On Tuesday evening, the VfL Wolfsburg footballers will play their last game of the year. In the Champions League they face former series winners Olympique Lyon. Even if it’s no longer about anything in terms of sport, VfL coach Tommy Stroot demands commitment.
“We have the chance to provide another great experience under great conditions,” said the 35-year-old before the game, which kicks off at 9 p.m. (at the NDR Livecenter), and added: “It’s a Champions League -Game, we also want to use this podium to present ourselves.”
Nevertheless, Stroot will also give one or two players a break. Double goalscorer Lineth Beerensteyn openly admitted after the 3-1 win in the league game at Werder Bremen that she had “really heavy legs”.
Break for Jónsdóttir?
“We only have a short time between the two games, so it was clear to us that we would use the Lyon game to rotate. We’ll wait until the final training session and then decide what exactly we’ll do to get a good balance “The rotation shouldn’t be used to give away the game,” said Stroot.
Sarai Linder, who suffered a “small injury” in Bremen, will certainly be missing. Sveindis Jónsdóttir, the four-goal scorer against Rome, has been suffering from slight knee problems since the Champions League game a week ago: “She’s there, but with her it’s definitely important to keep the problems in the back of her mind,” said the VfL coach.
Record against Lyon could be improved
The win in Bremen made amends for the disappointing 3-3 draw in the home game against Werder women at the beginning of September. Since the 0-1 defeat from the first leg against Rome was successfully made up for last week, the VfL women now have the “revenge triple” in their duel with Lyon: two months ago they lost 0-2 at home against the top French team. In any case, Wolfsburg’s record against Olympique can be improved: there have only been two wins in ten duels, the last one so far coming seven years ago – in Lyon.
Hendrich: “We are on a very good path”
The conditions for the Wolfsburg women are not bad. After initial difficulties, they have found their way into the season and, according to Kathrin Hendrich, are “on a very good path” again. In the tight Bundesliga championship race, the “Wolves” are only one point behind league leaders Frankfurt, they are in the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup and in the premier class they have already qualified for the knockout phase as runners-up in the group.
A win against Lyon, who have won all five group games so far, would make VfL’s self-confidence even greater – and would mean an early double gift for Stroot: the VfL coach will be 36 years old on Christmas Eve.
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Sports current | 12/17/2024 | 11:17 p.m
