“Ah, yes, that’s cool!” Corina “Coco” Schröder was given the information she wanted. The 28-year-old was resigned to not being able to watch the friendly between England and Germany on television in her home land. Thankfully, the game can be seen live and exclusively on DFB.tv. The game on Sunday kicks-off at 16:00 CET and shouldn’t be missed.
Schröder is aware of this more than anyone – she has a foot in both camps. She played in the Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga for 11 years for FCR 2001 Duisburg, 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and SC 07 Bad Neuenahr, as well as playing for Germany at various levels, but never for the senior squad. In recent years she has been playing England and achieved great success: She has won the English title twice with Liverpool FC.
"It’s constantly become more professional"
Whilst in England, Schröder has learned a lot about women’s football in England. She is full of praise for the development of the sport. “It’s constantly becoming more professional. The clubs want all of their players to be full-time footballers.”
The league structure is beginning to follow suit, however, at the minute there are only eight teams in the top-flight – the elite teams in English women’s football. Consequently, the level of competition is high. “Everyone can beat each other,” said Coco Schröder. The recent meeting between Liverpool and Everton represents this nicely. The game finished 2-2 despite being between the teams at the head and foot of the table.
A look at the final standings backs up her thesis. Liverpool won the league, by virtue of having a better goal difference than second placed Chelsea FC: Birmingham City finished third, with a point less than the top two. Arsenal finished four and were only five points off top spot.
Arsenal or Liverpool: Famous clubs create excitement
There are some names which create a sense of excitement due to their name. Arsenal and Liverpool are two such names: They often find themselves in the higher echelons of the Premier League and do the same in the women’s equivalent. The names are attractive and also bring substance with them: Financially and structurally. For this reason, many of the England players play their club football in their home land. In the Germany squad for the game there are three players who are contracted to American outfits and and a plethora play their club football across Europe. “All the teams have good squads,” explained Schröder. As a result of this the league’s quality increases each year.
The set-up at the club’s is also becoming more impressive: “We have a manager, assistant manager, goalkeeping coach, doctor, physios and a nutritionist,” added Schröder. The closest of details are examined by the clubs: “We have daily urine tests to determine whether we are drinking enough.” In addition, the Liverpool players also get their body fat percentage checked frequently. The players also go in the ice baths to help recovery; Schröder had never done this in Germany.
"A few interactions" with Gerrard und Co.
Participation is increasing as is the interest for women’s football in England. Wembley Stadium has sold out for the game (55,000 seats), “Our English teacher, who is also responsible for the men’s senior team, knew nothing about women’s football a few year ago,” she explained. Playing at famous clubs like Liverpool brings benefits: “We interact with the men from time to time. We had PR-Training with them. After our title success we walked the trophy around the Anfield pitch at one of their games – that was crazy,” said Schröder.
Lucas, the Brazillian star for Liverpool’s men’s team, congratulated the women via Facebook when they won the league. In previous years interaction between the sides was limited, however nowadays everything is integrated: "Some of our players sit near Steven Gerrard at meal times."
First time in the Champions League
However, just because it glistens, doesn’t mean that it’s golden. There is still room for improvement. There are only eight teams in the league, which is arguably too small. Teams only have 14 league games per season – which does get topped up by participation in cup competitions. Since joining Liverpool, Schröder has only made 21 appearances. The first game of the previous season took place on 13th April, the last on 12th October. This means that there is only competitive for six months of the season.
Liverpool made their debut in the Women’s Champions League this season. However, they were knocked out in the first round by Linköpings FC, despite winning the first-leg 2-1. A 3-0 defeat in Sweden brought a premature end to their participation in the competition. This year’s performances should provide a valuable learning curb for the team, who return to the tournament next season.
Despite her experiences in the English game, she feels that in certain regards the game in Germany is more advanced. “England have good players but German players are more tactically astute,” claimed Schröder. “It will be a top quality match. I am really looking forward to it,” she said.
created by mmc/mb
“Ah, yes, that’s cool!” Corina “Coco” Schröder was given the information she wanted. The 28-year-old was resigned to not being able to watch the friendly between England and Germany on television in her home land. Thankfully, the game can be seen live and exclusively on DFB.tv. The game on Sunday kicks-off at 16:00 CET and shouldn’t be missed.
Schröder is aware of this more than anyone – she has a foot in both camps. She played in the Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga for 11 years for FCR 2001 Duisburg, 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and SC 07 Bad Neuenahr, as well as playing for Germany at various levels, but never for the senior squad. In recent years she has been playing England and achieved great success: She has won the English title twice with Liverpool FC.
"It’s constantly become more professional"
Whilst in England, Schröder has learned a lot about women’s football in England. She is full of praise for the development of the sport. “It’s constantly becoming more professional. The clubs want all of their players to be full-time footballers.”
The league structure is beginning to follow suit, however, at the minute there are only eight teams in the top-flight – the elite teams in English women’s football. Consequently, the level of competition is high. “Everyone can beat each other,” said Coco Schröder. The recent meeting between Liverpool and Everton represents this nicely. The game finished 2-2 despite being between the teams at the head and foot of the table.
A look at the final standings backs up her thesis. Liverpool won the league, by virtue of having a better goal difference than second placed Chelsea FC: Birmingham City finished third, with a point less than the top two. Arsenal finished four and were only five points off top spot.
Arsenal or Liverpool: Famous clubs create excitement
There are some names which create a sense of excitement due to their name. Arsenal and Liverpool are two such names: They often find themselves in the higher echelons of the Premier League and do the same in the women’s equivalent. The names are attractive and also bring substance with them: Financially and structurally. For this reason, many of the England players play their club football in their home land. In the Germany squad for the game there are three players who are contracted to American outfits and and a plethora play their club football across Europe. “All the teams have good squads,” explained Schröder. As a result of this the league’s quality increases each year.
The set-up at the club’s is also becoming more impressive: “We have a manager, assistant manager, goalkeeping coach, doctor, physios and a nutritionist,” added Schröder. The closest of details are examined by the clubs: “We have daily urine tests to determine whether we are drinking enough.” In addition, the Liverpool players also get their body fat percentage checked frequently. The players also go in the ice baths to help recovery; Schröder had never done this in Germany.
"A few interactions" with Gerrard und Co.
Participation is increasing as is the interest for women’s football in England. Wembley Stadium has sold out for the game (55,000 seats), “Our English teacher, who is also responsible for the men’s senior team, knew nothing about women’s football a few year ago,” she explained. Playing at famous clubs like Liverpool brings benefits: “We interact with the men from time to time. We had PR-Training with them. After our title success we walked the trophy around the Anfield pitch at one of their games – that was crazy,” said Schröder.
Lucas, the Brazillian star for Liverpool’s men’s team, congratulated the women via Facebook when they won the league. In previous years interaction between the sides was limited, however nowadays everything is integrated: "Some of our players sit near Steven Gerrard at meal times."
First time in the Champions League
However, just because it glistens, doesn’t mean that it’s golden. There is still room for improvement. There are only eight teams in the league, which is arguably too small. Teams only have 14 league games per season – which does get topped up by participation in cup competitions. Since joining Liverpool, Schröder has only made 21 appearances. The first game of the previous season took place on 13th April, the last on 12th October. This means that there is only competitive for six months of the season.
Liverpool made their debut in the Women’s Champions League this season. However, they were knocked out in the first round by Linköpings FC, despite winning the first-leg 2-1. A 3-0 defeat in Sweden brought a premature end to their participation in the competition. This year’s performances should provide a valuable learning curb for the team, who return to the tournament next season.
Despite her experiences in the English game, she feels that in certain regards the game in Germany is more advanced. “England have good players but German players are more tactically astute,” claimed Schröder. “It will be a top quality match. I am really looking forward to it,” she said.
