Ob her husband is constantly asked how he combines family and work, the number one goal of the German women’s national team doesn’t know straight away. As a mother, Almuth Schult is asked this question again and again. And she sees it positively. “On the one hand you can say: Why is the mother always asked and not the father?” On the other hand, she is happy when someone “deals with me or my family situation,” said the 29-year-old in one Interview with the German Press Agency.
The VfL Wolfsburg goalkeeper gave birth to her twins in April. She is now training again for her comeback. How long it will take to take her place in the goal again, she cannot estimate. There is a development from day to day – sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. As a goalkeeper, however, like a field player, she cannot be substituted for ten minutes in order to get some match practice. “That delays the comeback a bit,” she said.
Then there is still the corona pandemic. And also the change of the body after pregnancy. But none of this should be an obstacle for Schult. “You have to take the time that is necessary,” she said. “If you feel like playing football, the rest will come by itself because you work on yourself every day.”
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is now the national team coach and one of the few women in football who continued to play shortly after giving birth. That was in 1994. “Getting back on the pitch is only part of the challenge. The other big part is balancing motherhood and family roles with competitive sport, ”said the 52-year-old. “It is certainly helpful to exchange ideas with people who have experience here.”
“You have to take the time that is necessary”: Almuth Schult after the birth of her twins in April
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Image: dpa
Schult and Voss-Tecklenburg are in regular contact. Her club VfL Wolfsburg is also helping her work on her comeback. The only question is: will football and family work together if they have made this comeback?
“We have a job that not only lasts Monday through Friday, but Monday through Sunday. And that with very flexible working hours, some of which change from one day to the next, ”said Schult. “And then there are various business trips, some of which lead through Europe in the Champions League and with the national team.” For her, it would be “a step if you could even take the family with you, even if you paid for it yourself. That is not yet common practice in football in Germany. “
For Almuth Schult, there is also the task of working for more recognition of women’s football. She finds this topic annoying at times, but also says very clearly: “If my daughter should play football at some point, I would like to be able to say: I have helped her to enjoy it even more.”
On October 31, it was only 50 years since women’s football was allowed in Germany at all. That’s why Schult would sometimes be happy to see more solidarity and empathy from her male colleagues. “Your favorite sport has been banned. You are not allowed to do it. Then you start, but you were never allowed to exercise. You have been chased everywhere and then when you finally make it you are still blamed for how bad you are. But how are you supposed to be good if you were never allowed to? ”Said the German number one.
Sometimes she still has the feeling that men “define football” as “their sport” and “don’t want to let women in”. She would therefore be happy if it was only about football and no longer about the sexes.
Bibiana Steinhaus is a good example of this. The referee was the first woman to lead games in the men’s Bundesliga. “It was able to convince with its quality,” said Schult, “because it is not just about having top athletic value, but also an understanding of the game, a feeling for the situation, empathy and simply a personality that exudes calm.”
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