There is no doubt that Canada is a happy hunting ground for Maren Meinert. It was there that the 41-year-old won the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup with her team last year to seal Germany’s third triumph at the event following wins in 2004 and 2010. Having secured her place among the coaching elite by masterminding World Cup victory on home soil five years ago, Meinert’s work also continues to lay a foundation for emerging young talents to forge a successful career in the country’s senior side.
“It’s always important for us to work well together and focus on the national team from a very early stage,” the U-20 coach explained in an exclusive interview with FIFA.com when asked why Germany’s young players are so successful. “It’s an extremely close collaboration, not only from the top down but from the bottom up too.
“The players travel this path with us without having to adapt too much,” she continued. “I think it’s vital that we have a common objective, a shared footballing philosophy – and that everyone plays their part in implementing that. Another important point is that we never stop working; we always feel that there’s more to be done and improvements to be made. That’s the only way you can keep up, because you also know that other countries are superior to us in certain areas, so we need to make sure we can catch up.”
A clear path for tomorrow’s stars Meinert has paved the way for many of Germany’s finest players to reach the pinnacle of the sport. Celia Sasic, Alexandra Popp and Dzsenifer Maroszan are all now key members of coach Silvia Neid’s senior side, while several young hopefuls from last year’s U-20 Women’s World Cup winning squad also have an opportunity to pay another visit to Canada – including Sara Dabritz, who made the starting line-up for the senior team’s recent friendly against Brazil.
When asked which of her players are likely to form part of the travelling party for this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™, Meinert answered with a laugh: “We exchange views, then the boss sets out her vision. I think some of the U-20 group will be part of the squad’s preparations and then we’ll have to see whether they break through,” she explained, adding: “The women’s national side has been through a huge amount of change and now has a considerable number of young footballers in its ranks. Since there isn’t necessarily a search for fresh talent underway, it’s up to the players to establish themselves.”
When it comes to naming favourites for this year’s Women’s World Cup, which begins in less than two months’ time, the 2003 world champion is keeping her cards close to her chest. “I’d rather not say much about that as Ms Neid knows the situation far better than I do,” Meinert said. “I think it’s likely to be the teams that are traditionally strong at youth level plus the hosts, who are always dangerous. There are eight countries playing for the title,” she concluded, highlighting the current strength of the women’s game.
Meinert the lucky charm? “German teams are traditionally strong,” she continued. “Our women qualified very confidently, and that’s something that can’t be taken for granted these days. There are ultimately a whole host of factors that will decide how successful this team can be at the World Cup, and that’s the key question. We’ve got many good players in Germany but the same is true of other countries, so we hope that some of the luck our women had at the U-20 will rub off on this squad and make it an adventure for the senior side.”
Germany may be able to count on their own lucky charm at the tournament in the form of the U-20 coach. Meinert is very much looking forward to travelling to North America to lend her support in person and plans to attend all of the team’s group matches. “The Women’s World Cup is an even greater event than the U-20 edition of the competition,” she said. “We’re excited about Canada and being able to experience the fantastic atmosphere there once again.”