ROURKELA: Germany might have won the World Cup in January, but they failed to keep up their good showing as they lost three matches and won just one — against Australia — in the FIH Pro League mini-tournament here.
They lost the first game 2-3 to India, won 1-0 against Australia, lost to India again with the scoreboard reading 6-3 for the hosts, and then were handed a 2-1 defeat by the Aussies.
Understandably, the results have been hard to accept but one needs to understand that not only did they bring several youngsters this time around but also rested a number of the players from their World Cup-winning squad including the likes of Christopher Ruhr and Niklas Wellen.
Thus, speaking after their last match, Martin Zwicker, one of the most experienced players in the team and who was part of the World Cup squad, wasn’t at all worried about the team’s showing and was pleased having played such high-intensity matches.
“We learned a lot from these four games. We had a number of youngsters on the side, and we tried a lot of things during the matches. We need to now improve on playing in front of the D and inside the D,” said Zwicker.
Even before the tournament, World Cup-winning captain Mats Grambusch had said it would be quite a challenge to perform at the Pro League.
“This is a lot harder compared to what we had at the World Cup. It is also pretty human and normal, especially after you win something big for which we have worked for some 10 years. So, it does take time to realise and gain power for the new challengers,” Grambusch had said.
Coach Andre Henning had also reiterated ahead of the tournament that rather than the results, the team would be looking for improvement and development.
While the players will now be busy with their clubs once they return to Germany, they will be coming together for a camp one and a half months later for the end leg of the Pro League and then begin their preparations for the European Championships, to be held in Germany.
“It’s a very important tournament because we have a chance to qualify for the Olympics. More importantly, it’s great to experience a tournament like that at home. It’s also cooler since all your friends and family can come,” said Zwicker.
Hopefully, they will be able to win it and make it a memorable event for the home fans and also book their ticket to the Paris Olympics.
