Georgia Stanway (left) and her Munich team want to put pressure on Wolfsburg with Lena Oberdorf.
Photo: imago/Ines Hähnel
The “Mia san Mia”, the famous credo of FC Bayern Munich, leaves some room for interpretation. On the one hand, the motto is a reference to the Bavarian homeland, to the roots that are so important to the German record champions despite their role as a global player in world football. On the other hand, the “Mia san Mia” stands for identification with the club, for the family character, which is emphasized again and again at Bayern despite all the striving for success. Above all, the “Mia san Mia” is an announcement to the competition. We’re number one, that’s the message, whether it’s in soccer or basketball. And ideally, the pursuers need the binoculars that Uli Hoeneß used to use to see Bayern at the top of the table. Having to win every game is the claim that every athlete in the Bayern jersey has to face up to.
Accordingly, it is annoying that VfL Wolfsburg dominates women’s football in Germany. The Bayern women and the Wolves have been fighting a bitter duel for dominance for ten years, usually with the better end for VfL. The team from the Autostadt won the championship seven times, and FC Bayern three times. The Wolves even secured the DFB Cup for the last eight years in a row. Bayern now want to shake this throne again. “It is our aim to be international top and number one in Germany with our female soccer players,” stated Bayern President Herbert Hainer, who is a big supporter of women’s soccer and follows most home games in the stadium, some time ago clear.
If the balance of power in German women’s football is renegotiated in the next few days and weeks, FC Bayern’s chances of the changing of the guard are better than they have been for a long time. Before the top game in the Bundesliga this Saturday, the Bayern women are only two points behind Wolfsburg, as VfL surprisingly lost to Hoffenheim at the beginning of March. It was the first defeat in the Bundesliga since October 2021. In the semi-finals of the DFB Cup, VfL were unlucky in the draw and they have to travel to Munich again on April 15.
“Having the championship back in our own hands gave us momentum, and we were all very happy about that. I would like to finally reach the cup final with Bayern, in the last few years we have always been eliminated by Wolfsburg in the semi-finals. As far as the championship and the cup are concerned, I’m in a very positive mood and I believe that we can do better than in recent years,” said goal scorer Lea Schüller. With both teams winning their first leg in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, there could be two more head-to-head clashes in the semi-finals at the end of April. The momentum seems to be on the Munich side, at least at the moment.
In order to get to this point, FC Bayern has put a lot of effort into it in recent years. The contract with long-term coach Thomas Wörle was not extended in the summer of 2019. Successor Jens Scheuer should provide a breath of fresh air and lead the Bayern women to the top in a project that will last several years. With Klara Bühl, Linda Dallmann, Giulia Gwinn and Lea Schüller, FC Bayern signed some of the best young national players in Germany during this phase, five-time Champions League winner and world champion Saki Kumagai came from Olympique Lyon, French international Viviane Asseyi joined from Girondins Bordeaux to Munich.
Although the Munich women won the championship in 2021, Wolfsburg spit them in the soup again during this phase. First, VfL snatched away the greatest talent in German women’s football from their arch-rival, Lena Oberdorf, then the balance of power was restored in the following season by winning the double. FC Bayern, on the other hand, remained without a title last season and were humiliated in the second half of last season with 0:6 in Wolfsburg. Whereupon the project with Scheuer was terminated. It is not entirely clear whether it was due to missing the sporting goals or actually to atmospheric disturbances between the coach and the team.
Alexander Straus was signed as his successor in the summer. In addition to his ability to efficiently develop teams and individual players, the Norwegian is known above all for his communication skills. His game idea is getting better and better with the team, the 47-year-old wants to start an era in Munich. “My main goal is to build something here at Bayern Munich so that we don’t just win the championship once in women’s football, but ideally several times in a row. Just like Wolfsburg has done over the past ten years. Then if you miss the championship once, you have to get the title back next year. My goal is for FC Bayern to become such a club,” he said shortly after taking office. The fact that sports director Bianca Rech was able to steer a star player from Manchester City to Munich in the form of English European champion Georgia Stanway before the season shows that FC Bayern is still willing to invest in the currently rapidly growing women’s football. The three Champions League games that the women played in the Allianz Arena within a year are another indication of this.
On Saturday, Stanway will fight hard duels with Lena Oberdorf in midfield and, as usual, will not retreat an inch. Just like the rest of the team. “I’m not worried at all. We intend to dominate the game,” goalkeeper Maria Luisa Grohs clarified. The Bayern women are certainly not lacking in self-confidence after 13 competitive wins in a row. They seem to have fully internalized their employer’s motto. »Mia san Mia«, why are we interested in the others?
