Times of India: Olympics: Rookie German coach handed Rio hockey gold treble task

BERLIN: The German Hockey Federation (DHB) have appointed their youngest-ever head coach in their bid to complete the hat-trick of men’s hockey golds at next year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Having steered Germany’s men to gold at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, veteran head coach Markus Weise, 52, has taken up a position with the German Football Associaton (DFB) to be replaced by 34-year-old Valentin Altenburg.

The relatively unknown Altenburg has been promoted from the Under-21 team, to whom he will return after the Rio Olympics, but makes no secret of his desire to win gold in Brazil.

“I’m looking forward to working with the guys,” said Altenburg.

“We want to work together to get right to the very top.

“There will be some resistance along the way, but I’m curious to see how we handle it.”

On Sunday, Altenburg will travel to India with his team for the Hockey World League finals in Raipur, India, from November 27-December 6, where they have drawn Argentina, Netherlands and hosts India in their group.

“No one is expecting him to be a second Markus Weise as chief coach of the men’s hockey team,” said DHB president Wolfgang Hillmann.

“But I am sure that with this strong experienced side and first-class professional staff, he will find his way to develop this team optimally for Rio.”