At the 2019 World Cup in France, the opening game against China did not initially go as Martina Voss-Tecklenburg had imagined. Your team was becoming increasingly unsettled and urgently needed stability in a key position in central midfield. So, after half-time, the national coach brought on a young soccer player who also had to study for class work.
Sounds like a contradiction? In fact, Lena Oberdorf was the youngest player in the squad at the time and had never entered such a big stage. At the age of 17 years, five months and 20 days she replaced Birgit Prinz as the youngest German World Cup debutant – in only her fourth appearance for the national team. And indeed: she did her job, she brought presence and stability to the team in the 1-0 win. She played as if she had been there forever.
The excitement about Oberdorf was great afterwards. But she’s one of those people who isn’t easily impressed. Three years later, at 20, she is still young (the second youngest in the team after 19-year-old Jule Brand) and has long since become the undisputed regular. Lena Oberdorf is considered to be one of the best soccer players in the world in the sixth position in defensive midfield.
Their value for the German game is also enormous at the European Championships in England, and the fact that Oberdorf has shown a lot of self-confidence so far can only help the team with the next challenge: On Wednesday in the semi-finals in Milton Keynes (9 p.m., ZDF) France, a Opponents with high individual quality and a lot of dynamics. Especially after the hard-earned 2-0 win against Austria in the quarter-finals, it became clear what role Oberdorf would play on the journey that should lead to the final at Wembley. Hardly anyone else went into duels as committed and uncompromising as she did, her overview and calmness stood out. And how ripped off does someone have to be to lob the ball over an opponent’s head in a game like this and then run away?
The German team is the only one who hasn’t conceded a goal yet – Oberdorf is central to the defence
Lena Oberdorf not only reliably stabilizes the midfield, but also ensures balance in general. And sometimes in difficult phases when others have let up. Goalkeeper Merle Frohms classified these phases after the game against Austria as an expression of nervousness, which is part of having something to lose – but this uncertainty apparently did not jump over to Oberdorf.
She had missed the final group game with a yellow card, but now she came back impressively. “That was my best European Championship game,” said Oberdorf. “I felt like I only fought duels the whole game. But I also had two or three good dribbles where I thought: Wow, I didn’t know I could dribble so well.” Lina Magull then called her a “great machine”.
“Showing such a performance in her early 20s proves that she has a great future ahead of her”: national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (left) is impressed by Lena Oberdorf.
(Photo: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa)
Her joy in defending brought Oberdorf explicit praise from the national coach. “What Lena played when she was young, with maturity, with intensity, with a desire to conquer balls and celebrate this defensive desire and transfer it to her teammates – that was great,” said the 54-year-old. It’s not as if their players overran every opponent at this European Championship. But they are still the only team without conceding a goal. The closed defense is based on Frohms and the back four. But also on the fact that they defend further up front and that Oberdorf is elementary for this. “Showing such a performance in her early 20s proves that she has a very big future ahead of her,” said Voss-Tecklenburg. “I’m glad she’s playing for Germany and not for someone else.”
The naturalness with which Oberdorf appears is remarkable
With this “defensiveness” Oberdorf was inspired by Spain’s Sergio Ramos, of whom she watched videos – together with her five-year-old brother Tim, who is a professional at second division club Fortuna Düsseldorf. She is also based on Sergio Busquets from FC Barcelona.
In addition to her athleticism, her strategic understanding is amazing. The fact that Oberdorf is set for the sixth position in England suits her. It was originally intended for central defense after the 2019 World Cup, but this led more to debates with the national coach than to improved flow of the game. Voss-Tecklenburg obviously had the feeling that she had to be controlled by calls from the sidelines, Oberdorf lost her natural instinct for the situation, which somehow didn’t fit – and so she was pulled forward again. “If Martina needs me, I’m ready to play in central defence,” said Oberdorf in England. “But thanks to Marina Hegering’s return, we have a good defensive leader.”
At the age of 16, Oberdorf, who was born in Gevelsberg in the Ruhr area, switched to the Bundesliga for SGS Essen. In her first game for her new club in the DFB Cup, she scored – as in her Bundesliga debut – two goals and quickly developed into a top performer. At the time, Hegering, like the European Championship players Lea Schüller or Linda Dallmann, her colleague in Essen, said: “She is already a personality on the pitch, has charisma and knows how to sell herself well. You will hear a lot more from her.”
It didn’t take long for Oberdorf, often hailed as the “talent of the century”, to attract the attention of major clubs. In summer 2020 she switched to VfL Wolfsburg, at the beginning of the European Championship she extended her contract with the double winner until 2025. Her plan was to arrive first. But in a short time she fitted into a highly talented collective.
The naturalness with which she appears on the pitch and in public is remarkable. The fact that she forms the team council with Almuth Schult, Sara Däbritz, Lina Magull, Svenja Huth and captain Alexandra Popp for the DFB women fits into the picture. “My role has changed in that I can speak up more and be a little leader alongside the others,” she says. At the World Cup in France, Lena Oberdorf said that she was very lucky that she didn’t realize she was going to be part of such an event. Unfortunately for her opponents, nothing has changed in the way she plays since she understands what’s going on around her.