All eyes were also on her at the 2022 European Women’s Football Championship in England this year: Martina Voss-Tecklenburg confidently led the German national team to the final, where the squad only narrowly lost to the English Lionesses in a duel. At the latest since Voss-Tecklenburg flickered so prominently across the television screens on the coaching bench, many people should be wondering how the 54-year-old actually ticks.
In any case, she seems to be a woman who knows exactly what she wants and strived to get exactly that from an early age. At the age of 15, the native of Duisburg played for her home club KBC Duisburg and won the DFB Cup with her club in 1983 and then the German championship in 1985. Five more league titles were to follow before Martina Voss-Tecklenburg retired in 2003, after 125 caps for the national team and 27 goals that went to her. Already in 2000 she put an end to her career in the national team – because of a woman.
At that time she was in a relationship with Inka Grings, who played with her as a striker in the national team. But the Summer Olympics in Sydney in 2000 and a big argument during this time – Grings is said to have cheated on Voss-Tecklenburg – divided the couple. This experience seemed to leave a lasting impression on the woman who succeeded Horst Hrubesch as football coach in 2018. In an interview with “Spiegel” she explained: “Today I know that I will never live with a woman again. I like men.”
At the age of 25, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg had her daughter Dina, who even gave her her first grandchild – a little girl – in March 2022. The national coach has been married to contractor Hermann Tecklenburg (74) since 2009. The way this marriage came about also shows that she knows exactly what she wants.
Her husband explained to BUNTE magazine in relation to this: “Martina is refreshingly uninhibited. It’s not so old-fashioned as to wait for the man to propose.” And that effort seems to have really paid off.
In an interview with “Niederrhein Online”, Voss-Tecklenburg chatted about how harmonious and yet varied it is in her marriage, because: “It’s never boring with us. We can talk all day: about politics, about books, about leadership styles and motivation, about composure. That is what makes our love.”
Her husband is also likely to be the national coach’s biggest fan. He also emphasized to BUNTE magazine that his wife could easily train a male Bundesliga club. “Professionally anyway, but Martina also has the social intelligence and is good with people,” says Hermann Tecklenburg. Actually, he wanted to fulfill a wish of his wife if he won the European Championship and buy his own finca on Mallorca as an “oasis of peace”.
“Martina has wanted a house there for years. But a house binds. That’s why I’ve always said no so far,” he emphasized to “Bild”. The win didn’t work out, but fortunately Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is still under contract with the DFB until 2023 for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Maybe the title will work out – and the finca!
After the defeat against England in the final of the women’s European Football Championship, the German players were understandably disappointed. But what is certain is that her performance could mean a turning point in women’s football. This is how it goes for her now.
After the defeat against England in the final of the women’s European Football Championship, the German players were understandably disappointed. But what is certain is that her performance could mean a turning point in women’s football. This is how it goes for her now.
The controversial director Dieter Wedel, who succumbed to cancer in July, owned real estate and art worth millions. However, his sons could not see much of these legacies.
The original of this post “This is how the woman ticks who led our soccer women to the European Championship runners-up” comes from Bunte.de.
