Two weeks have already passed since Horst Hrubesch and his U21 team lost their European Championship semi-final in the Czech Republic. The end came at the hands of Portugal with a 5-0 defeat, the biggest defeat in the history of the U21s. This shock took some time to digest. Hrubesch has reviewed the game again with Die Zeit . The 64-year-old also talks about the World Cup triumph in Rio last year, the current make-up of the national team, his private life and his future.
“I admit that game (0-5 against Portugal) still haunts me. But I certainly don’t suffer like the Brazilians did after the 7-1 against Germany,” says Hrubesch about the exit of his U21s from the Euros and also recalling the semi-final win by the senior side a year ago. Even at the World Cup in 2014, Die Mannschaft were not convincing in every game. “Before the final, there were games where the Germans were anything but title-winning material. But the boys turned up when it mattered,” recalls the former Germany international who will lead the U21s at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
"Football is not about pushing a button"
Hrubesch sees the mentality of the players as part of the recipe for success at the 2014 World Cup. “The team have lived; the boys provided themselves points of conflict. Whoever scrutinises himself, whoever scrutinises his character, will be successful. Such a team is a force that is difficult to beat.” Hrubesch knows what he’s talking about. He knows the spine of the team very well, after he won the 2009 Euros in Sweden with the U21s including Manuel Neuer, Jérôme Boateng, Benedikt Höwedes, Mats Hummels, Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil.
The phase of weakness after the World Cup, when Die Mannschaft lost to teams such as Poland, isn’t a surprise for Hrubesch. “It’s not easy to plan for success in football. The players are expected to prove their ability and their performance over and over again. But I should also say that they are only human. Football is not about pushing a button.”
"I won’t just be sitting on the lawnmower after the Olympics"
If and when there’s a place in the senior team for younger players, only Joachim Löw can decide, according to Hrubesch. “In this situation you have to be honest with each other,” says the 1980 European Champion. “As a coach you have to be able to anticipate how the younger players will physically and mentally develop. Are they in the position to replace older players and progress themselves? But no one knows whether injuries will suddenly stop the ripening process. The national coach can judge that very well.”
As for his own personal future, Hrubesch says that he has just exchanged his farm with horses for a small house closer to his grandchildren. “I’ve said that I will continue until the Olympics regardless. And I imagine that someone younger will take over, someone who is 20 or 30 years younger and better understands the player’s language. A new phase will begin after Rio.” Hrubesch still hasn’t decided what he wants to do after august 2016, but he does say, “I won’t just be sitting on the lawnmower after the Olympics.”
