Interview with the German coach Heine Jensen prior to the start of the Women’s WCh in Brazil
He has held office since April, and he achieved to get the German women out of their low: The Dane Heine Jensen who is only 34 years old wants to live up to earlier successes and lead his team to the Olympics. The first step was made when they prevailed over the strong Hungarians in the WCh qualification, after Germany hadn’t survived the preliminaries of the 2010 ECh and finished only 13th. Before Jensen became national coach, he had coached the successful German top club HC Leipzig.
When you look one year back – did you expect to be national coach 12 months later?
Jensen: Twelve months ago I had totally different thoughts in my mind. In hindsight I’m glad that it turned out like this though. I’m really looking forward to my tasks.
Given the successful WCh qualification, you probably had no regrets about your decision at all?
Jensen: No, everything worked absolutely well. My decision did however not depend on the results against Hungary. I had signed a long-term contract prior to the WCh qualification and I had always believed that we would succeed.
Did you really have no doubt?
Jensen: No! There’s always a certain risk in sports, but I’ve always had a good feeling. We have good players – and you could notice from the beginning that they are really keen on making up for the ECh result in Norway.
How great was the relief when you made it?
Jensen: Huge! After all our WCh participation allows us to continue living our Olympic dream. The way to London is long, but the first difficult task has been accomplished.
Did you have any time to test new players?
Jensen: I had an eye on many players. In the preparation phase we didn’t only show good qualities, but also that our team works well, which is the first priority for me. We’re on a good way, which was also proven at the World Cup in Denmark.
A clear defeat against Norway, two victories over France and Romania, but you missed the semi-finals. How do you evaluate the World Cup?
Heine Jensen: Primarily I see the two victories and the development of the team. We are capable of keeping up with the world’s top teams. That’s positive. Nevertheless we also noticed that all players have to give their all to succeed.
How do you rate your preliminary round group in Brazil? In order to reach the eighth-finals, your team has to become at least fourth.
Jensen: Everyone is only referring to Norway and Montenegro as the most difficult competitors. I don’t agree: Angola has made great progress, same as China; Iceland clearly defeated Ukraine in the qualification. We have a very tough group, but chances are good that we achieve a good result.
Brazil is your last chance to jump on the Olympic bandwagon. How realistic is your participation in one of the qualification tournaments?
Jensen: If we’re among the best seven European nations, we will take part in one of the qualification tournaments, as I think that Brazil, Korea and Angola will directly qualify for London through the continental qualifications. So you can assume that you secure a ticket to these tournaments by reaching the quarter-finals. With a bit of luck a ninth or tenth place can also be enough. We want to be among the best eight, as we don’t want to be dependent on other results.
Was the 13th rank in Norway a one-off?
Jensen: I hope so. The system collapsed back then, as we failed to present ourselves as a team. All people involved are responsible for that, not individuals.