One of Europe's most successful coaches, the 61-year-old German will take part at his first World Cup when he leads Switzerland into the fray in South Africa, having made the transition in 2008 after nearly 25 years in club football.
Hitzfeld agreed with former Brazil and current South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who once said the national team coaches, who only see their players a few times a year, had become "selectors" rather than trainers of teams.
"I feel quite the same as he does," Hitzfeld, who won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Bayern Munich four years later, told Reuters in an interview by email.
"National teams play about 10 to 12 games in year. But I never get used to finding myself all alone the morning after games. I want to analyse the game with the team but there are no players, they have all left the team hotel to get back to their clubs..."
"The big difference is the rhythm of games but still there is so much pressure on a coach. I am still hungry, I still hate defeats, I still long for wins, there is no substitute for victories."
Hitzfeld's team do not share their coach's record for success, most recently being knocked out of Euro 2008 in the first round despite co-hosting the competition.
"What are you talking about?" said Hitzfeld. "The expectations in Switzerland for the 2010 World Cup are very, very high.
"Having taken part three times in a row in final tournaments the Swiss national team has spoiled the supporters a little. They forget that Switzerland is still a small country in football terms and must make a big effort to stay at a high level."
One of the big frustrations for any national team coach is seeing top players relegated to the substitutes bench at their clubs and, in Hitzfeld's case, that has happened to key defen
