DFB Cup: FC Bayern wins against VfL Wolfsburg and secures the double

At 6:13 p.m., Bayern’s captain Glodis Perla Viggosdottir was presented with the eleven kilogram trophy in a shower of confetti before the obligatory celebration procedure followed. With goals from Georgia Stanway (45th + 2/foul penalty), Pernille Harder (59th), Momoko Tanikawa (77th) and Arianna Caruso (84th), the Munich team crowned an almost completely flawless national season with their second double in a row. The third cup victory in the club’s history came without conceding a goal. The bitterly disappointed VfL leader Alexandra Popp missed the success she had hoped for at the end of her time in Wolfsburg.

“It was a really great afternoon. We played our game in the second half,” said the beaming DFB captain Gwinn: “We scored our goals at good times.” The VAR, which is otherwise not used for the women, helped a little. After a first half with few chances and at times lengthy, everything was actually heading towards a scoreless halftime score when referee Franziska Wildfeuer was sent to the control monitor by video assistant Katrin Rafalski. Lineth Beerenstyn had left his leg against Tanikawa: European champion Stanway, who was probably moving to Arsenal FC, converted the penalty with her usual confidence. Harder could have even added more, but Sarai Linder cleared on the line (45th + 5th). The turbulent injury time belied the fact that the showdown between the dominant teams of the last decade did not meet high expectations.

The second half offered more highlights: top scorer Harder headed the ball from her partner Magdalena Eriksson’s cross to make it 2-0, skilled technician Takawa was rewarded for a strong performance with the 3-0 and substitute Caruso put the ball into the net to make it 4-0. “We stayed calm: we had more space in the second half,” said Bayern midfielder Dallmann, while VfL defender Sophia Kleinherne interjected: “The result is clearer than the game was.”

DFB Vice President Heike Ullrich is worried about the many upcoming moves abroad

But ultimately the factory club lacked the playing resources in this final. “One year of traveling is enough – time to return home,” the VfL fans wrote in white on green. What was meant was the cup that had gone to the Autostadt ten times in a row until 2024. The “She-Wolves” had a good defensive stance for a long time, but their attack performance was not. Alexandra Popp, who was called up as a striker, barely got into any final situations on her comeback after the healed torn muscle fiber in her calf, despite a decent performance.

She led her team onto the field again in style. But the dream of a 14th coup with a trophy that she calls her “baby” was not to come true for the 35-year-old, who moved to Borussia Dortmund. And the wave of emigration of top players does not stop at the factory gates. With Vivien Endemann and Beerenstyn, other valuable offensive players are leaving. On the sidelines of the final, DFB Vice President Heike Ullrich, who is responsible for women’s and girls’ football, expressed concern about a sell-out that would particularly affect Bayern’s pursuers. Bundesliga third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt also announced the departure of four top performers (Geraldine Reuteler, Nicole Anyomi, Elisa Senß, Nadine Riesen) on Thursday.

The clubs are increasingly powerless, especially when it comes to offers from England, said Ullrich: “We are getting closer to the tendencies of men’s football – that is the market.” In view of the women’s European Championship in 2029, it would be regrettable if “there will no longer be a national player playing at home” in the near future. For the most part, FC Bayern doesn’t have to worry that much (yet). Stanway is unlikely to be joined by a regular player. National striker Bühl also has another year left, as her agent Jörg Neblung confirmed in the cathedral city: “As of now it can be assumed that Klara will fulfill her contract in Munich.”