The press conference had already ended when Christian Wück wanted to say something else. It seemed important. “It was whispered to me,” said the national coach, “that Sarina Wiegman’s birthday is tomorrow.” The English national soccer coach was no longer in the room, but she had already put her impressions on record about the international match that had just ended at Wembley Stadium Germans won 4:3. Wück only knew Wiegman personally since that day. But he still sent her a verbal greeting card with a bow: “I wish her a wonderful birthday tomorrow, of course, and she shouldn’t let this result spoil her mood.”
Wück gave his colleague a lot of health and a lot of time with the family for the new year of her life, and a lot of success too, but only until the next reunion, of course. The 51-year-old did not say who should convey these wishes to Wiegman. He nodded goodbye and smiled after a tiring, stressful day at work. If judges had sat in the first row in the seats arranged like a grandstand in front of the journalists, they would certainly have given Wück high B grades for a good presentation. After he had already received an A grade on his debut at one of the most renowned coaching positions in the country.
Christian Wück wins his first game as national coach 4-3 against England at Wembley Stadium. He has to make more changes to the line-up than planned, and his courageous offensive football gives him a wild debut.
There were a lot of questions about this evening, about the first line-up, the style of play and the performance in general. Some remained open, some Wück answered with a period, others with an exclamation mark. But he didn’t give the important answers, and it was important for the national coach to emphasize this. “We can’t make the mistake of blaming it all on me or on the coaching staff or on the new beginning,” he said at the start of the press conference. “The players did it all on their own. Also those who were substituted and those who didn’t play today.”
It could not have been overlooked that something had happened this week since the women’s national team met for the first time in this constellation on Monday with Wück as head coach and Maren Meinert and Saskia Bartusiak as assistant coaches. Despite only a few joint units and despite a change, after four leading players resigned this year and new coaches took over, despite the cancellations of established players who were missing due to problems or injuries, the Germans had shown as impressively courageous, greedy and dynamic offensive football as if there were it doesn’t have all these restrictions. Against the European champions England. In Wembley Stadium filled with almost 48,000 people.
“He is taking an approach that is perhaps a little more risky, but is very courageous,” says Giulia Gwinn
Even the changes that were gradually made in the second half, there were six in total, did not cause a major break in the game. It looked a bit as if Wück, Meinert and Bartusiak had lit a sparkler that hissed and sparkled on the lawn with lots of small fireworks. In any case, there was an exclamation mark behind Wück’s answer to the question about his football idea.
In this game, as a new edition of the 2022 European Championship final at this location, which was additionally emotionally charged, so much happened that it was easy to lose track. The keyword list itself is long: three penalties, three disallowed offside goals, shots on the post and crossbar, a mistake by goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger when she simply dropped the ball after a cross. The new captain Giulia Gwinn scored 0:1 and 0:2, Klara Bühl increased, Georgia Stanway brought England back to 2:3, which means that all five goals were scored by FC Bayern players at the time. Sara Däbritz scored again to make it 4-2 before Lucy Bronze took advantage of Berger’s faux pas. But anyway: A 3-0 lead after half an hour, what was going through the national coach’s head? “It’s working,” he said later. “That was the first feeling after the 3-0 win.”
Confidence, trust and communication are the three keywords for Wück, which have already become part of his players’ vocabulary, and all three seem to have been effective at his premiere. Debutante Giovanna Hoffmann made a striking appearance in the attack, playmaker Linda Dallmann used the stage to show what a fine kicker she is – to name just two examples. “He takes an approach that is perhaps a little more risky, but very courageous,” Gwinn said of the new coach’s style. “We’ve had a good vibe all week. Everyone burned. Every player was ready to pluck up the courage.” Wück’s approach differs from predecessor Horst Hrubesch, especially in defense, “in that we don’t play this kind of safety football and always feel like we want to have five players behind the ball.” That, you could hear, was convincing.
Without the pressure of results of the past few months – characterized by qualification for the 2025 European Championships and the Olympic Games – the Germans appeared more liberated. And perhaps Wück had given his footballers the right things in the right doses. A lot of lateral shifts, quick switching, holding positions, using space, that’s what Wück wanted to see – and saw a largely stringent implementation. “It’s important that the players realize that we’re not talking nonsense, but trying to help them,” he said. “We want to give the team this self-confidence that only we can beat ourselves.” He was referring to all the situations that also led to goals for the English team. The more daring orientation of the defense and the lack of coordination had its price. But it was only game number one.
Nia Künzer, who filled the national coaching position as sports director for women’s football at the German Football Association, was relieved that the new chapter had started so entertainingly and successfully. But of course it’s about how well this story continues after the ups and downs of the past few years. “You know that the topic of continuity has been with us for a long time, so we want to build on that tonight,” said Künzer. “It’s definitely a good feeling to start like this. We set out certain milestones and certainly this game was one of the first, so to speak. But we still have a way to go.”
This path continues on Monday in Duisburg against Australia. And the national coach made it clear how serious he is about safety. Because this evening is also the farewell game for long-time captain Alexandra Popp, “we are of course very happy to do so,” said Christian Wück. “But for me and for the team, the game serves to make the next development.” And there is no time to waste.
