After her last tackle, Alexandra Popp clenched her hand into a fist. When the final whistle sounded seconds later, the VfL Wolfsburg team captain sank to the ground and pounded on the grass with happiness. Once again her team was able to celebrate winning the title in the DFB Cup for women.
A durable long-range shot from Jule Brand (14th minute) and a header from Dominique Janssen (40th) ensured the 2-0 win was clear early on. Whatever FC Bayern Munich’s challengers did, it was too harmless and unimaginative to unsettle the queens of the DFB Cup. Ten final wins in a row is an achievement for VfL Wolfsburg that will be difficult to copy. This time they even achieved the feat of keeping a clean sheet throughout the competition.
Wolfsburg’s amazing dominance
When it came to activating their players, VfL Wolfsburg must have done a lot better before kick-off than the reigning champions from Munich. In any case, head coach Tommy Stroot’s team started the game much more alert, aggressive and eager to play. Alexandra Popp and Lena Oberdorf in particular won duels in a row.
And with their free interpretation of their tasks, they contributed to FC Bayern barely getting into the game and watching, slightly irritated, as their opponents set the tone with the help of flexibility and commitment. Popp consistently used her freedom in midfield and attack. What exactly their position was on this sunny Thursday can only be explained in detail by Stroot. Oberdorf also switched diligently between defense and offense. The result was dominance that stunned 44,400 spectators in the sold-out Cologne stadium.
The majority of spectators in this game will probably have their eyes on Wolfsburg’s player with the number 5 on her shirt. Oberdorf is leaving VfL after the 2023/24 season and moving to, of all places, FC Bayern Munich. The national player once again impressively demonstrated how valuable she is in her role as a driver and game destroyer in the cup final. “Lena is one of the best in the world in her position,” says Wolfsburg’s sports director Ralf Kellermann. In fact, Oberdorf pushed her future players out of the way like annoying cones, received a yellow card in the 50th minute, but was one of her team’s assets.
Dominique Janssen could hug the entire football world after her goal.picture alliance / foto2press
It is astonishing how long it took FC Bayern to take action in this final. Shortly before half-time, Wolfsburg’s goalkeeper Merle Frohms was actually busy keeping herself under tension with runs along the halfway line. Little to nothing rolled towards their goal. This was due to the high level of commitment of their team and the lack of imagination of an opponent who actually wants to create a changing of the guard in German women’s football. That worked in the Bundesliga this season. In the DFB Cup there is still no proof that FC Bayern has what it takes to become national champions.
