Inside the Müngersdorf stadium, Alexandra Popp was already ready to stand in front of the many microphones and answer questions. But her teammate Dominique Janssen was just busy with that. And so Popp used the waiting time to show a DFB employee her booty. The captain of VfL Wolfsburg proudly held a small, shiny silver snippet between her index finger and thumb: the latest find for her collection that no one else on the planet could exhibit like this.
From every cup final won, Popp grabbed one of the countless stripes that are blown into the air from confetti cannons during the ceremony and then land on the lawn like a thin blanket of snow. It all started for the now 33-year-old in 2009 and 2010 with Duisburg, and on Thursday evening she was number eleven with Wolfsburg. Popp is Germany’s record cup winner. And if she were to actually present her 13 memorabilia, the title “Sufficiency, Cologne anno 2024” would probably appear above the description of the last silver lining so far.
The final opponents FC Bayern managed to defend their title undefeated on the weekend before the cup final and did so with a squad that represents the club’s increased ambitions in women’s football. In some places on the way to the Munich championship, a term was making the rounds that was at least considered premature and sometimes even disrespectful in Wolfsburg: changing of the guard. If the long-term rival had also achieved the first double in its history, it would have reinforced the perception of a changing balance of power.
“We somehow seemed a bit empty,” says Bayern coach Straus
“It feels like we’ve already been written off: that’s it with Wolfsburg and you didn’t see it,” said Popp as she replaced Janssen in front of the microphones. This title “of course has a different taste, because Bayern used my favorite word, the media picked it up – so it was important that we show: VfL Wolfsburg is still clearly there.” The word Popp meant was changing of the guard. She hated it, she had said in the days before the encounter. Until that happens, FC Bayern must first win titles consistently over the years. And obviously the perceived provocation not only had a motivating effect on Popp.
:DFB Cup winner for a decade
The Wolfsburg women once again win the competition in which they simply cannot lose. With the 50th unbeaten game in a row, they won their tenth cup in a row. At FC Bayern, unbeaten in the league, the disappointment after the 2-0 defeat in the final is great.
Her club has won 20 trophies since 2013. Including the Champions League twice, the championship seven times and the DFB Cup eleven times – at the start of this series, all competitions in one season as a triple. When Popp was asked for a ranking after her tenth cup success in a row with a series of 50 wins, she was unable to fulfill this wish. But she thought the most recent performance was the most confident – certainly because her team wasn’t necessarily favored in this final after a bumpy season. Ralf Kellermann, director of women’s football at VfL, even said that everyone played “a perfect game from the first to the last second” in front of the 44,400 spectators.
With their aggressive, powerful, unyielding style, the Wolfsburg team made it 2-0 thanks to goals from Jule Brand (14th minute) and Janssen (40th), making them forget that they had lost twice in the league to Bayern. This obviously surprised the Munich team; they never really got into their game, as if they had lost some of their body tension with the championship. There was also an unfortunate mistake by goalkeeper Maria Luisa Grohs, which was reminiscent of Manuel Neuer’s mistake against Real Madrid the evening before. Brand’s actually harmless long-range shot slipped past her hands after a touchdown. “The disappointment is great, especially because we deserved to lose,” said Lea Schüller, who had the best chance to score out of a few opportunities: “That’s exactly what’s gnawing at us, because we just didn’t show what we were capable of we could.”
Her coach Alexander Straus had hardly been able to stop speaking at the press conference. The words flowed out of him as he said he didn’t want to look for an excuse, you just have to be there when it matters and do the simple things right. “We somehow seemed a bit empty,” said the Norwegian. He consoled himself with the fact that it was only the second year in this constellation, the beginning of a development. But the more Straus tried to find the good in the disappointment, the more he realized: “I’m talking a lot right now because I always talk a lot when I’m sad.” Next year, he announced – and it sounded a little as if the 48-year-old was cheering himself up – his team would attack again.
A special focus in the final is on Lena Oberdorf – still at Wolfsburg, in the future at Bayern
This cup victory, which Wolfsburg won with 21 goals and, thanks to some brilliant saves from Merle Frohms, without conceding a single goal, represents the continuation of an era. But some chapters end now. Janssen will leave the club, as will goalscorer Ewa Pajor. But the biggest focus was on Lena Oberdorf, who will swap the green jersey for the red jersey in the summer. She received a lot of praise for how focused she was in her calm style of football even after her move was announced. In the final, the midfield director played outstandingly, with an overview, with her notorious toughness in duels, she provided the assist to make it 1-0 and almost scored herself. On the way to the fan curve, the pressure fell off the 22-year-old and the tears flowed.
“The situation is not easy at all, great respect that she can achieve such a performance,” said Popp: “It’s all the sadder, of course, that this will no longer be the case next season and that she will then play against us.” This not only significantly upgrades FC Bayern with one of the world’s best in the six position, but also clearly weakens Wolfsburg. Nobody tried to deny that. “She’s world class. It’s crazy to provide such stability under such conditions at such a young age,” said her future ex-coach Tommy Stroot. So did he feel the pain of parting? “Nothing hurts today. We’ll just celebrate!”
Soon after, videos found their way onto the networks, providing at least a glimpse of how the celebrations continued outside the locker room. The Wolfsburg team bus stood in the middle of Cologne traffic, the doors opened for the traditional traffic light round: everyone out and with a medal, the silver pot (Alexandra Popp), either a booming music box (Merle Frohms) or a filled beer glass (Lena Oberdorf) in XXL format around the bus – dancing, singing, jumping until the light turned green again. “The city is being torn apart, all Cologne residents have to turn a blind eye,” announced Stroot: “There will be no brakes tonight!”