Simic: No, I don’t think so. It’s full-on at the moment, but we have a broad squad. It’s a shame that Almuth Schult will miss out in the coming year.
DFB.de: She fractured her foot in the DFB Cup game. That wasn’t the only difficult thing in the game, though.
Simic: That’s right. Essen were tough opponents but we put in a lot of effort and won. That’s the only thing that counts, but at this stage, there are no easy opponents.
DFB.de: On Sunday you go again against Essen in the Bundesliga.
Simic: It’s not ideal, but it doesn’t matter who the opposition is. From now until Christmas it’s one after the other, so we can’t show any weakness.
DFB.de: The point difference between you and Bayern is six.
Simic: That’s already quite a lot. Bayern play impressive football and win all the tight games, which we haven’t done so far. We have to be careful we don’t lose sight of them.
Wolfsburg women travel to Chelsea to play in the round of 16, before they face them again in a week’s time. In an interview with midfield woman Julia Simic, we hear what she had to say ahead of the encounter.
DFB.de: Mrs. Simic, you are playing against Chelsea. The anticipation must be very high?
Julia Simic: Yes, of course. They are a very prestigious opponent, but we are looking forward to the game. It is well-known that the standard of football is very high in England. We know what we’re up against and will go there with respect. It’s very appealing playing in the Champions League in London as opposed to the middle of nowhere.
DFB.de: How strong do expect Chelsea to be?
Simic: We have been concentrating on our opponents intensively in recent days and expect a difficult task ahead of us. Chelsea are an offensive side and play confidently up front, but we want to show we can also play attacking football. They are also very good defensively. Chelsea very confidently announced that they want to have a two goal cushion after the home leg, but we will do everything possible to stop them. We need to be on top of our game.
DFB.de: Are they the favourites going into the game?
Simic: Yes, of course, but what difference does it make? We know it’s going to be a difficult match, but we will try to put ourselves in good stead for the return leg and our main aim right now is to get to the quarters. So we must first get past Chelsea, which we have the quality to do.
DFB.de: This is the second week in a row with a midweek fixture for you. Will that be a problem?
Simic: No, I don’t think so. It’s full-on at the moment, but we have a broad squad. It’s a shame that Almuth Schult will miss out in the coming year.
DFB.de: She fractured her foot in the DFB Cup game. That wasn’t the only difficult thing in the game, though.
Simic: That’s right. Essen were tough opponents but we put in a lot of effort and won. That’s the only thing that counts, but at this stage, there are no easy opponents.
DFB.de: On Sunday you go again against Essen in the Bundesliga.
Simic: It’s not ideal, but it doesn’t matter who the opposition is. From now until Christmas it’s one after the other, so we can’t show any weakness.
DFB.de: The point difference between you and Bayern is six.
Simic: That’s already quite a lot. Bayern play impressive football and win all the tight games, which we haven’t done so far. We have to be careful we don’t lose sight of them.
