (10.30 a.m. CEST/ZDF) in Melbourne. For Hrubesch it goes without saying that he then sits in front of the television during the games. “I’ve already watched the two preparatory games in June and July and hope that things will go better in the group phase of the tournament than in the friendlies,” said the current head of the youth academy at second division Hamburger SV.
At the end of his tenure as a successful youth coach at the German Football Association (DFB), the HSV legend stepped in as interim national coach for women after the unfortunate era of Steffi Jones. By November 2018 he had seven wins and one draw in eight games. They also qualified for the 2019 World Cup in France. At the end of November 2018, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg took over the team.
Hrubesch has confidence in her and the players at the 2023 World Cup, even if the last tests against Vietnam (2-1) and Zambia (2-3) were disappointing. “You can always count on the German team, I know that from my own experience. The team is peppered with good players,” said the 1980 European champion. He hopes that “the girls have a good start to the World Cup. They have already proven in recent years that they can improve within a tournament.”
That will also be important this year because they could face a top opponent in the round of 16. “It will be important that they are fully present in these games and are well-rehearsed in order to be able to assert themselves.”