Elvira Herzog becomes No. 1 on women's national team after multiple defeats

Elvira Herzog's goalscoring tallies for her country have not always been the most pleasing. Now the 24-year-old is expected to lead Switzerland to the top spot in the world at home at the European Championships. In today's test against Germany (8pm, Letzigrund) Herzog will have a lot to do.

Simon Scheidegger/keystone-sda

The life of a goalkeeper can be a thankless one at times. If she makes a mistake, it will not only have a decisive negative impact on the game, but it will be seared into the fans' collective memory within seconds. Every well-laid attack, every confident interception of a cross, every successful save – all were quickly forgotten in the shadow of a seminal incident.

Elvira Herzog sometimes understands this better than the 24-year-old would like. Because this situation has happened to her several times in her goalkeeping career. The Zurich native was sitting in his hotel in Pfefferkon on Tuesday afternoon as he prepares with the Swiss national team for the final two Test matches of the year, against Germany in Zurich on Friday and European champions England in Sheffield on Tuesday. Herzog said that after playing against Australia (1:1) and France (2:1), she is looking forward to competing against two strong teams again.

Nelson's misjudgment

But of course, at some point, the conversation turns to the past. It's been five and a half years since she made her debut for the national team against Serbia, after which she usually had to line up behind undisputed number one Geller Talman, waiting for her chance to prove herself.

Just like in December 2020, when Thalmann missed the decisive match of the European Cup qualifiers against Belgium due to infection with the new crown, the national team coach Niels Nielsen unexpectedly trusted Herzog. Danes said at the time that it was because of their safety while crossing the border. She then had to explain why the young goalkeeper made two mistakes on the same cross, resulting in a goal that derailed Switzerland's promotion to the play-offs after a dismal performance (0:4).

At the time, even the boldest optimists could not have imagined that Herzog would one day follow in Thälmann's footsteps. Inka Grings and her staff have not called her up for the 2023 World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, which appears to have been cancelled. Since then, she has appeared on the court intermittently, but at times Seraina Friedli and the now-retired Livia Peng have also gained credence.

Fight for first place

It wasn't until Pia Sundhage took over as national team coach in January that Herzog became an integral part of the goalkeeper trio again – making her debut against Poland (4 :1) She earned points from the Swedish coach by scoring a goal. The penalty was blocked. At the time, Sandhatch and her staff didn't want to commit to a permanent starting goalie. Peng should also get a chance to prove himself, and the game should encourage both goalkeepers to perform better.

Now, about a month later, Elvira Herzog knows she has the upper hand for now, as Sandhatch and the goalkeeping coach duo of Nadine Angler and Patricia Gesser have The role of starting goalkeeper was entrusted to her. “There’s no metric that reflects how happy I am about this,” Herzog said. She started her career at Zurich regional club FC Unterstrass and since the summer of 2022 she has been playing in the Bundesliga with Leipzig for five years. “This is the biggest honor for me,” she said of first place.

Thumbs up from the angry

At the end of the last meeting, the goalkeeper trainer spoke to her and told her the good news. As Angler reveals, the conversation initially left Herzog speechless with joy and surprise. But for the former world-class goalkeeper, who has been with SFV since March, Herzog's appointment as number one came not as a surprise but as a logical consequence of his performances over the past few months.

Angler (right) works with Herzog.Picture: www.imago-images.de

“Elvira has made a lot of progress recently, especially in her leadership skills,” Angler said. Angler has played 146 international matches for Germany, winning the world championship twice and the European championship five times. “Elvira is great in the box and she coaches the team well from behind,” Angler said. «This is a crucial point. The team feels comfortable with Elvira. “

A trio without much experience

For the 46-year-old, it is important to stress that the atmosphere within the goalkeeper team of Herzog, Peng and Nadine Bochy is very good, with everyone supporting and encouraging each other. With the European Championships at home in the summer, it is important to define the hierarchy so that everyone can adapt to their role and grow within it. After all, the goalkeepers have only played 15 (Herzog), 7 (Peng) and 0 (Bosch) international games.

Elvira Herzog will be given a baptism of fire as the number one goalkeeper as the Letzgrund Stadium will once again welcome a huge crowd after a record-breaking match against Australia in October. The goalkeeper could count on support from Leipzig and the national team's psychological coach, saying: “I want to prove that I deserve to be here.”

She still has the number 21 on her back. By the summer at the latest, the number 1 should also appear on the jersey. (Random Access Memory/SDA)

Schalke's dispute with Ralf Fellmann has been going on for weeks. Now the club has caved – but is still allocated again.

German second division club Schalke 04 have issued a dramatic statement withdrawing their warning to Ralf Fellmann to prevent a legal dispute with their goalkeeper. “We know there will be no amicable solution,” Schalke's board said late Thursday. The club hopes to avoid a “mud war” as “a public court hearing could cause further damage to Schalke.”