After the Olympic Games, Christian Wück will become the national coach of the German footballers and thus succeed Horst Hrubesch. The previous coach of the U17 team will take over the position in the summer, as the DFB announced on Friday. The contract term was not initially stated. The “Bild” newspaper had previously reported on the personnel. The 50-year-old ex-professional Wück first led the association’s U17 juniors to the European championship title last year and then even to the world championship title.
“Christian Wück is a proven expert and he speaks the language of the players. He has proven in the past that he can develop personalities and form teams into a close-knit unit,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf in the press release. Sports director Nia Künzer praised Wück’s passion, expertise and very clear concept. Maren Meinert will be the assistant coach.
Hrubesch secured the German women’s participation in the Olympics in Paris last week with a 2-0 win against the Netherlands in Heerenveen. The 72-year-old’s commitment was limited from the outset until then. The striker idol then wants to concentrate again on his role as youth manager at Hamburger SV.
Hrubesch had already helped out as coach of the DFB women in 2018. Before the summer games, Hrubesch will qualify for the 2025 European Championships in Switzerland at the beginning of April. In the group games, the 2022 European runners-up will meet Austria, Iceland and Poland.
By signing Wück, the DFB is clarifying a long-standing personnel issue. After the World Cup debacle in Australia with the elimination in the preliminary round last summer, national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg called in sick and her employment relationship was terminated after a hanging game. In the meantime, her long-time assistant Britta Carlson stepped in. After participation in the Olympics was in jeopardy, the association brought back Hrubesch, who enjoys great trust among the players. He won four of six games and only lost one in his first Olympic chance with the 2-1 defeat against France in Lyon.
Before Hrubesch, there was only one man who was responsible for the women’s national team: Gero Bisanz as the first head coach from 1982 to 1996. Tina Theune won the World Cup title with the DFB team in 2003, Silvia Neid in 2007. The latter also won in 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic gold with, among others, today’s DFB captain Alexandra Popp.
“I’m not going to Paris to play. I want to get to the final,” Hrubesch said after the win against the Netherlands. He brought home silver with the German men from Rio in 2016. The draw for the Summer Games is March 20th. There is only a week between the last European Championship qualifying game and the start of the Olympic football tournament.
The European Championships in 2025 – four years after the German women reached the final at the European Championships in England – would also be the first tournament for the new national coach Wück. Until then, a change in the national team is to be expected, as it is unclear whether experienced players such as Wolfsburg’s Popp, Svenja Huth and Marina Hegering will continue.
