publishedJuly 31, 2022 at 6:05 am
Frauen-EMGermany is in the EM final – also thanks to a Swiss
Germany will meet England in the women’s European Championship final at Wembley on Sunday. The Swiss Patrik Grolimund will be right in the middle of it.
He is responsible for load control and training content.
IMAGO/Beautiful Sports
The national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg took Grolimund to the DFB in 2019.
IMAGO/Hartenfelser
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Germany will play England in the final of the European Championship on Sunday.
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The Swiss Patrik Grolimund is assistant coach at the DFB.
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He has never coached a professional team in his career so far.
On Sunday, the final of the women’s European Championship takes place in Wembley, which is sold out. The hosts from England meet the record European champions from Germany. 90,000 fans are expected in the stadium. Although the Swiss women’s national team was eliminated after the preliminary round, a Swiss player is right in the middle of the final on Sunday. Patrik Grolimund (41) has been the assistant to national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg since 2019.
By 2016, Grolimund was already part of the Voss-Tecklenburg coaching staff at the Swiss women’s national team. “When Voss-Tecklenburg got the offer from the DFB, she asked me if I wanted to accompany her,” Grolimund explains to the SRF about the move to Germany. We already harmonized very well in Switzerland, Grolimund continued. “We have experienced moments together in which we have strengthened each other. She must have realized then what she can expect from me,” says Grolimund.
«Success is the measure of all things»
Through his German wife, Grolimund has a strong personal connection to our northern neighbor. But through his commitment to the world’s largest national sports association, Grolimund realized what really counts: “Football is the biggest thing here and sporting success is the measure of all things.”
As “Head of Performance & Development”, Grolimund is responsible for the long-term performance development of the players. As one of four assistant coaches, he is on the pitch with the team every day. All four are head coaches by nature, but he has always had an eye on “how do we get the players and the coaches to perform at their best,” says the 41-year-old about his work.
“Patrik is someone who has a very clear plan in his head,” says midfielder Lina Magull. Grolimund takes on many tasks, he explains a lot to the players: “He tries to convince and motivate us with words, that’s definitely one of his great strengths,” Magull praised her Swiss coach.
Junior coach, lecturer and YB fan
Apart from the two 1st division teams FC Breitenrain and FC Solothurn, Grolimund had not previously managed a team in his career. Rather, the Berner was busy with the training of coaches and young players. Internationally, Grolimund gained experience as a youth trainer in Guatemala and Oceania. Before joining the DFB, Grolimund worked primarily with youth teams and as a lecturer at the sports university in Magglingen. He still lives with his wife in Magglingen today.
In his youth he had played for U-15 and U-16 national team, with the Young Boys he had made it to the U-21, but then had to end his career due to injury. “But I’ve remained a YB fan to this day,” Grolimund told Blick.