As of: January 12, 2026 12:24 p.m
The VfL Wolfsburg footballers are in a training camp in Malta for a week. From the end of January there is a lot going on for Stephan Lerch’s Bundesliga team, which is still represented in three competitions and wants to appear more stable than last year.
Ten hours of sun in Malta on Monday, 14 degrees and only moderate wind. This is what you can do in January on the Mediterranean island – a popular tourist destination even in winter because of the many historical sights and the charm of places like Mdina and Valletta. Of course, the VfL footballers aren’t there to go on vacation – but their training sessions are now much more enjoyable.
“When it storms like it did last week, the ball takes on a different direction,” reports attacker Cora Zicai from training in wind speeds of up to eight. “It was bad on Thursday, there was also a lot of hail. You ask yourself for a moment whether you would rather have the snow in Germany,” says Zicai with a laugh and adds: “But no, we have great conditions here and the sun keeps shining. The days before we left in Wolfsburg were pretty dark, so it’s even nicer that we can be here.”
Mini tournament on the Mediterranean island
Malta was chosen because several teams are drawn there and therefore games against top-class opponents are possible: VfL is competing in a mini-tournament, other participants are PSV Eindhoven (2-0 on Sunday), FC Basel (Wednesday) and TSG Hoffenheim. However, the Wolfsburg women are not playing against their Bundesliga rivals, so the tournament format of the “Women Club Trophy” remains unclear, which shouldn’t matter to coach Lerch: “We can work in peace here, it’s not far from the hotel to the training ground and the accommodation is great.”
The famous bridge and ancient city walls of Mdina.
VfL is staying in a luxury hotel on the outskirts of Rabat, from where it is just a few minutes’ walk to Mdina, where the “Game of Thrones” series was once filmed. Almost all players have already seen the famous bridge and the old city walls. “I really like all of my teammates, but every now and then I have to get out and see something different,” says Zicai.
Defensive stability in focus
There isn’t much time for that, after all, they want to improve on the pitch, and the main focus is on defense. “We conceded too many stupid goals,” said Zicai. Captain Alexandra Popp added: “The number of goals conceded was striking compared to previous years. So a lot of work is being done here to make us more stable.”
The VfL goal rang 20 times in the Bundesliga alone, and in the entire last season there were only 18 goals conceded.
Decisive phase in three competitions
After the departure on Thursday, the “crunch time” quickly begins: the game in Jena in the Bundesliga starts on January 24th, the play-offs in the Champions League against Juventus Turin take place in mid-February, and the quarter-finals in the DFB Cup against Eintracht Frankfurt follow in March. After ten cup victories in a row, the Wolfsburg women were already eliminated in the round of the last eight last year, and now they have to go to the final again.
“And our goal is to advance in the Champions League. That’s what we’re working towards, that’s the first thing,” says Lerch. “The league is about keeping the gap constant or increasing it. Looking up, we’ll see what’s still possible. That’s not just in our hands,” says the coach, referring to the six-point gap to league leaders Bayern Munich.
So there’s a lot coming up for the team. According to the units in Malta, it is storm-tested. “These are resistances that you have to defy,” says Lerch. But a lot of sun is forecast for the coming days – and little wind.
