Alex Popp: “It hurts brutally”
She-Wolves completely stunned after exit from Champions League
October 19, 2023, 8:24 a.m
After the 0-2 loss against Paris FC, the sadness among the VfL Wolfsburg footballers is great. In addition to the missed opportunity to win the Champions League, the club is also missing out on significant bonuses. For the first time since 2012, the team from Mittellandkanal will not be involved in the premier class.
When the unthinkable became clear, the eloquent Alexandra Popp first had to search for the right words. “That hurts brutally,” said the visibly shocked captain of the Wolfsburg footballers on club TV after the early exit from the Champions League. “We were in the final last season – and suddenly you’re not in the group stage.” After the 0:2 (0:1) against Paris FC on Tuesday evening, the dream of reaching the final of the premier class was shattered – unexpectedly early, but also somewhat deserved.
“We didn’t really manage to become a goal threat,” the 32-year-old striker explained why the 2013 and 2014 Champions League winners failed to get the much-needed result after the 3-3 draw in the first leg of the second round a week ago to get a home win. For the first time since 2012, they missed the group stage of the premier class. They had expected that a little. Because in view of the games of the season so far, “it’s perhaps not enough,” said Popp, and “perhaps in the end it’s not undeserved.” There was also the pressure not to fail. They couldn’t withstand that.
An example of this: VfL defender Dominique Janssen, who missed a penalty when the score was 0-1. Like Popp, she struggled to compose herself: “It’s difficult to put it into words.” The Wolfsburg women actually wanted to make another attempt at the European football crown after the 3-2 final defeat against FC Barcelona in May.
Bitter financial setback for Wolfsburg
“You come to Wolfsburg to win big titles and play big games, also to play big competitions. The fact that you couldn’t do that this year just hurts incredibly,” Janssen complained. Coach Tommy Stroot summed up with a blank look: “A bitter defeat that we have to accept.”
By being eliminated in front of 3,747 spectators in the AOK Stadium, VfL not only missed out on the entry fee of 400,000 euros. Other bonuses will also be missing from the coffers: the Wolfsburg team pocketed around 1.1 million euros in the last European Cup season. There was 50,000 euros per win, plus additional extra money for reaching the quarter and semi-finals and 200,000 euros for losing the final.
The draw on Friday will probably hurt the VfL players again, as will the opening games on November 14th and 15th. From a German perspective, only champions FC Bayern and Eintracht Frankfurt are represented. The Hessians had mastered their task in the second round with two clear victories against AC Sparta Prague (5:0 and 3:0).