The Germany women’s national team are back in action in two days as they take on Israel in Tel Aviv in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday (18:00 CEST), before hosting a reverse fixture on Tuesday 26th October (16:05 CEST). Giulia Gwinn spoke to the media after returning to the squad and was joined by her head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenberg, who discussed competition amongst the goalkeepers.
Giulia Gwinn on…
… her return: It’s a real honour to be back, to be back within the squad and to have been called up again. A lot of hard work and a tough time that’s now behind me has paid off. You can see it on my face: I’m enjoying everything that I get to experience here.
… fitness: I’m coming back to the national team after a year, I can’t set myself expectations that are too high. A bit has changed within the team over this year, I need to try and find me feet again in the coming days. I’m giving myself a bit of time but I’m on a good path to developing and finding my old strengths again.
… the societal aspect of travelling to Israel: I’m looking forward to the trip, as are the rest of the team. It’s really special, because it’s the first time we’ll play there. We have high expectations and are also looking forward to getting to know the country off the pitch too. We’re pleased to travel to Israel as ambassadors as well.
… her affinity for social media: The more important thing is that the focus remains on football. That’s how I want to be perceived as a person. But aside from football I’m also a young woman who enjoys being on social media and likes to share things with people there. When you have the privilege of being in the public eye, you want to give something back to those who are interested.
… positive aspects of a serious injury: There are a lot of positives to be taken from an injurs. During a long injury spell, you have time to work on yourself mentally and physically that you otherwise wouldn’t have. I’ve learnt to appreciate things differently.
… returning to the place of her injury in Essen: I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t in my head. I see it a little like closure of the whole thing. It’s a positive thing to be able to play again there with the national team and crown it with some positive memories.
Martina Voss-Tecklenberg on…
… the return of Gwinn: I know from my own time what a serious injury means. It has a real impact and helps you in many ways, but there are also a lot of stages that are difficult, challenging and frustrating. Giulia was a regular feature of this team and now it’s about coming back even stronger mentally. We know where she’s at and we don’t have any expectations for her. She still needs a bit of time.
The Germany women’s national team are back in action in two days as they take on Israel in Tel Aviv in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday (18:00 CEST), before hosting a reverse fixture on Tuesday 26th October (16:05 CEST). Giulia Gwinn spoke to the media after returning to the squad and was joined by her head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenberg, who discussed competition amongst the goalkeepers.
Giulia Gwinn on…
… her return: It’s a real honour to be back, to be back within the squad and to have been called up again. A lot of hard work and a tough time that’s now behind me has paid off. You can see it on my face: I’m enjoying everything that I get to experience here.
… fitness: I’m coming back to the national team after a year, I can’t set myself expectations that are too high. A bit has changed within the team over this year, I need to try and find me feet again in the coming days. I’m giving myself a bit of time but I’m on a good path to developing and finding my old strengths again.
… the societal aspect of travelling to Israel: I’m looking forward to the trip, as are the rest of the team. It’s really special, because it’s the first time we’ll play there. We have high expectations and are also looking forward to getting to know the country off the pitch too. We’re pleased to travel to Israel as ambassadors as well.
… her affinity for social media: The more important thing is that the focus remains on football. That’s how I want to be perceived as a person. But aside from football I’m also a young woman who enjoys being on social media and likes to share things with people there. When you have the privilege of being in the public eye, you want to give something back to those who are interested.
… positive aspects of a serious injury: There are a lot of positives to be taken from an injurs. During a long injury spell, you have time to work on yourself mentally and physically that you otherwise wouldn’t have. I’ve learnt to appreciate things differently.
… returning to the place of her injury in Essen: I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t in my head. I see it a little like closure of the whole thing. It’s a positive thing to be able to play again there with the national team and crown it with some positive memories.
Martina Voss-Tecklenberg on…
… the return of Gwinn: I know from my own time what a serious injury means. It has a real impact and helps you in many ways, but there are also a lot of stages that are difficult, challenging and frustrating. Giulia was a regular feature of this team and now it’s about coming back even stronger mentally. We know where she’s at and we don’t have any expectations for her. She still needs a bit of time.
… opponents Israel: They’re a proud and physically strong team with a good mentality. They put everything into every duel and have players who are good on the counter. This is the first game between the two sides. There will be a good energy on the pitch, but we’re focusing on ourselves. We want to carry out our plan, play a simple and fast game, show our presence and be dynamic and dangerous in front of goal. We have to perform well against them and wear them down in orer to achieve our goals and win both games.
… the call up of Martina Tufekovic: Merlo Frohms took a bit of a kniock and has an illness. As we didn’t know how that would develop, we didn’t want to get into any difficulties at short notice, so we made an early decision yesterday. We’re pleased that we got to know her a little bit better. We saw last season that she can deliver great performances and was a part of Hoffenheim’s success. Also due to Stina Johannes’ unavailability, we decided to bring her into the goalkeeping group.
… Merle Frohms’ situation: As of today Merle can play, so like the rest of the squad, she’ll fly to Israel.
… competition amongst the goalkeepers: The goalkeepers have all performed with their clubs and with the national team. It speaks for us that we have so many good players in this position and that we also have a lot of young players coming through. Looking at the Bundesliga teams, there are very, very good goalkeepers in almost every team. Merle is our number one, and the others will challenge her for that. We have a mix of characters and people and varying levels of experience. It’s exciting to see how they challenge and support each other. This is the position that I worry about the least.
