Anja Mittag is in high demand at the moment. Prior to their final training session in Sunday evening in Breda’s Rat Verlegh Stadion, she was swarmed by Swedish journalists as she did her best to converse with them in Swedish ahead of Germany’s opening game against Sweden, where she currently lives, on Monday (20:45 CEST).
“Sure, you tend to make something of the fact that you know the strengths and weaknesses of the your opponents,” said the 32-year-old. The striker has played for Swedish runners-up FC Rosengard since March, and has also extended her contract there until 2019. It’s the third time she’s had a stint in Sweden, previously playing for QBIK Karlstad (2006/07), and with FC Rosengard from 2012-2015. “Mälmo is home for me,” said the Olympic winner. “The game against Sweden is a special one for me. I’m raring to go.”
Germany manager Jones: Guaranteed minutes for Mittag
Steffi Jones has guaranteed that Mittag will receive playing time. “She’ll play, for sure,” said the Germany manager at the press conference in Breda. “Anja is a very intelligent footballer, shrewd, and creative. I’m nothing but elated to have her in the squad.” That quality will be needed against an opponent that plays a routine 4-4-2 formation. “It won’t be an easy game, because Sweden remain compact in defence and know how to chase the ball. It’ll certainly be a challenge for us,” said Mittag.
There was fighting talk from Sweden manager Pia Sundhage and former teammate at VfL Wolfsburg Nilla Fischer, but Mittag shut them down: “Sure, the Swedish have a score to settle, but we’ll show them on the pitch.” Germany have won 13 games out of 15 against Sweden – including a victory in the 2016 Olympic final (2-1), and a win in the semi-final when Sweden hosted the EURO in 2013 (1-0).
Anja Mittag: Responsibility on and off the pitch
Mittag was there for both encounters, and so she’s already given Sweden a taste of what Germany can do. Anja Mittag is a useful member of the team to have around for the her teammates, thanks to her insurmountable experience provided to her by her 154 caps – along with 50 goals - and the fact that she’s the oldest player in the squad. In addition, she’s the incumbent locker-room DJ, and also leads a song or two when it comes to the warm-ups.
Matchdays require you to find a balance between concentrating, and beating at ease. That’s why the girls played some football tennis, some table tennis, and did some cycling this morning – but fun time is over when the ball gets rolling in Breda’s Stadion Rat Verlegh at 20:45 CEST. Mittag is convinced that the squad has the necessary quality: “We have a fantastic group of girls in the team, and many players that can surprise our opponents.” Let’s hope that’s the case against Sweden tonight.