At 18:00 CEST on Friday, the Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga season gets underway, with German champions FC Bayern München facing off against 1. Turbine Potsdam in the opening game. In this series, DFB.de preview the new season, looking at the twelve teams from different perspectives. Today is the turn of DFB Cup winners VfL Wolfsburg and their new arrivals from Olympique Lyon.
Goodbye Lyon, hello Wolfsburg. A new language, a new city and a new challenge. "The Bundesliga is one of, if not the best league in the world," says Dickenmann. "It's great to be a part of it and to get to try my luck in an ambitious team in a new culture and with a new mentality."
Dickenmann: "I've always wanted to play in Germany"
The striker joins the reigning DFB Cup winners with a host of honours, and is held in the highest regard by her former teammates, both as a player and as a person. Her CV looks impressive – over 100 appearances for the French champions, with more than 50 goals in that time. This is backed up with 100 appearances for the Swiss national side.
The fans all around Germany therefore have a lot to be excited about this season, first of all those in Jena, where Wolfsburg will start their campaign on Saturday. Dickenmann is looking forward to the new challenge: "For me, it's a dream come true. I've always wanted to play in Germany, so it wasn't too hard for me to say goodbye to my old team. That's just how it is in football. I'll definitely stop by in Lyon again, though. The city has obviously grown on me."
"Dickenmann and Bussaglia are absolutely top players"
She's enjoyed great success in France in the last six years, winning six league titles, four cups and two Champions League titles, as well as being voted the best player in her home country four times in a row – you can't get much more successful than that, but Dickenmann wants to try. "I'd like to continue these successes in Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg are one of the most distinguished sides in Europe, and I'm incredibly proud to play here."
She won't need much time to settle in, as she's not coming by herself. Elise Bussaglia has also made the move from Lyon to Wolfsburg. The 29-year-old, who has been capped 140 times by France, has signed on until 2017. Manager Ralf Kellermann is very happy with the new additions: "We're all incredibly enthusiastic about the arrival of two absolutely top players in Élise Bussaglia and Lara Dickenmann. Both players bring international experience and immense quality, which will help us to continue on the right path."
Arrivals from Norway, Poland and Belgium
It's clear that Wolfsburg will be challenging on all fronts in the coming season. In the DFB Cup the aim will be to defend the title they hold, whilst after last season's second-place league finish, they will be looking to make the jump up to champions – a hard task, given that FC Bayern München, 1. FFC Frankfurt and Turbine Potsdam have also strengthened over the summer. In the Champions League, Wolfsburg will hope to add to the two titles they have previously won.
The two signings from Lyon are not the only new arrivals in Wolfsburg this summer, however. Synne Jensen from Kolbotn IL in Norway, Ewa Pajor from KKPK Medyk Konin in Poland and Tessa Wullaert from Standard Lüttich in Belgium have all signed for VfL. Ahead of the season, manager Ralf Kellermann confirms: "For VfL Wolfsburg, it's incredibly important to perform on the international stage – coming through the Champions League qualification round is the minimum target. We've got a very good squad together, who we hope can make us proud, both domestically and internationally. We obviously want to bring the league title back to Wolfsburg."
