On the grass, the German players gathered in a circle, arms around each other’s shoulders, their journey almost at an end, and sang. In the middle, a team member was hugged by the coach, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, and the players serenaded, cheers and “Happy Birthday to you” echoing through the empty seats. It was a good way to celebrate: on the eve of a European Championship final, and here.
Wembley again.
“We dreamed of this: a final against England at Wembley. I don’t know if there will be a more important moment for our players”, said Voss-Tecklenburg before leaving for the last session before Sunday’s final, on a stage that maintains a mythology, a mystique for them too, expressed in Berlin. how to become “Deutsch Wembley” when hosting cup finals. It is a stage that may be about to take on additional relief, the expressed hope of an enduring legacy as well as another story to tell.
Dietmar Hamann scored the last goal before Wembley was rebuilt. There was Euro 1996, 30 bad years to 56 that could finally end tomorrow. And, of course, 1966. Germans also speak fondly – and yes, they do speak fondly of 66 – of the Euro 1972 quarter-finals.
“I was born in 1967, so…” Voss-Tecklenburg said with a smile. “But everyone knows the history between Germany and England, the goals and penalties at Wembley.” And now there’s this, and it’s special; bigger than the rivalry, transcending these teams, but also bigger for the rivalry.
“England against Germany electrifies football fans,” added the Germany manager. “There is such a tradition, a history. For me, there is only one football and that is a football party. If we could have chosen a dream, we would have chosen England in this final, no one else.” Sitting next to him was Svenja Huth. When she entered the room, she sat down, looked at the cameras, dozens and dozens of them, looking at her, and then took out her own as well. Holding up the phone, he took a picture. There would be more when I went to the lawn.
“We’re really excited and the stadium is impressive even when it’s empty – that’s going to be the next big challenge, but we’re looking forward to it,” said Huth.
“Tomorrow there will be 90,000. The majority will probably be against us, but that could be good too. It’s a great feeling to play in front of so many fans. But the focus is not on the past or the future – it’s just about tomorrow. And we want to give everything, which is a lot.”
Voss-Tecklenburg said: “In the beginning Wembley will be English and it would be nice if it belonged to us in the end”
Svenja Huth (left) and Alexandra Popp train at Wembley. Photograph: Nigel French/PA
And yet that wouldn’t or shouldn’t be the end, which was part of the point. The Euros have been huge in Germany: more than 17 million people watched the semi-final. There has been something almost pure about the experience, the coach suggested. About sport, not money. About society too. The line has been that it’s not about equal pay but about a level playing field. When told the finalists were the teams with the most win bonuses, and that when he played the bonus was a teapot, he said: “We were fans, but those euros were worth as much as tomorrow’s.”
She added: “[The public reaction back home] it comes to us in different ways. The average football fan who hasn’t seen many women’s matches, celebrities, public screenings. We are getting a lot of messages. And we’re talking about football. I’m a football fan, so I’m a football fan. I don’t care what kind of game – I love an under-10 game as much as a women’s game or a men’s game. It’s good that this competition had everything [sporting] attention with the Tour de France. It’s not just our games, it’s all games, everything. It has been a great tournament and as a football fan I am very happy that we can demonstrate this quality and that people respect our players.
“The development we have had makes me very happy. We dreamed of this in the 90s and now I have the privilege of being the coach of the national team and being part of history. I was sitting in my hotel this morning thinking, ‘Wow, it’s really happening.’ I saw the stadium and thought: ‘It’s a reality’. We have been rewarded. Later I will be able to reflect more calmly.”
But here too there was reflection. “We have players all over the world who [now] to have the opportunity to make football his profession,” he said. “These are values that are greater than if the bonus is €20,000, €40,000 or whatever; that does not change our love for the sport, our attitude. What we want now is more equality: better stadiums, more spectators, more TV time, better kick-off times, a more attractive league. We just want to take the next steps and I hope that the sport in general has a greater importance in schools, education and politics”.
Asked if Germany had nothing to lose, the manager admitted the pressure may be greater for England, but replied: “[It’s] a football match”. He added: “On the way here, Svenja and I talked about the progress we’ve seen, the processes. We’ve grown and we want to continue like that. That should give us strength. If they’re better we’ll congratulate them, but we don’t think we’ll lose. It’s a trip that seems extraordinary to some people, but we always said we wanted to win every game.
“We will only win if everything that is happening in Europe, in Germany, in England ends sustainably. This must be an opportunity for all countries. This must continue. We need to take the next steps in women’s football. If not now, when?”