DFB.de: How did your team develop throughout the tournament?
Bernhard: The team showed their potential by starting the tournament with a good performance in the first match against Spain. You could see the way they improved throughout the rest of the tournament. It is good to see how the players have grown closer and come out of the tournament as a real team.
DFB.de: What are the plans for the future with the World Cup is coming up in autumn after your successful EURO campaign?
Bernhard: Our planning was already in place before the European Championship. We came up with different plans depending on the different scenarios. We are now in the best case scenario as we have qualified. There will be three training camps, with the first one being a performance assessment in June. We will then travel to Jordan in September and prepare fully once again to play a big role in the tournament and develop the girls even further.
DFB.de: What can the players take from their experience in Serbia?
Bernhard: They can take a lot of desire and belief in their own strengths – and the fact that they can achieve big things together as a team, while collecting many brilliant impressions and memories that they will never forget along the way. Of course, we can’t forget about the medals and the title as well.
The Germany women’s U17s have become European Champions for the fifth time. On Tuesday, Anouschka Bernhard and her team received a celebratory reception from the DFB vice-president for women’s football Hannelore Ratzeburg on their return to Frankfurt airport.
The coaching staff and the players will have a small amount of time to relax before they begin preparing for the World Cup in Jordan (25th September until 21st October). After her return from Serbia, Anouschka Bernhard spoke to DFB.de in an interview with Paula Widmer about the dramatic final against Spain, how important the experience was to the players and the World Cup.
DFB.de: Ms Bernhard, congratulations on your European title win. Your smile says it all…
Anouschka Bernhard: It is an unbelievable feeling when you hold the trophy in your hands. I am extremely proud of the girls and the support staff. It was a real challenge what we achieved here and we can all be very proud. The final was an intense and nerve racking encounter. You always need a bit of luck in a penalty shootout but we managed to keep the Spanish at bay just like we did two years ago.
DFB.de: How do you prepare the players for a possible penalty shootout?
Bernhard: We didn’t train for it at all. The day before, we noticed the Spanish team practicing penalties but we wanted to decide the match before it came to that and went into the final with that attitude. We didn’t manage it though. I advised the girls before the shootout that when their moment came they should focus on themselves. We also said that we were all behind each other and if they missed it wasn’t the end of the world. They did amazingly well.
DFB.de: Goalkeeper Leonie Doege saved two penalties.
Bernhard: It is amazing to always have a goalkeeper in our ranks, who can save penalties in a shootout. Leonie had already played her part in a number of decisive situations during the match, as well as keeping us in the game in the semi-final with an important one-on-one save. Silke Rottenberg put a lot of importance on practicing for penalties in training. They were all fully briefed and even given a trick for watching where the striker would go. Overall, it was a great team performance. We fought until the very end.
DFB.de: How did your team develop throughout the tournament?
Bernhard: The team showed their potential by starting the tournament with a good performance in the first match against Spain. You could see the way they improved throughout the rest of the tournament. It is good to see how the players have grown closer and come out of the tournament as a real team.
DFB.de: What are the plans for the future with the World Cup is coming up in autumn after your successful EURO campaign?
Bernhard: Our planning was already in place before the European Championship. We came up with different plans depending on the different scenarios. We are now in the best case scenario as we have qualified. There will be three training camps, with the first one being a performance assessment in June. We will then travel to Jordan in September and prepare fully once again to play a big role in the tournament and develop the girls even further.
DFB.de: What can the players take from their experience in Serbia?
Bernhard: They can take a lot of desire and belief in their own strengths – and the fact that they can achieve big things together as a team, while collecting many brilliant impressions and memories that they will never forget along the way. Of course, we can’t forget about the medals and the title as well.
