The championship is probably gone, but in the DFB Cup final against SC Freiburg the footballers of VfL Wolfsburg can make history today (4.45 p.m.). Captain Alexandra Popp is the focus in Cologne as an “extremely important leader”.
Always further, always in front, always dangerous: “Poppi” stands up and meanwhile also off the field for more than football. “A guy who has the will to overcome resistance in everything she exudes,” says VfL coach Tommy Stroot, who will have to do without defender Marina Hegering (muscle injury in her right thigh) in the final against Bundesliga rivals.
He bows verbally to the 32-year-old, who has been struggling with serious injury problems for a long time. “She has again achieved a quality that was not foreseeable for a long time. And then keeping it that way makes me almost enthusiastic.”
“She is an extremely important leader for us. She ensures that we always push our limits.”
— Tommy Stroot on Alexandra Popp
Leading, but also demanding – in this role, the 2016 Olympic champion has become an absolute top performer in the German national team and at VfL. After the recent 0: 4 debacle in the league against Frankfurt, it was also Popp who made an announcement. “You can’t get a better wake-up call,” complained the VfL captain. “I hope that each of us looks in the mirror and knows what needs to be improved in the cup final.” The nasty slip was worked up and ticked off, Stroot assured on Wednesday: “Now it’s all about the final.”
Twelfth cup victory for Popp?
After all, the “wolves” can make history against Freiburg. If they manage to win the tenth cup and the ninth in a row, Lower Saxony will become the sole record winner ahead of 1. FFC Frankfurt (now Eintracht). “Aggressive leader” Popp could even fill the dozen: she had already triumphed in the DFB Cup in 2009 and 2010 with FCR Duisburg (now MSV).
The 32-year-old is always careful not to focus too much on herself. Indicative of this: When the Wolfsburg women celebrated their entry into the Champions League final at WFC Arsenal, Popp sat a little apart on the lawn and later commented on the picture: “So incredibly proud of my team.” To the TV camera she said bluntly, as is her way: “Damn axe, I can’t take it anymore!”
It is clear to everyone that “Poppi” still keeps going. In front of the expected record crowd of more than 40,000 spectators in Cologne, where the video assistant (VAR) will be used for the first time in the final, Popp and Co. should first win the cup. The really big coup then beckons on June 3 (4 p.m ) in the final of the “premier class” when the road to the European throne leads via FC Barcelona.
“Alex still has a few plans”
And then there’s the World Cup from July 20th to August 20th in Australia and New Zealand, where a lot of eyes will again be on Popp, who missed the European Championship final because of an injury. “She is our captain, an important key player,” said national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg recently. “I think Alex still has a few plans.”
Possible lineups:
VfL Wolfsburg: Frohms – Wilms, Hendrich, Janssen (Agrez), Rauch – Oberdorf, Popp – Huth, Roord, Jonsdottir – Pajor
Sc freiburg: Lambert – Müller, Fellhauer, Steuerwald, Karl – Felde, Minge, Kayikci – Xhemaili, Hoffmann, Kolb
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sports show | 05/18/2023 | 4:30 p.m
