Goeßling: Massively. It will be a fantastic game and we’re anxious to start it. I think this will be a game between the two best women’s teams in Europe at the moment. We will definitely need a good day if we are to win, but we have the potential to bring the Champions League back to Germany this year.
DFB.de: What will it come down to in the end?
Goeßling: We need to show passion, believe in ourselves. Then we’ll have every chance of winning. In terms of quality and footballing aspects, there’s nothing to separate the teams, so we’ll have to try and give ourselves the upper hand in other areas.
DFB.de: What do you see as your greatest strengths?
Goeßling: We’re well organised up front and at the back. We’re very strong and above all experienced at the back, we rarely get broken down. And when we do, we know that we have a fantastic goalkeeper in Almuth Schult as the last line of defence. Up front, we have a lot of quality and always capable of scoring – the balance is as good as it could be.
DFB.de: How about Lyon’s strengths?
Goeßling: I could say the same thing for them. They too have outstanding players in every position. Dzsenifer Marozsan stands out as the playmaker of course.
DFB.de: You mentioned the DFB Pokal victory. How was the weekend in Cologne for you?
The VfL Wolfsburg ladies are chasing the treble. They’ve won the league, won the cup, and now Stephan Lerch’s team are going for the Champions League in Kiev tonight. Standing in their way: the holders, Olympique Lyon. Germany international Lena Goeßling talked to DFB.de about their chances.
DFB.de: Miss Goeßling, the German championship and the DFB Pokal are in the bag, now the Triple is on the cards...
Lena Goeßling: We’ll give our all again to try and win it – we’ll do everything within the team’s power. On Saturday we had a tough game against Bayern München with extra time and penalties, but we managed to secure the DFB Pokal for the fourth year running.
DFB.de: How much energy did the final against Bayern take out of you?
Goeßling: Obviously it was extremely tiring, but we’ve had enough time to recuperate, plus the victory will give us extra energies. We want to carry the momentum and confidence forward.
DFB.de: Lyon, the Champions League holders, have not lost a single competitive game all season. How do you want to overcome this challenge?
Goeßling: We’ve only lost one game in that time – in the Bundesliga against Freiburg. Last season we were knocked out on penalties against Olympique Lyon in the quarterfinals, and we’ve made progress since then. I am absolutely convinced that we’ll be a match for Lyon – which team wins will come down to minor details – we’re prepared for that.
DFB.de: How excited are you about the final against the current holders?
Goeßling: Massively. It will be a fantastic game and we’re anxious to start it. I think this will be a game between the two best women’s teams in Europe at the moment. We will definitely need a good day if we are to win, but we have the potential to bring the Champions League back to Germany this year.
DFB.de: What will it come down to in the end?
Goeßling: We need to show passion, believe in ourselves. Then we’ll have every chance of winning. In terms of quality and footballing aspects, there’s nothing to separate the teams, so we’ll have to try and give ourselves the upper hand in other areas.
DFB.de: What do you see as your greatest strengths?
Goeßling: We’re well organised up front and at the back. We’re very strong and above all experienced at the back, we rarely get broken down. And when we do, we know that we have a fantastic goalkeeper in Almuth Schult as the last line of defence. Up front, we have a lot of quality and always capable of scoring – the balance is as good as it could be.
DFB.de: How about Lyon’s strengths?
Goeßling: I could say the same thing for them. They too have outstanding players in every position. Dzsenifer Marozsan stands out as the playmaker of course.
DFB.de: You mentioned the DFB Pokal victory. How was the weekend in Cologne for you?
Goeßling: It was another experience. This was my fifth DFB Pokal final, we’ve won all five and I hope this wasn’t the last. It’s always worth the trip to Cologne.
DFB.de: It was a penalty shootout that decided the result. Why was it so difficult on Saturday?
Goeßling: The Munich girls were really good – there were chances at both ends. We had the better nerves for the penalty shootout, and an outstanding goalkeeper. Almuth Schult won us that title.
DFB.de: What happened after that?
Goeßling: We celebrated the win, bearing in mind what is still to come, of course. We were shattered after 120 minutes of football. It’s been three games a week, one week after the next recently, but our batteries are fully recharged for Lyon. Then we’ve got two more games in the Bundesliga, where we’ll want to continue our form. It is good, however, that the break will soon follow – we’ve performed at the top of our game week in, week out and not really shown any signs of weakness – that should not be taken for granted: it shows the great character within our team. It’s not only been physically exhausting, but also psychologically. Now we’re on the home stretch and we want to end the season well.
