A silver medal is certain; however the Germany Women’s team is within reach of an Olympic gold medal. After their 2-0 semi-final victory over Canada in Belo Horizonte, head coach Silvia Neid and her squad are getting ready to travel to Rio de Janeiro. On Friday the Germany Women’s team is playing in the Olympic final against Sweden in the Maracanã stadium.
Team captain Saskia Bartusiak earned her 100th international cap in the semi-final. The Frankfurter spoke after the game in an interview with DFB.de about the historical victory and the anticipation for the final in the Maracanã.
DFB.de: Congratulations on qualifying for the final! Can you contain your excitement?
Saskia Bartusiak: I can hardly believe it. You have to let everything settle down before you realise what we have actually achieved. It didn’t really sink in straight after the match that we are now in the final of the Olympic Games. I am over the moon and unbelievably proud of the team. We’ve been determined and fought hard. Now we are on our way to the final in Rio.
DFB.de: You also earned your 100th international cap.
Bartusiak: Of course it is a coincidence that I earned my 100th cap in the semi-final. But I’m proud that I managed to do it. When I played my first international match I would have never believed that I would reach 100 caps. But what excites me more is that we achieved it as a team and that we’ve qualified for the final. My number of caps isn’t so important to me at the moment. What is more important however, is the achievements as have made as a team over the past few years.
DFB.de: So you made your way to the final as a team.
Bartusiak: Yes. Some people did not consider us as potential finalists. But we have always believed in ourselves and our strengths. We knew that we had it us and were able to do it. We critically addressed the things that weren’t working so well. But we always held our heads high and knew what our main goal was. I think that we excelled ourselves. Our team spirit is very high which you have seen in the last two games.
DFB.de: Canada also had a lot of chances and mounted a lot of pressure during the match.
Bartusiak: It was a real fight. We knew already that Canada are a very good team. They have a lot of good players in their squad and they play very well together as a team. We knew that it would be a challenge but we also knew that we could do it if everyone gave it their all. We managed to do exactly that.
DFB.de: How exhausting was the semi-final match?
Bartusiak: It was really tiring. It definitely got to the point where I thought that I couldn’t play any longer. But one of my teammates was always there to spur me on. We never fell apart; we always stuck as a unit. In doing so, we managed to win 2-0 and we earned the victory.
DFB.de: Brasil and Sweden had already played until penalties. Were you aware of that?
Bartusiak:They were still playing when we left for our match so we didn’t know. Only after the final whistle did the word get about that our opponent in the final had won on penalties.
DFB.de: Sweden has already beaten the favourites of the tournament, USA and Brasil. Pia Sundhage’s team must have something surely?
Bartusiak: Absolutely. I think Sweden will be very confident now. They have knocked strong teams out of the tournament which no one expected them to do. Because of this it will be an unpredictable game, like in other knockout games. Sweden will give it all they’ve got, but so will we. I’m really looking forward to the final. We will go into the match just as confident as they are. However we have to give just as good a performance with just as much passion and determination as we did in the quarter and semi-finals.
DFB.de: You won a bronze medal in Beijing in 2008. Now you have definitely won at least silver.
Bartusiak: I can’t believe we are playing in the final. Winning a gold medal would be a bonus but of course we want that. We’ve achieved something that no Germany Women’s football team has done before. That is a historical moment itself that we have to take in and enjoy. We have to enjoy the final too. We can go into the game with little pressure and take in the atmosphere of the legendary Maracanã. We don’t know if we’ll ever get that opportunity again. It will be a very special moment.
DFB.de: You are really living the dream.
Bartusiak: We have to take this enthusiasm and excitement into the final. We are incredibly elated after winning the semi-final. But you have to leave emotions out of it and leave all other worries behind. The girls have earned this. However we have to quickly recover again for the next match. The final is this Friday and therefore we have to be in our best shape.
DFB.de: Now you are finally going into the Olympic village.
Bartusiak: We have spoken about that a lot and most of the players have never experienced it. I am so proud that we have got there together.
DFB.de:Has this time been different to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing?
Bartusiak: It’s difficult to say really. Last time I was a substitute so I didn’t play a lot. This time it has been a very different experience for me. In the last few years we have come so far and developed an incredible team spirit. Now we want to reward ourselves for that.
[mmc/ej]
A silver medal is certain; however the Germany Women’s team is within reach of an Olympic gold medal. After their 2-0 semi-final victory over Canada in Belo Horizonte, head coach Silvia Neid and her squad are getting ready to travel to Rio de Janeiro. On Friday the Germany Women’s team is playing in the Olympic final against Sweden in the Maracanã stadium.
Team captain Saskia Bartusiak earned her 100th international cap in the semi-final. The Frankfurter spoke after the game in an interview with DFB.de about the historical victory and the anticipation for the final in the Maracanã.
DFB.de: Congratulations on qualifying for the final! Can you contain your excitement?
Saskia Bartusiak: I can hardly believe it. You have to let everything settle down before you realise what we have actually achieved. It didn’t really sink in straight after the match that we are now in the final of the Olympic Games. I am over the moon and unbelievably proud of the team. We’ve been determined and fought hard. Now we are on our way to the final in Rio.
DFB.de: You also earned your 100th international cap.
Bartusiak: Of course it is a coincidence that I earned my 100th cap in the semi-final. But I’m proud that I managed to do it. When I played my first international match I would have never believed that I would reach 100 caps. But what excites me more is that we achieved it as a team and that we’ve qualified for the final. My number of caps isn’t so important to me at the moment. What is more important however, is the achievements as have made as a team over the past few years.
DFB.de: So you made your way to the final as a team.
Bartusiak: Yes. Some people did not consider us as potential finalists. But we have always believed in ourselves and our strengths. We knew that we had it us and were able to do it. We critically addressed the things that weren’t working so well. But we always held our heads high and knew what our main goal was. I think that we excelled ourselves. Our team spirit is very high which you have seen in the last two games.
DFB.de: Canada also had a lot of chances and mounted a lot of pressure during the match.
Bartusiak: It was a real fight. We knew already that Canada are a very good team. They have a lot of good players in their squad and they play very well together as a team. We knew that it would be a challenge but we also knew that we could do it if everyone gave it their all. We managed to do exactly that.
DFB.de: How exhausting was the semi-final match?
Bartusiak: It was really tiring. It definitely got to the point where I thought that I couldn’t play any longer. But one of my teammates was always there to spur me on. We never fell apart; we always stuck as a unit. In doing so, we managed to win 2-0 and we earned the victory.
DFB.de: Brasil and Sweden had already played until penalties. Were you aware of that?
Bartusiak:They were still playing when we left for our match so we didn’t know. Only after the final whistle did the word get about that our opponent in the final had won on penalties.
DFB.de: Sweden has already beaten the favourites of the tournament, USA and Brasil. Pia Sundhage’s team must have something surely?
Bartusiak: Absolutely. I think Sweden will be very confident now. They have knocked strong teams out of the tournament which no one expected them to do. Because of this it will be an unpredictable game, like in other knockout games. Sweden will give it all they’ve got, but so will we. I’m really looking forward to the final. We will go into the match just as confident as they are. However we have to give just as good a performance with just as much passion and determination as we did in the quarter and semi-finals.
DFB.de: You won a bronze medal in Beijing in 2008. Now you have definitely won at least silver.
Bartusiak: I can’t believe we are playing in the final. Winning a gold medal would be a bonus but of course we want that. We’ve achieved something that no Germany Women’s football team has done before. That is a historical moment itself that we have to take in and enjoy. We have to enjoy the final too. We can go into the game with little pressure and take in the atmosphere of the legendary Maracanã. We don’t know if we’ll ever get that opportunity again. It will be a very special moment.
DFB.de: You are really living the dream.
Bartusiak: We have to take this enthusiasm and excitement into the final. We are incredibly elated after winning the semi-final. But you have to leave emotions out of it and leave all other worries behind. The girls have earned this. However we have to quickly recover again for the next match. The final is this Friday and therefore we have to be in our best shape.
DFB.de: Now you are finally going into the Olympic village.
Bartusiak: We have spoken about that a lot and most of the players have never experienced it. I am so proud that we have got there together.
DFB.de:Has this time been different to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing?
Bartusiak: It’s difficult to say really. Last time I was a substitute so I didn’t play a lot. This time it has been a very different experience for me. In the last few years we have come so far and developed an incredible team spirit. Now we want to reward ourselves for that.
