Berlin – Ice hockey in August? At the end of the summer break? And before that, five days in individual quarantine? Julia Zorn didn’t have to be persuaded for long to take part in the world championship starting on Friday in Calgary, Canada (until August 31). “A World Cup is something very special, I am brutally honored to be here,” said the national team captain: “You don’t have to look for motivation.”
Unequal treatment between men and women?
That was different a few months ago, when the World Cup originally scheduled for spring in Halifax and Truro was canceled shortly before the German team’s departure due to corona. There was criticism of those responsible – including anger. “Our season is over in the blink of an eye in the most shocking and unexpected way,” the 31-year-old attacker scolded at the time and also hinted at inequality of treatment between men and women.
“There were many players – including myself – who fell into a motivation gap after the cancellation in the spring,” admitted the 211-time national player: “But in the end the players got together and raised their voices and fought for a postponement of the World Cup. “
With success – even if the summer World Cup is associated with circumstances. In order to start the tournament, the players had to be in individual quarantine for five days after arriving in Canada. But there was no great boredom or bad mood, daily workouts, tactical discussions and meditation units provided variety. “We met online as a team in the evening and played games,” revealed Zorn. Appropriately, the game “Escape Room” was at the top of the popularity list.
Strong cohesion and a good mood
The cohesion in the strongly rejuvenated team has grown as a result, and the atmosphere is surprisingly good despite the circumstances. Due to the highly unusual timing, not all of the top players from Germany are at the start. Striker Anne Bartsch also had to return home early after breaking her hand during training. “We have a lot of World Cup rookies with us,” said Zorn, “but that doesn’t mean that the squad is worse because of that.” The goal is still the quarter-finals.
At the start of the group of five, the team of the new trainer Thomas Schädler, who has only been in charge since the end of May, will face Hungary on Friday (8 p.m. CEST). The other opponents in the preliminary round are Denmark, the Czech Republic and Japan. The World Cup is also important for the DEB selection because of the upcoming Olympic qualification in Füssen in November.