Hockey World Cup: Comeback kings Germany rewrite history

Coach Henning calls Germany's run in World Cup craziest in sports historyBHUBANESWAR: Last summer, in the run-up to the FIH World Cup, when most other countries were busy working out strategies and tactics, German coach Andre Henning and his men were enjoying some downtime on a hidden island in Sweden.The travel baggage did not include hockey sticks and the mobile phones were tucked away for the duration of their outing. The focus was on team bonding and understanding each other. It was a risk, admitted Henning, but one which paid off on Sunday night with their first World Cup triumph in 17 years.

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For a few minutes, it felt like the only thing that existed for German coach Andre Henning was the corner of the goalpost that he was sitting on at the Kalinga stadium.

Mats Grambusch and his men will go down in history as the comeback kings. For three consecutive matches, starting with the quarterfinals, they snatched victories after being down 0-2. What makes this outstanding achievement astonishing is the fact that the team does not have a regular central training programme. Since most of the players are busy with club commitments, work or college, they don't train together often."Germany is one of the few countries which does not have a centralised training system. We have the league and a few camps, following which I don't see the boys for three months. So, they are training individually and have to be self-motivated," said the 39-year-old Henning.Henning, a former freelance journalist, said the writing was on the wall, but the perfect execution was carried out by men who thrive as much on physical energy as on camaraderie.

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