2019 European Championships Squad Preview – German Eagles
The 2019 European Championships are just around the corner and as part of the build-up, AFL Europe will be previewing all nine teams involved in this year’s tournament. The European Championship is AFL Europe’s premier 18-a-side tournament, played every three years, and this year will see teams from across the continent travel to London to see who comes out on top.
After a successful 2019 Euro Cup in Sweden back in June, the German Eagles men’s team are hoping to show the top Australian Football sides in Europe that the Eagles’ brand of football can match anyone.
The Eagles won the bronze medal at the Euro Cup, defeating France by a goal in a thrilling game, and will be looking to carry on the momentum from an impressive tournament in Sweden and bring that with them to London for the 2019 European Championships.
In recent times, the Eagles have had a slight change in their game style, and their success at recent tournaments can be attributed to a hard, physical style of football. Looking ahead to the European Championships, and the Eagles know that a high-intensity game can potentially help them take that next step up the rankings as they also look to secure a place at the 2020 International Cup.
“Since 2016 we have put a lot of hard work and effort into developing a strong team that can compete against other teams from around Europe and the rest of the world. We took home a bronze medal in the Euro Cup in Sweden earlier this year, with some hard, tough football and we are aiming to continue this style of football in this tournament,” said AFLG Vice President Manuell Gauding.
Plenty of that development will have taken place during the last couple of AFLG seasons, which is quickly becoming one of the strongest leagues in Europe, and as a result, the Eagles will have players from six of the seven German clubs.
Despite the fact they will be missing a number of regular players due to various commitments, the Eagles will be eager to introduce a number of debutants to the national squad who have already demonstrated their passion for the game and will look to continue to develop their skills.
They will also be looking to not just develop their skills in general, but to continue improving their 18-a-side game, which will be new to a number of players.
“Shifting to 18-a-side format is always interesting as we don’t play 18’s in the AFLG. We believe, however, that the players will fit comfortably into the 18-a-side format, with many of our players having played footy during their time in Australia, or in the International Cup and European Championships before,” said Gauding.
There seems to be a strong focus on having an experienced squad combined with a number of debutants hoping to develop with one eye on IC 2020 for the Eagles squad. There is also a strong team connection, which was evident at a recent training camp in September.
“With #footyfirst and #oneteam being the motto of the team this year, it was great to see the men’s and women’s teams joining forces together for the training camp in September,” said Gauding.
The Eagles seem to have a well-thought-out plan for this years European Championships and are excited at the prospect of what they can achieve at this year’s tournament, so the fans should certainly keep an eye on how this exciting, physical Eagles side go in London in just a couple of weeks.
