Right after the final whistle, an astonishing amount of niceties were exchanged. Despite the fierce rivalry and the delicate situation at the top of the table, the women’s football teams of VfL Wolfsburg and FC Bayern Munich behaved with remarkable cordiality toward one another. Slapping each other on the back and hugging produced a very harmonious image. Perhaps even a little too harmonious?
The two best German teams are accompanied by the burning question of whether they are really capable of keeping pace with the elite from England, Spain and France on the international stage. The high rate of mistakes and carelessness that allowed Bayern Munich’s 3-1 victory in Wolfsburg is fueling doubts about that.
In the pride of the winners over having again displaced VfL Wolfsburg as league leaders, there were also self-doubts. “It was at times very wild,” admitted Munich’s top scorer Klara Bühl. She had put Bayern Munich in front. Momoko Tanikawa and the substitute Alara Sehitler added the further goals. Defensive shortcomings were visible on all of the goals.
That also applied to the Wolfsburg women’s 1-2 by Janina Minge. Earlier, Bayern Munich’s defenders had repeatedly tried in vain to clear the ball from their own penalty area. The festival of errors painfully recalled how the reigning German champions four days earlier, at the start of the Champions League season, were hammered 1-7 by FC Barcelona.
Painful Comparisons
The cross-comparison between the challenges in the Champions League and daily life in the Bundesliga hurts especially because Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg still lack constant competition at the national level. And the joy that on Saturday at least 12,495 spectators wanted to watch the top game in Wolfsburg is dampened by the fact that other European leagues are developing faster and better. That is due to their greater financial power and better marketing.
Even though the men’s international break was on, public broadcasters could not broadcast the Munich vs. Wolfsburg duel live. “One would wish,” said the Bayern hopeful Giulia Gwinn, “that the game would receive its stage.” Her teammate Bühl, looking at the spectator turnout in the Bundesliga, adds: “One must be patient.”
What remains beautiful about women’s football is: the atmosphere in the stadium continues to be shaped by mutual respect and fairness. That Wolfsburg’s Joelle Wedemeyer was shown a red card shortly before the end for a scuffle with Lea Schüller sparked a few discussions, but not a big fuss. National women’s football still does without the use of the Video Assistant Referee, which can provide clarity in controversial situations.
Referee Fabienne Michel could have used such assistance in several decisions. But the Wolfsburg players refrained from blaming and stood by their defeat. “We simply did not have the quality before the goal,” admitted VfL regular Alexandra Popp, once again very self-critical.
For the rest of the season, it is expected that the scoring duel between Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg will continue. The Wolfsburg women recently won 8-0 away at SGS Essen with their newly formed team.
In the Champions League they could even follow up with a 4-0 home win against Paris Saint-Germain. “I find our development very positive,” said VfL coach Stephan Lerch. He goes even further when it comes to international laurels. “We can compete at European top level,” says the coach. It is part of his core duties to spread optimism and to drum up support for German women’s football.
