Young German midfielder Lena Oberdorf, a Mannschaft executive, attacked coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg on Monday, who has been on sick leave since the World Cup this summer.
Voss-Tecklenburg has been on hiatus since the premature elimination of the German selection in the group stage of the World Cup held last summer in Australia and New Zealand. Unheard of for the double world champions (2003 and 2007) who were among the favorites after reaching the Euro final the previous summer in England. Her husband explained that the coach had returned from Australia very tired, “physically and mentally”. “She recuperates at our house in the garden, in peace, she reads a lot,” added Hermann Tecklenburg in an interview with the German daily Bild at the end of September.
In the meantime, it has emerged that Martina Voss-Tecklenburg took a vacation abroad and gave a lecture last Thursday to a dentists’ association in Bavaria. “This raises several questions,” Lena Oberdorf said at a news conference in Frankfurt, where the Mannschaft is preparing for a Women’s Nations League match on Friday against Wales. “I would have liked something else. For example, we first take stock of what happened during the World Cup, before she can go on vacation,” continued the 21-year-old, who plays for Wolfsburg.
Asked if she wanted Voss-Tecklenburg to return, the midfielder kicked in, explaining that she did not have the “power” to make such a decision. “I am here to do my job. The DFB will take care of everything else,” she said. In the uncertainty, the German Federation (DFB) first entrusted the interim to Voss-Tecklenburg’s assistant, Britta Carlson. Under his leadership, the Germans lost 2-0 in Denmark then beat Iceland 4-0 in the Nations League, qualifying for the Paris-2024 Olympic tournament. Former international Horst Hrubesch has since been called up, “until further notice”, to prepare for the next international matches.
