“Have to give everything in every game”
Of course, Oberdorf would like to play as European champion with the German champions in the future. France or defending champions Netherlands are Germany’s opponents in the semi-finals in Milton Keynes – and in the final it could be against England.
“I think you could say right from the start that Wembley is our biggest dream. With the team feeling we have right now, we’re on the right track,” said Oberdorf after the fourth clean sheet of the record European champion at this EM. “We know very well that we have to give our all in every game.”
In addition to Ramos, the former Essen resident also likes to learn something from another Spanish ex-world champion: “I really like watching Sergio Busquets because he always moves extremely well in the rooms.” And she hopes to meet Bayern star Joshua Kimmich personally. “I think I’d like to talk to Kimmich because he also embodies that a bit: these emotions in the game, never giving up, going into every duel again, doing every run again,” explained Oberdorf. “I think our game ideas fit together quite well.”
Like Kimmich in the men’s national team, Oberdorf has become an integral part of the women’s team. Her first day in the DFB selection was “a bit uncomfortable” – when she faced Alexandra Popp. She had met her some time earlier at a game at FC Silschede, where her sister was playing. “I couldn’t believe it. At some point I went to her and asked if she was really Alex Popp,” Oberdorf recently told Elfen magazine. “But I didn’t buy it until she pulled out her driver’s license and shoved it in my face.”
When Oberdorf was invited by the DFB for the first time in 2019, she sincerely hoped that Popp – who had met in every game at this European Championship so far – would no longer remember the rather embarrassing scene. But her current teammate in Wolfsburg and in the DFB selection put her hand on her shoulder: “Well, do you remember back then?”