Football: Wolfsburg’s DFB Cup victory: From problem children to winners

Jule Brand (l.) and Lena Oberdorf secured one last Wolfsburg title together with the cup victory.

Photo: imago/Michaela Merk

Honking and noise in the middle of Cologne: Vornedran Lena Oberdorf, who is wearing sunglasses as well as a beer glass. In the middle is Jule Brand, grinning from ear to ear. As evidence of the exuberant joy after the tenth DFB Cup victory, VfL Wolfsburg posted the sequence on social media in which the footballers got off the bus singing and dancing for another lap of honor.

Relaxed and relaxed, two national players who have been exposed to particular pressure in the last few weeks and months. Former problem children are now winners: Brand opened the door in the final against FC Bayern (2-0) with her touchdown to make it 1-0, Oberdorf shaped this very special constellation with her presence alone.

How the strong midfielder rose to become an outstanding protagonist, even though she will be playing for the opponents next season, was “world class,” emphasized Wolfsburg coach Tommy Stroot, who also claimed: “Lena Oberdorf can play at any big club in the world.” In fact, only top athletes manage to transform the burden of responsibility into such pleasure. One of them really gave up her “last shirt” for her old club, as she herself said afterwards. Bayern coach Alexander Straus can look forward to an exceptional player who was “fantastic” in the final, as the otherwise concerned Norwegian said.

For the first time, Oberdorf reported what had recently happened to her. As soon as the youngest German World Cup player of all time announced her move to Munich, a statement based on a Tote Hosen classic flew around her ears: In 2022 she also claimed that she would not go to FC Bayern, after all, she had As a Schalke fan, I even went to Borussia Dortmund when their men played against Bayern.

Many hateful comments on social media related to this. The 22-year-old revealed that she was insulted in a “really disgusting way.” “Today I’m mature, I’ve grown, I wouldn’t make a statement like that again.” The case demonstrates how dealing with increasing attention and detachment becomes rougher – women are hardly any different than men.

The down-to-earth cheerful nature from Gevelsberg, whose brother Tim Oberdorf wants to get promoted to the Bundesliga with Fortuna Düsseldorf, seemed extremely relieved in Cologne and wants to play the last Bundesliga games at Werder Bremen (Sunday 6.30 p.m.) and against their training club SGS Essen (May 20th). enjoy to the fullest. Everything boils down to a harmonious end to her four years with the Lower Saxony team.

Brand, who was signed by TSG Hoffenheim in 2022, was also considered a problem case for the runner-up. Was there someone who was prematurely hyped up publicly as the “Golden Girl”? “It’s really good for her to have a say in such games,” Stroot said about Brand after the Cologne final. »She has invested an incredible amount. That’s the biggest difference from last year.”

As a reminder: In the Champions League final against FC Barcelona (2:3) a year ago, the 35-year-old didn’t even substitute his winger. At the 2023 World Cup, Brand was promptly one of the weakest, losing almost every ball. At the club, she soon received a public reprimand from sports director Ralf Kellermann, who criticized the untapped potential in the trade magazine “Kicker”: “If Jule wants to become a top player, she has to work hard on herself and give 100 percent to football life.”

The head wash apparently worked: the 21-year-old has been one of the strongest women from Wolfsburg for a few weeks now. Even though she didn’t succeed in everything against Bayern in the cup final, she delivered the tricky touch-down to take the lead. “I couldn’t believe it, it wasn’t the prettiest shot,” she said. The attacker, who once again played with a certain ease, had a simple explanation for the special motivation in the cup competition: “We screwed up the championship, so we really wanted to win the cup.”

Horst Hrubesch in the stands was also happy about the performances of the two national players: the national coach had already given them both regular places in the European Championship qualification. Now they both confirmed that, despite all the ups and downs, they belong firmly in his Olympic squad and then perhaps add another success story in the summer.

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