Germany women ended the 2020/21 season with a goalless draw against Chile. In an interview with DFB.de, head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg spoke about the game, takes stock of the last months and discusses the development of her side.
DFB.de: Mrs. Voss-Tecklenburg, what’s your analysis of the game against Chile?
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg: We never really found our way into the game, never looked comfortable and made too many errors. We also weren’t able to find any space for ourselves, which had an impact on the flow of the game. That makes it tough to play against a team that is defending well and willing to contest challenges. During halftime, we tried to give some advice and bring on some fresh legs, which made a bit of a difference. Overall, we didn’t meet the expectations we had set for ourselves.
DFB.de: You had expected a different performance.
Voss-Tecklenburg: We wanted to continue to improve and develop a clear idea of how to attack which unfortunately didn’t really work in this game. Chile also fought hard to earn a draw, because we weren’t able to bring our game plan to fruition in order to influence the result in our favour.
DFB.de: Does the fact that this was the final game of a long, tough season have any impact?
Voss-Tecklenburg: It’s true that we were lacking a bit of energy. That has the result that you don’t win as many one-on-ones. The players wanted to play, but weren’t able to make things work the way we wanted. We lacked momentum and movement on the pitch in order to make things hard for our opponents. These are things that everyone needs to learn and internalise. We need to learn from this and overcome these kinds of setbacks. But, now it’s time for the players to enjoy a deserved break and recover.
DFB.de: Looking back on the season as a whole, where does your team currently stand?
Voss-Tecklenburg: We always said that we wanted to use the year ahead of the Olympics to see how the players had developed, where there’s potential for improvement and who could come into the team as an option. You also have to say that we have had to change the team quite often this season due to injury or pandemic-related issues. That’s why we will need a few games against top level opponents after our World Cup qualifiers at the start of next season. We definitely still have some work to do.
DFB.de: How does your team measure up internationally?
Voss-Tecklenburg: We have a lot of potential and several young players, who have drawn the eye in recent games. Due to the competition within the squad, we also need to grow as a team and be prepared to take on these challenges. Our aspirations are quite clear to head to the EUROs with confidence and to continue developing until then, so that we can meet our goals. If we manage this, then I’m confident that we will have a good showing at the EUROs.
DFB.de: The players are now enjoying their summer break. Does that go for you as well?
Voss-Tecklenburg: My summer break will only begin in July, as I still have some things to do with the youth coaches and the ‘Projekt Zukunft’ for the women’s teams. We also still need to analyse our last two games. We discussed several things with the players over the last few days, that we want them to work on over the break. Once all that is done, then I can take a break. I might take a break from thinking about football during that time and instead read a lot of good books, go out to eat and enjoy some sun by the ocean, in order to be ready in August.
[dfb/asv]
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Germany women ended the 2020/21 season with a goalless draw against Chile. In an interview with DFB.de, head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg spoke about the game, takes stock of the last months and discusses the development of her side.
DFB.de: Mrs. Voss-Tecklenburg, what’s your analysis of the game against Chile?
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg: We never really found our way into the game, never looked comfortable and made too many errors. We also weren’t able to find any space for ourselves, which had an impact on the flow of the game. That makes it tough to play against a team that is defending well and willing to contest challenges. During halftime, we tried to give some advice and bring on some fresh legs, which made a bit of a difference. Overall, we didn’t meet the expectations we had set for ourselves.
DFB.de: You had expected a different performance.
Voss-Tecklenburg: We wanted to continue to improve and develop a clear idea of how to attack which unfortunately didn’t really work in this game. Chile also fought hard to earn a draw, because we weren’t able to bring our game plan to fruition in order to influence the result in our favour.
DFB.de: Does the fact that this was the final game of a long, tough season have any impact?
Voss-Tecklenburg: It’s true that we were lacking a bit of energy. That has the result that you don’t win as many one-on-ones. The players wanted to play, but weren’t able to make things work the way we wanted. We lacked momentum and movement on the pitch in order to make things hard for our opponents. These are things that everyone needs to learn and internalise. We need to learn from this and overcome these kinds of setbacks. But, now it’s time for the players to enjoy a deserved break and recover.
DFB.de: Looking back on the season as a whole, where does your team currently stand?
Voss-Tecklenburg: We always said that we wanted to use the year ahead of the Olympics to see how the players had developed, where there’s potential for improvement and who could come into the team as an option. You also have to say that we have had to change the team quite often this season due to injury or pandemic-related issues. That’s why we will need a few games against top level opponents after our World Cup qualifiers at the start of next season. We definitely still have some work to do.
DFB.de: How does your team measure up internationally?
Voss-Tecklenburg: We have a lot of potential and several young players, who have drawn the eye in recent games. Due to the competition within the squad, we also need to grow as a team and be prepared to take on these challenges. Our aspirations are quite clear to head to the EUROs with confidence and to continue developing until then, so that we can meet our goals. If we manage this, then I’m confident that we will have a good showing at the EUROs.
DFB.de: The players are now enjoying their summer break. Does that go for you as well?
Voss-Tecklenburg: My summer break will only begin in July, as I still have some things to do with the youth coaches and the ‘Projekt Zukunft’ for the women’s teams. We also still need to analyse our last two games. We discussed several things with the players over the last few days, that we want them to work on over the break. Once all that is done, then I can take a break. I might take a break from thinking about football during that time and instead read a lot of good books, go out to eat and enjoy some sun by the ocean, in order to be ready in August.
