Six minutes of added time gave some people hope for a turnaround, for a small football miracle in the Müngersdorf stadium. To drain the last of our energy reserves and somehow get to the gate. But the FC Bayern Munich footballers didn’t make it this time. They had beaten their opponents from VfL Wolfsburg twice in the Bundesliga this season. But the DFB Cup remains the territory of the She-Wolves.
The team that dominates this competition like no other won 2-0 (2-0): VfL has now collected ten cup victories in a row and has been unbeaten in 50 games. The 18th national title since 2013 as an answer to all those who already saw a change of power in German women’s football on the horizon. “The disappointment is huge, we imagined it differently,” said Bayern’s Klara Bühl on ZDF immediately after the game: “We slept through the first half.” Wolfsburg’s striker Alexandra Popp said: “We didn’t know what to expect today because we simply didn’t have a good season. But that’s VfL Wolfsburg, that’s the DFB Cup.”
After the first evenly matched minutes it was already clear who would take the lead in this final. In the ninth minute, Vivien Endemann played the ball across the six-yard box – only one receiver was missing. In the eleventh minute, Ewa Pajor almost scored the first goal of the day after a corner. Then the ball landed via Lena Oberdorf and Jule Brand. The German international’s shot from 18 meters wasn’t particularly dangerous, but perhaps irritated by the landing, the ball slipped past Bayern goalkeeper Maria Luisa Groh’s hands and into the goal.
Bayern’s club boss Herbert Hainer, honorary president Uli Hoeneß, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, CFO Michael Diederich and sports director Christoph Freund made a special trip to Cologne – only to experience, in a sense, déjà vu. On Wednesday, Manuel Neuer’s harmless shot against Real Madrid was fatal. No Champions League final for the men – and now no cup victory for the women. Hoeneß’s expression seemed quite dark, perhaps he had an idea of how this was going to end.
The Munich fans at least had a little reason to be happy, because the player who stood out in the end was Lena Oberdorf. And as we all know, they are changing sides this summer. In the 23rd minute she shot from eleven meters, Grohs was just able to deflect her future teammate’s shot to the side. After a corner, Oberdorf first tried with his head, then followed up, but got stuck in the scramble with Grohs. Former Wolfsburg player Pernille Harder came closest to equalizing in one of the Munich women’s extremely rare approaches – but in such a harmless form, as if she were playing a pass.
There was little evidence that FC Bayern had the best defense (seven goals conceded) and the second best offense (52) this Bundesliga season – but VfL was in the lead in these statistics. The Reds reacted, the Greens acted. With five offensive players in the starting line-up, VfL coach Tommy Stroot’s plan was already apparent in advance. The newly, prematurely crowned champions from Munich saw the historic chance of their first double disappearing.
In the 40th minute, two Wolfsburg women jumped up after a corner without being disturbed. Captain Alexandra Popp, a proven specialist in the art of the header, missed the ball, but was still able to celebrate seconds later: Dominique Janssen was lurking behind her in the second row. The Dutchwoman will also be leaving VfL, and she used the opportunity to give a nice farewell gift: Grohs dived for her header, in vain, bow on it!
In the days before the cup final, Bayern coach Alexander Straus said his team was greedy for the championship. This first double, this long series of long-term rivals to break – Bayern definitely wanted it on the way to an era that they would like to shape. But in contrast to the previous league encounter, the Munich team did not find the same finesse after the break as in their 4-0 win in March, which was decisive in the championship. In the 58th minute, Lea Schüller almost made it through with a header from a corner in what was probably Munich’s best chance of the day. But Merle Frohms’ reflex was too strong – as it was shortly afterwards when Klara Bühl tried in vain.