At the restart of the women’s Bundesliga there are a few reunions with old acquaintances – and even more Netherlands at Bayer Leverkusen.
The eleventh match day of the women’s Bundesliga is the last of the first half of the season – and will answer a few questions: Can VfL Wolfsburg keep their clean sheet in Freiburg, who will prevail in the western derby between SGS Essen and 1. FC Köln – and will the women from Potsdam, who have fallen, find their way back on track against Bayern Munich of all places?
SGS Essen – 1. FC Köln (Friday, 7.15 p.m.)
After the western derby is before the western derby – at least from the point of view of SGS Essen. Coach Markus Högner’s team ended 2022 with a 6-0 thrashing of MSV Duisburg and is now welcoming 1. FC Köln for the restart of the Bundesliga.
Högner knows his way around Western derbies – both as an active player and as a trainer at Alemannia Aachen and Schalke 04. He has also taken part in a number of derbies with SGS Essen, where he has been a trainer for a total of ten years including a break . The last dress rehearsal during the winter break against the second division club FSV Gütersloh was a success with a 7-2 win.
SC Freiburg – VfL Wolfsburg (Saturday, 2 p.m., in the live stream at sportschau.de)
The reunion with an ex-club is always a special one. If this ex is VfL Wolfsburg, with whom you have already won numerous titles, even more so. Freiburg’s Luisa Wensing faces this encounter on this match day. The 29-year-old played for the “wolves” from 2012 to 2018 and won everything there is to win with them: the championship, the cup, the Champions League. Even several times.
The defender is now getting less playing time at SC Freiburg, but her contract was recently extended. She has now accepted her new role, which is not that of a regular player. She recently said to the DFB: “Now I can deal with it well because I know that I’m still important. Not everyone can play. We have a strong squad, we have good defenders, they all deserve to have their place in the starting XI . That’s how it is in sports.”
The match in Breisgau will also depend on the top scorers in the league: Freiburg’s Janina Minge leads the scorers’ list together with Ewa Pajor (Wolfsburg) with eight goals. Wolfsburg’s Alexandra Popp and Lea Schüller (Bayern Munich) follow with six goals each.
Turbine Potsdam – FC Bayern Munich (Sunday, 1 p.m.)
Lots of experience paired with the will to keep developing: That is Carolin Simon. The 30-year-old switched from in 2019 Olympique Lyon to Munich and extended her contract there until 2024 at the beginning of this year. Head coach Alexander Straus said: “We think she’ll be even better next year than she is now.” Straus particularly praises her strong left foot and creativity on the pitch.
After the 2021 title, Caro Simon wants to collect more trophies with Bayern. The restart in the Bundesliga should pave the way for this. Against bottom-placed Turbine Potsdam, Munich can stay close to leaders VfL Wolfsburg, who are five points ahead of their pursuers from Bavaria.
TSG Hoffenheim – MSV Duisburg (Sunday, 1 p.m.)
After six months at Real Sociedad San Sebastian in Spain, Michaela Specht is back at TSG Hoffenheim. Sporting and personal reasons brought the 25-year-old back to the Bundesliga. She now wants to end the season in fifth place and, if possible, also use her experiences from the short time in Spain.
In Spain there is a much greater focus on individual qualities. It’s more like “one against one” instead of looking for solutions in the team’s tactical network. Accordingly, there are not so many tactical guidelines, because there are many ways to reach the goal on the field, creativity is required.
With more creativity, Hoffenheim should now go further up in the second half of the season. Against MSV Duisburg there is already the first chance to do so.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen – SV Werder Bremen (Sunday, 4 p.m.)
The transfer carousel at Leverkusen has not only turned at player level. In the game against Werder Bremen to restart the Bundesliga, a new face will also appear on the sidelines. Assistant coach Jessie van den Broek is new, at least for most in the Bundesliga, but not for Bayer head coach Robert de Pauw. The team is now fully in Dutch hands. Van den Broek worked as an assistant coach alongside Robert de Pauw for the FC Twente women last season.
Robert de Pauw gets support from his native Netherlands on the sidelines.
Bayer 04 is for van den Broek “a very attractive club. I’m looking forward to supporting and developing the team on their way as assistant coach,” she says. She replaces Jacqueline Dünker, who is now head coach at FC Zurich.
SV Meppen – Eintracht Frankfurt (Sunday, 4 p.m.)
Shortly before the restart after the winter break, SV Meppen announced a contract extension. With Lisa-Marie Weiss, another leading player remains with the promoted team, who is well on the way to staying up. “Lissy” has now played 211 competitive games for SV Meppen in the women’s Bundesliga and the DFB Cup.
Women’s football has never stood still in Meppen and has developed step by step over the years. I appreciate this very much and would very much like to remain true to this process.