Olympics aim leaves Voss-Tecklenburg in the past
October 28, 2023
"We've loosened up again," said Lea Schüller, moments after she'd scored twice to help Germany beat Wales 5-1 in the Women's Nations League keep their hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics alive.
Her tone, suggestive of a new start, was matched by a number of her teammates.
Veteran Svenja Huth, replacing her injured Wolfsburg teammate as captain for the night, spoke of how interim coach Horst Hrubesch had already put "his signature" on a team that surprisingly exited the World Cup in the group stage only a few months ago under Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. "We played with real enthusiasm," she added.
"With his manner, he found the right words," added Bayern Munich's Giulia Gwinn, who missed the tournament through injury. "He has a good feeling for the team interpersonally and does the team a lot of good with his personality."
Voss-Tecklenburg situation unclear
While Voss-Tecklenburg wasn't mentioned directly, her shadow continues to hang over this underperforming Germany squad. An Instagram post earlier in the week had muddied already murky waters after the 55-year-old had given public speeches while on holiday leave following a period of sick leave after the World Cup.
"My whole interest is the well-being and success of this team I have grown fond of and all the players," Voss-Tecklenburg insisted in a six-page post. Some players, including Lena Oberdorf, have raised an eyebrow over such sentiments in recent days.
Hrubesch may be popular with his charges, after taking the reigns for a second time (the first was in 2018), but he would not be drawn on the future of Voss-Tecklenburg, looking only to Olympic qualification.
"I have two games that I have to win. Everything else was not an issue for me here now," he said ahead of the Wales win. With one down, Germany's trip to Iceland on Tuesday takes the focus. The Euro 2022 runners-up must win that and then try to overhaul Denmark in order to top their Nations League group to have a chance of making the Paris Olympics next year.
Trophy drought for Germany
Before the World Cup, it looked certain Voss-Tecklenburg would be in charge for the Olympics, having signed a contract extension pre-tournament on the back of reaching the Euros final in England. But just as with men's coach Joachim Löw in 2018, that proved a major error from the German football association (DFB).
The organization are now reportedly only communicating with Voss-Tecklenburg's lawyers, with relationships having broken down.
Failure to qualify for the Olympics would mean an extension of the side's longest trophy drought since they first won the Euros in 1989. Germany's last major tournament success came back in the 2016 Olympics. Only Popp, Huth and Sara Däbritz remain from that squad, coached by Silvia Neid, with German football, both men's and women's, in something of a trough at the moment.
Hrubesch may have changed the mood for now, but the longer term picture is still hazy. Though it's likely nothing will be decided on Olympic qualification until early December, at the earliest, Voss-Tecklenburg, or at least her representatives, and the DFB are due to meet this week.
It's all but impossible to see a way back for the coach, but the team may be starting to see a glimmer of hope.
Edited by: Kalika Mehta
Correction, October 28, 2023: A previous version of this article misspelled the names of Giulia Gwinn and Silvia Neid. DW apologizes for the errors.