Klara Bühl has been named as the Germany women’s national team Player and Goalscorer of the Year by visitors to DFB.de. In an interview with DFB.de, the Bayern forward looks back on the highs and lows of the year gone by. Above all, though, Bühl looks ahead and speaks of her aspirations for 2024 – both with the national team and with Bayern.
DFB.de: Klara Bühl, DFB.de users have voted you as Goalscorer and national team Player of the Year for 2023. What do these accolades mean to you?
Klara Bühl: They mean a lot, especially because they come from the fans. I’m very happy and really proud about this double award. It feels like a great appreciation by the fans of the efforts I’ve displayed over the last year. It’s great that that’s been honoured in this way. On the other hand, it’s even more important to me that I’m able to bring the fans some joy through my style of play, and give something back to them.
DFB.de: The award-winning goal was the opener in the Nations League game against Iceland.
Klara Bühl: It was a very important strike. We had just lost against Denmark, so there was a lot of pressure on us. We simply had to win that game. That opening goal felt like it lifted a weight from our shoulders. You can see in my goal celebration just how great the relief was. It was pure emotion. It was a great feeling to be able to help the team in that complicated situation.
DFB.de: You cut inside from the left with the ball at your feet and scored at the near post from the edge of the box. Was that a typical Klara Bühl goal?
Bühl: Yes, you could say that. Sometimes the move comes off well, sometimes not so much. In that moment it worked brilliantly.
DFB.de: Your award as women’s national team Player of the Year is probably even more important to you, because it honours your work over the last 12 months and not just one good action.
Bühl: Yes, that’s how I see it as well. For me personally it was a good year for the national team, in spite of the knockbacks we had to contend with as a team. That was also helped by the fact that up until just before Christmas I had no problems with injuries and so was able to stay physically super fit. It’s a shame that I then got another muscle injury in December. Just like the fans, I felt like I performed well in most of my matches with the national team. But I’m not resting on my laurels. These awards will drive me on. I want to be just as good in 2024, or even better if I can. In any case I get the feeling that I’m on the right track and that’s how I want to carry on.
DFB.de: 2023 was a tumultuous year for the national team, with quite a few highs and lows.
Bühl: We went to the World Cup in euphoric mood. Unfortunately we weren’t able to achieve our goals there. The reasons for that have already been gone over in detail. But in the second half of the year we managed to turn things around and put that low point behind us. We’re very happy that by winning our group in the Nations League we’ve again qualified for the play-offs and in doing so given ourselves the chance to make it to the Olympic Games in Paris. That’s our big short-term goal at the moment. Our performances haven’t always been great, but they’ve proven sufficient to see us through. At the same time we’ve obviously also seen that we have plenty of scope for improvement and we can and will get better.
DFB.de: What role does Horst Hrubesch play in this equation?
Bühl: In hindsight I’d say it was important to get a new impetus after our early exit from the World Cup. Horst Hrubesch has changed a few things and been responsible for some new roles. He’s also tinkered with the way we interact with one another. He’s a really, really positive guy and he’s definitely brought us forward. We know that he unfortunately can’t be with us forever. But as a footballer and as a team you have to live in the here and now. And at the moment he’s exactly the right man for the job. We work well together and we’re in harmony. It’s a lot of fun.
DFB.de: On 23rd February, you travel to France for the first of two games in the course of the play-offs. The Olympic dream lives on.
Bühl: We’ve worked hard for it. We want to make the most of our chance and lay down a marker in our first game against France. We’ve already shown plenty of times that we have the potential, now we have to put it into practice on the pitch. We want to play power football from the first minute against France and leave the result in no doubt at all. In the 3-0 win against Denmark we showed what we can do for long stretches of the game. That showing should be our aim. We have to build on it. At the same time, we know that there are a few areas of our game that we can and have to work on.
DFB.de: For many athletes, the Olympic Games represent the high point of their careers. How do you see them?
Bühl: For me it’s a childhood dream to take part in the Olympic Games. I still remember vividly how I would sit at home in front of the TV as a child and root feverishly for the German athletes – regardless of their sport. I really loved it and I still love it to this day. For me, the Olympic Games are also one of the biggest experiences you can have as a footballer. I’ll do everything I can to help secure our qualification as a team. Along with my teammates and the other athletes of our nation, I want to represent our country and present it in the best possible light. I want to be there in Paris and live my dream.
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Klara Bühl has been named as the Germany women’s national team Player and Goalscorer of the Year by visitors to DFB.de. In an interview with DFB.de, the Bayern forward looks back on the highs and lows of the year gone by. Above all, though, Bühl looks ahead and speaks of her aspirations for 2024 – both with the national team and with Bayern.
DFB.de: Klara Bühl, DFB.de users have voted you as Goalscorer and national team Player of the Year for 2023. What do these accolades mean to you?
Klara Bühl: They mean a lot, especially because they come from the fans. I’m very happy and really proud about this double award. It feels like a great appreciation by the fans of the efforts I’ve displayed over the last year. It’s great that that’s been honoured in this way. On the other hand, it’s even more important to me that I’m able to bring the fans some joy through my style of play, and give something back to them.
DFB.de: The award-winning goal was the opener in the Nations League game against Iceland.
Klara Bühl: It was a very important strike. We had just lost against Denmark, so there was a lot of pressure on us. We simply had to win that game. That opening goal felt like it lifted a weight from our shoulders. You can see in my goal celebration just how great the relief was. It was pure emotion. It was a great feeling to be able to help the team in that complicated situation.
DFB.de: You cut inside from the left with the ball at your feet and scored at the near post from the edge of the box. Was that a typical Klara Bühl goal?
Bühl: Yes, you could say that. Sometimes the move comes off well, sometimes not so much. In that moment it worked brilliantly.
DFB.de: Your award as women’s national team Player of the Year is probably even more important to you, because it honours your work over the last 12 months and not just one good action.
Bühl: Yes, that’s how I see it as well. For me personally it was a good year for the national team, in spite of the knockbacks we had to contend with as a team. That was also helped by the fact that up until just before Christmas I had no problems with injuries and so was able to stay physically super fit. It’s a shame that I then got another muscle injury in December. Just like the fans, I felt like I performed well in most of my matches with the national team. But I’m not resting on my laurels. These awards will drive me on. I want to be just as good in 2024, or even better if I can. In any case I get the feeling that I’m on the right track and that’s how I want to carry on.
DFB.de: 2023 was a tumultuous year for the national team, with quite a few highs and lows.
Bühl: We went to the World Cup in euphoric mood. Unfortunately we weren’t able to achieve our goals there. The reasons for that have already been gone over in detail. But in the second half of the year we managed to turn things around and put that low point behind us. We’re very happy that by winning our group in the Nations League we’ve again qualified for the play-offs and in doing so given ourselves the chance to make it to the Olympic Games in Paris. That’s our big short-term goal at the moment. Our performances haven’t always been great, but they’ve proven sufficient to see us through. At the same time we’ve obviously also seen that we have plenty of scope for improvement and we can and will get better.
DFB.de: What role does Horst Hrubesch play in this equation?
Bühl: In hindsight I’d say it was important to get a new impetus after our early exit from the World Cup. Horst Hrubesch has changed a few things and been responsible for some new roles. He’s also tinkered with the way we interact with one another. He’s a really, really positive guy and he’s definitely brought us forward. We know that he unfortunately can’t be with us forever. But as a footballer and as a team you have to live in the here and now. And at the moment he’s exactly the right man for the job. We work well together and we’re in harmony. It’s a lot of fun.
DFB.de: On 23rd February, you travel to France for the first of two games in the course of the play-offs. The Olympic dream lives on.
Bühl: We’ve worked hard for it. We want to make the most of our chance and lay down a marker in our first game against France. We’ve already shown plenty of times that we have the potential, now we have to put it into practice on the pitch. We want to play power football from the first minute against France and leave the result in no doubt at all. In the 3-0 win against Denmark we showed what we can do for long stretches of the game. That showing should be our aim. We have to build on it. At the same time, we know that there are a few areas of our game that we can and have to work on.
DFB.de: For many athletes, the Olympic Games represent the high point of their careers. How do you see them?
Bühl: For me it’s a childhood dream to take part in the Olympic Games. I still remember vividly how I would sit at home in front of the TV as a child and root feverishly for the German athletes – regardless of their sport. I really loved it and I still love it to this day. For me, the Olympic Games are also one of the biggest experiences you can have as a footballer. I’ll do everything I can to help secure our qualification as a team. Along with my teammates and the other athletes of our nation, I want to represent our country and present it in the best possible light. I want to be there in Paris and live my dream.
