VfL arrives as an underdog: the wolves are living the dream of Camp Nou

VfL arrives as an underdog
The Wolves are living the Camp Nou dream

VfL Wolfsburg travels to the best team in the world, FC Barcelona, ​​in the semi-finals of the Champions League. A record crowd awaits you. What seems absurd in men’s football for many reasons will become reality in women’s football on Friday. The wolves don’t want to be intimidated.

Almuth Schult still can’t believe it. Camp Nou, sold out, over 90,000 people in the stands – the national goalkeeper never thought “that we would play in this stadium”. “A huge dream” for female soccer players, which VfL Wolfsburg will fulfill in the semifinals of the Champions League against FC Barcelona.

“It’s going to be crazy,” said Alexandra Popp of “Sport Bild” before the first leg on Friday (6.45 p.m. / DAZN) with the defending champion from Spain: “We can be there when history is made. That’s very cool.” Because if the expected 98,000 people flock to the Camp Nou, the next world record for viewers would be perfect. With the quarter-final against Real Madrid, which 91,553 fans watched in the stadium, the Catalans had set new standards in women’s football. This record could now be surpassed. Barça reported in early April that the tickets had been sold after just over 24 hours.

Even bigger than Dortmund

“It was always my dream to play in Dortmund in front of 80,000,” admitted Popp. Now there will probably be a few thousand more in Spain. Prepare for such a scenario? Impossible. “The only thing you can do is look forward to it and not freeze in awe,” emphasized Kathrin Hendrich after the quarter-finals. After all, there is already a solution for communicating despite the loud fans. “We’re preparing for this with a sign language,” reveals Popp: “We have code words for tactical instructions.”

A good agreement will be necessary against the top favorites, because the chances of the final of the premier class are “60 to 40 for Barcelona”, admitted the DFB captain. National player Lena Oberdorf will miss the first and second leg on April 30 in the VW Arena due to a knee injury. But after the successes against rivals Bayern Munich in the league (6-0) and in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup (3-1), the Wolfsburg women go into the game with the star-studded champions from Spain with self-confidence. “We have the right mentality to crack them,” said Popp.

And that was already possible in the semi-finals of the premier class in 2020. At that time, however, world footballer Alexia Putellas was “not yet so present” at Barcelona, ​​said Popp. The Spaniard is “technically and tactically exceptional” and also benefits from strong teammates. But the will to get a little closer to the third Champions League trophy after 2013 and 2014 is definitely there in Wolfsburg. “If you’re in the semifinals,” said Hendrich, “then you want to make it to the final.”

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