Alexandra Popp played in 76 Champions League games at the age of 29. Only three women soccer players have so far gained more experience in the most important European club competition than they do. Popp won the title with VfL Wolfsburg in 2013 and 2014, and lost the final in 2016 and 2018. The VfL captain should have developed a certain feeling for what it feels like when the chances of her own team are good or bad. And also for how the opponents are feeling. “It works,” said Popp before the final against defending champion Olympique Lyon on Sunday in San Sebastián, Spain, “as if they are no longer as dominant as in previous years.”
The clear goal of VfL Wolfsburg was to win the Champions League again this season. Now this longed-for triumph could even succeed in the form of a triple, the second after 2013. Some players took it as a good omen that a German triple-double could be celebrated in the same constellation as back then, together with the men of FC Bayern . The Munich presented a week ago. “I think we’ve never had such a strong season as this year,” said Popp: “That gives us the confidence to go one better in the Champions League final.”
A win against Lyon would bring the club back to the top of European women’s football. Olympique has dominated it for years. Lyon has already won the Champions League six times with the German national player Dzsenifer Marozsán, four of them in a row. When this year’s two title favorites met here, the Germans have always been inferior since 2016.
Chelsea reportedly pay a record transfer for Harder
And while Wolfsburg’s attention should actually be focused on the final on Sunday (8 p.m., live ticker SZ.de), a message was announced just one day in advance that caused a stir, at least outside the team. According to consistent media information, Pernille Harder, Wolfsburg’s most dangerous goalie and Europe’s player of the year 2018, will not fulfill her contract, which will end in summer 2021, contrary to previous assumptions. The Danish national player is said to be switching to the Women’s Premier League for English champions Chelsea LFC for allegedly 350,000 euros. That was the first to be reported by the portal Sports buzzer. This sum would be a record transfer in the Bundesliga. In women’s football, transfers are still free of charge when a contract expires.
Harder has won the double four times with VfL. This season the top scorer made a significant contribution to winning the championship with 27 goals in 22 games. In total there have been 105 goals in 113 games for VfL so far. In the Champions League there are nine this season, only the already eliminated Dutch Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal WFC) has one more. Since Harder came to Wolfsburg in January 2017, she has developed into an absolute top performer.
With her game intelligence, overview and technique she stands in the attacking midfield for creativity. Their ambition also affects their teammates. “Even when she is less than 100 percent, you can feel her presence. If you need this moment to make the difference, she is the player for it – no matter what condition she is in,” said Wolfsburg coach Stephan Lerch said about Harder. And: “It is this overall package that makes her one of the best, if not the best player in the world.”
Harder’s friend Magdalena Eriksson also plays for the English champions
Harder, 27, has long been extremely popular with the top clubs. Still, it looked like she would stay, despite certain offers. It was rumored that there was a release clause with a fixed transfer fee, as well as that the deadline for this had already passed in spring. Wolfsburg’s sporting director Ralf Kellermann said the club was planning with Harder for the next season. He already ruled out that she would be held after her contract expires in summer 2021. Now the club could be touched by their farewell even earlier. And it would also be a heavy loss for the Bundesliga. The news was not officially confirmed on Saturday. “Our focus is on the final on Sunday, we don’t comment on any personal details beforehand,” said a VfL spokesman.
A move to Chelsea would not be a surprise. Harder would be able to play and live there again with her partner Magdalena Eriksson, 26. This has been the couple’s wish for a long time, and Harder had repeatedly communicated it openly. The Swedish international Eriksson told the British Telegraph a few days ago: “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else” and basically set the plan for the next few years. The footballers met in Eriksson’s home at Linköpings FC.
After a kiss at the 2019 World Cup, the relationship became known to the general public. A photo of it spread quickly – and after many letters, Harder and Eriksson realized what influence they could have. Since then, they have used their reach to stand up for the rights of the LGBTQ community and for equality. And most of all they want to do that in the same city. Harder would then also be on the same team as the German national player Melanie Leupolz, who moved from Bayern to Chelsea this summer.
It would be a nice end to this story if Pernille Harder and VfL Wolfsburg won the title she still lacks in the Champions League final on Sunday. “That was my best year in Wolfsburg,” she said at the end of June. So now her best could have been her last year in the Bundesliga.
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