For the umpteenth time, the national coach showed good luck with his personnel decisions / Niederberger and Eisenschmid were the heroes
The sun was shining in Herning the morning after the triumph over Finland. Some national players took advantage of the fantastic weather and moved their late breakfast to the hotel's own terrace. The 3:2 after extra time the previous evening was of course the big topic among both the players and those in charge. "It was a pleasure for me to see how the team grew together as the game went on," said national coach Marco Sturm after the first World Cup victory in 25 years over Finland.
And indeed: The German selection played one of its best games of the tournament against the Scandinavians. "If we want to achieve such victories, everything has to be right," said Mathias Niederberger. The goalkeeper was surprisingly used as number one - which proved to be another perfect move by Marco Sturm. "It was a spontaneous decision in the morning. We discussed it briefly with our goalkeeping coach and then we decided. It was a gut feeling." Again.
"These guys are the future, we trust them. It's good that they're getting their first taste of World Cup action." Sturm therefore had the bigger picture in mind when asked about the result. "The 3:2 win against Finland is also important for the future." What the national coach means: His boys should see what is possible when they stick together and perform well.
Markus Eisenschmid was, alongside Niederberger, the most sought-after man at the media round after the game. "It's a great feeling to win against such a strong team," said the winning goal scorer. Meanwhile, Björn Krupp was delighted to have the puck for his first international goal. Matthias Plachta had secured it for him. It's possible that Krupp wasn't the goal scorer at all, but that Eisenschmid was slightly involved here too. "I don't know, it doesn't matter," laughed the happy boy Eisenschmid like the sun in Herning.