The German footballers danced and celebrated to “Cotton Eye Joe” by the band Rednex and other party hits until late into the night in Heerenveen. After the successful Olympic qualification for Paris, a “huge burden” has been lifted from the national team and interim national coach Horst Hrubesch, as goalkeeper Merle Frohms put it.
And also from those responsible at the DFB. They are now required to quickly present Hrubesch’s successor after the summer games in order to bring calm before the European Championship elimination. The 72-year-old has already formulated a high goal for the Olympics.
Coaching position open
“I’m not going to Paris to play. I want to get to the final,” said Hrubesch after the passionately fought 2-0 win against the Netherlands in the game for third place in the Nations League. If he failed, the HSV idol’s tenure would have ended abruptly. There is no clear favorite for the future national coach.
“We will communicate in a timely manner what happens next,” promised the new DFB sports director Nia Künzer, who was at the Abe Lenstra Stadium and then at the celebration together with association president Bernd Neuendorf and managing director Andreas Rettig.
“First and foremost, it’s important to me that the girls go there,” said Hrubesch after the show of strength. A background for his wish for the final is also: “Then I have the Olympic Village, that has to be it.” He had always emphasized that he would like to experience the atmosphere in the athletes’ accommodation again with athletes from all over the world.
Grand finale in Paris
In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Hrubesch won silver with the German men, while the DFB women won gold under Silvia Neid. Now captain Alexandra Popp and her teammates can dream of their second Olympic triumph. The group draw with twelve participants – including world champions Spain, France, the USA, Canada, Brazil and Colombia – is on March 20th. The games are played in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice and Saint-Étienne. The grand finale comes at the end of the games in the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Popp was specifically mentioned in the speeches after midnight – the success against the Oranje team was her 100th win in 137th international match. “I’m incredibly happy and very relieved that we decided the game in our favor. I’m very, very proud of my team,” said the Wolfsburg player in an interview with ZDF after the final whistle.
The Paris ticket is “incredibly important,” said the currently clubless national goalkeeper and Olympic champion Almuth Schult, after “the recent not so convincing performances.” Goalscorer Klara Bühl from FC Bayern also recalled the World Cup debacle in Australia and the time afterwards with the hanging game involving the ill former national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg: “Everyone knows what a difficult phase we are coming from.”
The DFB men missed taking part in the Olympics. But Schult hopes that in view of the men’s European Championships in Germany (June 14th to July 14th) and the summer games for women (July 26th to August 11th): “This can really give a boost to German football.”
Before that, the obligation of the European Championship qualification
Despite all the enthusiasm about participating in the Olympics, it was almost forgotten that Hrubesch and his team still have the European Championship qualification with six match days for the 2025 European Championship in Switzerland between April and July. The group opponents will be drawn next Tuesday. There are only nine days between the last European Championship qualifying game and the start of the Olympic football tournament.
A lot of work for Hrubesch before he fulfills his Olympic dream. “We’re really on the right track. But we just have to be more consistent,” said the 1980 European champion. “The benchmark will be when you play against Spain.” This is also why the 2-1 defeat in France last week in Lyon annoyed him. With a win, the Olympic ticket would have been secured – and his selection could have learned in the final against Spain.
Of course, the fans and players in Heerenveen didn’t care at all. “Paris, Paris – we’re going to Paris!” came the sound from the German corner and later from the guests’ cabin. However, some of the footballers who celebrated the success exuberantly will not be there in Paris. At the Olympics, the squad only has 18 players – five fewer than last time. This regulation had already caused trouble in the German Football Association (DFB) before Rio 2016. The association has therefore complained about this to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) together with other European nations – albeit with little prospects.
