Women’s Euros 2022: Germany head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg readies her troops

Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is relaxed, confident, and ready. The European Championship begins on July 6th, and the German women’s national team coach set the tone in her last press conference before the tournament. Read more in the original reporting at web.de!

Fitness

The choice to play only a single pre-tournament practice friendly (a 7-0 drubbing of Switzerland) has been a source of contention, but fitness was an overriding consideration.

“We didn’t have everyone at 100 percent yet,” Voss-Tecklenburg explained. Therefore, they instead focused on tactics drills and team-building during June’s training camp sessions in Herzogenaurach.

Key among the situations to monitor is ex-Bayern Munich center-back Marina Hegering. The national team’s leader on the backline has dealt with a number of injuries in her career, but is just about rounding into full health now. “When you feel good, you are also ready to go beyond limits,” Hegering told web.de.

“We plan to do more than three games,” added her coach. “We are convinced that we have planned well.”

Playing loose

The national team coach wants her plays to enjoy more freedom and expression on the pitch, and began that by taking a step back herself. The remove in recent months was rejuvenating for both sides — relaxation for the coach, and for the players, room to develop a sense that Voss-Tecklenburg was not always “standing there with her finger up,” as she put it.

Like the men’s side, the women’s national team is trying to recover from a period where consciousness of defensive weaknesses led to cautious, constrictive play. But that’s over now.

“We are all active, we want to give ourselves a lot of confidence, we want to have fast combination play, we want to threaten in behind and we want to be very active defensively,” Voss-Tecklenburg outlines, while being cautious not to give away too many of her tactical ideas.

Creativity, variety, and harmony

Germany have tremendous quality and flexibility going forward, and that makes this bunch a clear contender even in an increasingly competitive field.

Look for a 4-3-3 with VfL Wolfsburg’s 20-year-old defensive midfielder Lena Oberdorf, as the team’s metronome, supplying a front line that can morph from opponent to opponent. Bayern striker Lea Schüller will have an abundance of options to accompany her: Klara Bühl, Svenja Huth, Jule Brand, Nicole Anyomi, Sydney Lohmann, to name a few. There are classic wingers and half-space operators alike here; the German attack will be equipped to handle any sort of defense.

But to make it deep into the tournament will require more than on-the-field prowess. The coach will hope to have managed to get the mood right. In that regard, there is an emerging spirit.

Said captain Alexandra Popp: “We’ve found the right way to each other. We’ve managed to move closer together.”

Against a staunch Denmark side on July 8th, the tests will begin.