DFB Cup
The ultimate: Wolfsburg-Bayern cup final electrified
Alexandra Popp (l) from VfL Wolfsburg and Giulia Gwinn from FC Bayern Munich and the DFB Cup. photo
© Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
For the tenth time in a row, VfL Wolfsburg can win the DFB Cup – and in front of a big crowd in Cologne. Champions FC Bayern want to break the winning streak and celebrate the double for the first time.
Especially since two special brands await the Munich women on Thursday (4 p.m., ZDF/Sky). They can win the double for the first time in the club’s history and, on top of that, break the 49-game winning streak of Wolfsburg’s cup specialists.
For record cup winners Wolfsburg, the 44th final is about their tenth DFB Cup triumph in a row, and it would be their eleventh overall. In terms of sport, there is a lot in the German classic anyway, extreme individual class, numerous national players on both sides. “It won’t be a game that will be characterized purely by tactical calculation or a sampling phase,” predicts Schüller. Both teams prefer to have the ball rather than stubbornly chasing after it; both are considered goal factories. Wolfsburg scored 58 times in 20 Bundesliga games, FC Bayern 52 times.
German Cup final can only be compared with Wembley
Kellermann is hoping for an “attractive game, preferably with a spectacle,” and the setting in the stadium, which is sold out with over 44,000 fans, is just right. “This is a top event,” said the 55-year-old. In terms of importance for German women’s football, the final in Cologne can only be compared with the English final in London’s Wembley Stadium. Media presence, the activities around the game, “that’s what we want and what the players have earned for years.”
And then there is the debate about a changing of the guard in German club football, which has been declared a hot topic in Wolfsburg, hovering over the duel. Bayern President Herbert Hainer introduced the term before the league second leg, which Bayern won 4-0. Since then, almost no one has been able to get past it.
VfL captain Alexandra Popp “hates” the word, teammate Kathrin Hendrich thinks it’s disrespectful, but doesn’t feel particularly challenged: “Against Bayern, they’re always special games, but to be honest, it’s not like statements like that particularly motivate me.” said the central defender.
Wolfsburg without a title for the first time since 2012?
What is certain is that Bayern are on the fast track after two championships in a row, while VfL is threatened with its first titleless season since 2011/2012. The transfer of midfield ace Lena Oberdorf from Wolfsburg to Munich for the new season underlines this, as do the statements of coach Alexander Straus: “Our aim is to be number one permanently,” said the Bayern coach in the “Kicker interview” , but at the same time also paid his “greatest respect” to the Wolfsburg women and admitted in the changing of the guard debate: “It is always problematic when something is reduced to a slogan.”
Schüller sees it similarly soberly. “For us the term is not an issue, we and Wolfsburg respect each other a lot. We just want to win on Thursday and get the double for the first time.” Looking at Wolfsburg’s impressive cup series, she added: “I don’t know whether FC Bayern are favorites.”
Schüller: “All good things come in threes”
However, the Munich women are hardly outsiders. “We are in a very good mood right now and have shown in the last few games that we are very dangerous, especially in the last game in Wolfsburg,” said Schüller, referring to the triumphant 4-0 win. The Munich team also won the first leg (2-1), and in the second half of the season they rushed from victory to victory – until the championship was perfect on Saturday after the 2-1 win in Leverkusen.
With a view to the cup final, there was only moderate celebration. “We went out to dinner with a few girls, without alcohol, that was it. The day after, we supported our second team in an important home game in the morning,” revealed Schüller. The goal is clear: the second silverware within five days, the second Bayern Cup title after 2012.
In contrast to record cup winner Popp (twelve titles), Schüller is still missing a final victory. With her former club SGS Essen, she lost 3-0 against Frankfurt in 2014 and 4-2 on penalties against Wolfsburg in 2020, when she scored twelve seconds after kick-off and set a record. For Munich’s best striker with nine league goals, one thing is certain: “Cup finals are always something special. For me it’s now the third – and all good things come in threes.” Or ten, depending on your point of view.