The German champions are set to welcome the DFB Cup winners. FC Bayern München play host to VfL Wolfsburg on matchday three of the Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga on Sunday at 14:00 CEST. The clash also sees a number of Germany internationals come up against one another. For Bayern, the current focus has been on Sara Däbritz in particular, who was part of the gold medal-winning team at the Olympic Games in Rio. In an interview with DFB.de, the 21-year-old discusses the tough start to the season, the importance of the game against Wolfsburg, and the clubs making up the title race. At the same time, she explains why she enjoyed the rare experience of not being named in Germany’s international squad.
DFB.de: Ms. Däbritz, having picked up four points from the opening two fixtures and only scored two goals, is it fair to say that it’s been a difficult start for Bayern?
Sara Däbritz: Yes, it’s fair. But we were expecting that. We were missing a lot of players during the pre-season preparations, mainly due to the Olympic Games, and I missed a lot myself. So we knew we would need a little bit more time to get things running smoothly again. Of course we’d have liked to kick off with a win against Freiburg, but we didn’t take our chances in that game. In the end, you have to accept that a 1-1 draw is not a bad result. Our performance was much improved when we won 1-0 in Jena, because we kept things much tighter at the back. Had we been a bit more ruthless in front of goal, we’d have won by a bigger margin. But we can, and we have to, keep on getting better.
DFB.de: Wolfsburg are up next, and that’s a completely different challenge.
Däbritz: Yes, and we’ll have to be at our best to win it. But I’ve been getting the impression that we’re on our way there, because we’ve been working and focusing so well over the past few days. Games against Wolfsburg are always one of the highlights of any season, and I’m really looking forward to the game.
DFB.de: Even at this early stage, do you think the game will have some say in the title race, since the winners will strengthen their grip at the top of the table and the losers will drop down into mid-table?
Däbritz: No, I wouldn’t go that far. No German championship has ever been decided on matchday three. Of course we want to keep the three points in Munich, that’s just normal. But if we aren’t able to do that, it doesn’t mean that the season is over already.
DFB.de: Do you also factor the high number of surprise results in the Frauen-Bundesliga in your reasoning for that?
Däbritz: There is a clear trend of that, which was especially proven last season. Any team in this league can beat anyone. If we have a bad day, then we’ll have problems, as you could see in both of our first two games. We’ve already spoken about that. But it’s a very good thing for the development of women’s football in Germany.
DFB.de: Setbacks are painful though, right?
Däbritz: Of course it’s painful at first, but it’s all part of the game. I’m sure that these situations bring us together as a team. We face new challenges every weekend and can never relax. We wouldn’t have this starting league position in a lot of other European leagues. Therefore I’m sure that it will help us to achieve our goals in European competitions, particularly in the Champions League.
DFB.de: FC Bayern have won the league two years in a row. Are the teams you are facing at the moment twice as motivated to beat you as before?
Däbritz: Yes, I have that impression. Every team wants to be the first to beat us, and our opponents want to prevent us from winning the league three years in a row. It’s completely reasonable. But we refuse to accept it and will do everything in our power to win the title again.
DFB.de: It was a surprise when you first won the league. Now people talk of a two-horse race between Bayern and Wolfsburg. What do you think of this situation?
Däbritz: I would like to speak only on our behalf. I have already said that we want to stay in all competitions for as long as possible. Maybe we will be able to win the league for a third time, which would be magnificent. But we will always have competition. Potsdam and Frankfurt are also up there and able to win, or maybe even another club. I’m really excited about it.
DFB.de: Do you feel under pressure after winning the league two years in a row?
Däbritz: No, at least I don’t feel under pressure from the outside. If there is any pressure then it’s only what we put on ourselves. I don’t think there is any at the moment. It sounds silly but we are only ever concentrating on the upcoming match, and in the next few weeks we’ll have to stay very focused. There are a lot of challenges up ahead for us.
DFB.de: The national team played two qualifying matches for the 2017 European Championship in the last few days. You didn’t travel to Russia or Hungary and rested instead. Did that go well?
Däbritz: Every match and training session with the national team is something special for me. I don’t take it for granted, it’s an honour. I love being there with the team. However in this particular case it was better that I didn’t go. I didn’t have a break over the summer because of the Olympic Games. It was nice to be able to recharge my batteries. We had a few days off. I was able to visit my family and have a break from everything. That was really good and important for me. But now I’m ready to get going again. I’m looking forward to¬ the match against Wolfsburg.
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The German champions are set to welcome the DFB Cup winners. FC Bayern München play host to VfL Wolfsburg on matchday three of the Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga on Sunday at 14:00 CEST. The clash also sees a number of Germany internationals come up against one another. For Bayern, the current focus has been on Sara Däbritz in particular, who was part of the gold medal-winning team at the Olympic Games in Rio. In an interview with DFB.de, the 21-year-old discusses the tough start to the season, the importance of the game against Wolfsburg, and the clubs making up the title race. At the same time, she explains why she enjoyed the rare experience of not being named in Germany’s international squad.
DFB.de: Ms. Däbritz, having picked up four points from the opening two fixtures and only scored two goals, is it fair to say that it’s been a difficult start for Bayern?
Sara Däbritz: Yes, it’s fair. But we were expecting that. We were missing a lot of players during the pre-season preparations, mainly due to the Olympic Games, and I missed a lot myself. So we knew we would need a little bit more time to get things running smoothly again. Of course we’d have liked to kick off with a win against Freiburg, but we didn’t take our chances in that game. In the end, you have to accept that a 1-1 draw is not a bad result. Our performance was much improved when we won 1-0 in Jena, because we kept things much tighter at the back. Had we been a bit more ruthless in front of goal, we’d have won by a bigger margin. But we can, and we have to, keep on getting better.
DFB.de: Wolfsburg are up next, and that’s a completely different challenge.
Däbritz: Yes, and we’ll have to be at our best to win it. But I’ve been getting the impression that we’re on our way there, because we’ve been working and focusing so well over the past few days. Games against Wolfsburg are always one of the highlights of any season, and I’m really looking forward to the game.
DFB.de: Even at this early stage, do you think the game will have some say in the title race, since the winners will strengthen their grip at the top of the table and the losers will drop down into mid-table?
Däbritz: No, I wouldn’t go that far. No German championship has ever been decided on matchday three. Of course we want to keep the three points in Munich, that’s just normal. But if we aren’t able to do that, it doesn’t mean that the season is over already.
DFB.de: Do you also factor the high number of surprise results in the Frauen-Bundesliga in your reasoning for that?
Däbritz: There is a clear trend of that, which was especially proven last season. Any team in this league can beat anyone. If we have a bad day, then we’ll have problems, as you could see in both of our first two games. We’ve already spoken about that. But it’s a very good thing for the development of women’s football in Germany.
DFB.de: Setbacks are painful though, right?
Däbritz: Of course it’s painful at first, but it’s all part of the game. I’m sure that these situations bring us together as a team. We face new challenges every weekend and can never relax. We wouldn’t have this starting league position in a lot of other European leagues. Therefore I’m sure that it will help us to achieve our goals in European competitions, particularly in the Champions League.
DFB.de: FC Bayern have won the league two years in a row. Are the teams you are facing at the moment twice as motivated to beat you as before?
Däbritz: Yes, I have that impression. Every team wants to be the first to beat us, and our opponents want to prevent us from winning the league three years in a row. It’s completely reasonable. But we refuse to accept it and will do everything in our power to win the title again.
DFB.de: It was a surprise when you first won the league. Now people talk of a two-horse race between Bayern and Wolfsburg. What do you think of this situation?
Däbritz: I would like to speak only on our behalf. I have already said that we want to stay in all competitions for as long as possible. Maybe we will be able to win the league for a third time, which would be magnificent. But we will always have competition. Potsdam and Frankfurt are also up there and able to win, or maybe even another club. I’m really excited about it.
DFB.de: Do you feel under pressure after winning the league two years in a row?
Däbritz: No, at least I don’t feel under pressure from the outside. If there is any pressure then it’s only what we put on ourselves. I don’t think there is any at the moment. It sounds silly but we are only ever concentrating on the upcoming match, and in the next few weeks we’ll have to stay very focused. There are a lot of challenges up ahead for us.
DFB.de: The national team played two qualifying matches for the 2017 European Championship in the last few days. You didn’t travel to Russia or Hungary and rested instead. Did that go well?
Däbritz: Every match and training session with the national team is something special for me. I don’t take it for granted, it’s an honour. I love being there with the team. However in this particular case it was better that I didn’t go. I didn’t have a break over the summer because of the Olympic Games. It was nice to be able to recharge my batteries. We had a few days off. I was able to visit my family and have a break from everything. That was really good and important for me. But now I’m ready to get going again. I’m looking forward to¬ the match against Wolfsburg.
