Imke wubbenhorst gave up a lot for her dream of becoming a coach in the fubball bundesliga. She took a leave of absence from her job as a grammar school teacher. Even her apartment has been rented out.
She often slept in the car or on the floor of a friend’s house. She especially missed dalmatian baila and wondered "if I’ll have to go waitressing after this". But she really wanted to take the fubball teacher training course.
The word "teacher" does not yet appear in the description there, by the way. Imke wubbenhorst was the only woman among 25 participants, like ex-national player tim borowski, with whom she carpooled. She was in cloppenburg already the first head coach of a man upper league club, since friday she has come even closer to her rough goal – the 31-year-old was namely introduced to the fourth league club sportfreunde lotte.
"I put a lot of time and privation into my rough goal," said wubbenhorst: "now i can finally do what i like to do full-time. This is the opportunity to prove myself. I expect a lot from myself and am very enthusiastic."
The chemistry was right from the start with the long-standing third division team lotte, currently tenth in the regional league west, the east frisian assured. She was most impressed by the fact that "my playing philosophy was the focus of the talks, and it was all about soccer the whole time." And not just because she is a woman. "That these questions always come, is understandable. I hope that won’t be the case for long," she said: "I like to talk about soccer. And I would be happy to answer more questions about fubball in the future."
But she is, like bibiana steinhaus with the referees, a pioneer against her will. "I actually just wanted to be a trainer, not a new alice schwarzer," wubbenhorst told the "weser-kurier".
A few months after joining cloppenburg, inka grings followed in the footsteps of four-league club SV straelen. After being relegated to the top division, grings stayed and is now on the verge of being promoted again. In cloppenburg, wubbenhorst attracted attention with her inquiring yet open manner. She was unable to make much of an impact on the pitch with an overmatched team. This first assignment was not really an opportunity, or even a "non-opportunity," she later said. But she learned there "that there is no difference whether you train women or men," she said now: "there are cyclists everywhere and always some who complain about everything. But there were no problems. And I am sure that there will be none here either."
The two-time european U19 champion and former bundesliga player for hamburger SV and cloppenburg wonders how thick the boards are that she has to drill. But she is quick-witted enough to hold her own. When asked if she would wear a siren on her head so that her players could quickly put on pants before entering the dressing room, she replied, "i’m a pro. I nv esto ry of tails."The quote became the fubballspruch of the year 2019.
In any case, it has already been buried very warmly in lotte. "Good luck and welcome, imke!", wrote the "freibier ultras lotte" on facebook.