National coach criticizes Eisenbichler openly and harshly
Markus Eisenbichler is a six-time world champion and a former model athlete for German ski jumpers. But this season he is not getting into his stride, and the results in the second-tier Continental Cup are not good either. The national coach criticizes his protégé.
German national ski jumping coach Stefan Horngacher has openly criticized long-time top performer Markus Eisenbichler. "It's incomprehensible to me that he can't put anything together at all. I haven't spoken to him. He often overplays a lot of things. We need to talk about where the journey is going. Performance counts, that's just the way it is. It doesn't matter how many medals you have at home," said Horngacher with a view to the Four Hills Tournament, for which the 32-year-old Bavarian is not a candidate in his current form.
Eisenbichler recently finished 14th, 23rd, 16th and 26th in four competitions in the second-tier Continental Cup, which Horngacher believes is the result of a number of difficulties. "He had a bit too many problems in the summer: with his knee, he was repeatedly injured, and also with his training. We also advised him not to do that, it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. He really wanted to go through with it." Eisenbichler had taken a few liberties. "He probably also made a few mistakes," Horngacher noted. It is still unclear whether Eisenbichler will be part of the "national group" at the Four Hills Tournament, an additional contingent that the DSV is allowed to nominate for the German jumps.
The German team has made an impressive start to the season, even without its former flagship jumper Eisenbichler, who became individual world champion from the big hill in 2019 and won Olympic silver as part of the team in 2022: After four World Cup stops, the German jumpers lead the nations' rankings, with the victories of Karl Geiger (2) and Pius Paschke seeing the DSV eagles win three of the first eight jumps of the season. Behind the outstanding Austrian Stefan Kraft, Andreas Wellinger, Paschke and Geiger are ranked second to fourth in the World Cup rankings, Stephan Leyhe is tenth.
Last season, the DSV team reached a low point: for the first time in 15 years, no German made it into the top ten in the overall rankings of the Four Hills Tournament, Karl Geiger finished the World Cup in seventh place and Eisenbichler, who finished second overall in the World Cup in 2020, only made it to 15th place.
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Despite his six-time world champion status in winter sports, particularly ski jumping, Markus Eisenbichler's performance this season has been underpar, leading to criticism from German national coach Stefan Horngacher. Horngacher expressed concern about Eisenbichler's performances in the Continental Cup, linking it to several difficulties, including injuries and training issues.
Source: www.ntv.de
