Bremer: "There is no bigger accolade in club football"

Pauline Bremer faces the biggest game of her career to date on Thursday. Olympique Lyonnais will be hoping to add to their impressive title collection when they face VfL Wolfsburg in the Champions League final in Reggio Emilia on Thursday evening (18:00 CEST).

In an interview with DFB.de, the 20-year-old Germany international talks about her first year with the French champions, reasons for her early contract extension until 2018 and her feelings ahead of the clash with VfL Wolfsburg.

DFB.de: Ms Bremer, how excited are you ahead of the match against VfL Wolfsburg?

Pauline Bremer: Immensely excited – it’s the Champions League final! There is no bigger accolade in club football. It is certainly the biggest game of my career to date. I can’t wait for kick-off.

DFB.de: Is it also particularly special for you because you’re coming up against German opposition?

Bremer: That makes it doubly interesting for me. I’m looking forward to seeing lots of my friends from the national team but above all, I’m looking forward to the sporting challenge. I believe that the final is between two of the best sides in the world.

DFB.de: VfL Wolfsburg beat Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 in the 2013 final...

Bremer: … and that’s obviously still a talking point. There are still some players under contract at Lyon who were involved back then. They have not forgotten and want to get their revenge for that defeat.

DFB.de: Wolfsburg consider Lyon favourites. What do you think?

Bremer: I don’t believe that there are any favourites going into the game. I’m expecting a close-fought contest. The tiniest of mistakes can make the difference. We are all aware that we need to be at our best to win the title.

DFB.de: Lyon breezed through to the final, including a 7-0 victory in the semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain. Was your route to the final really that easy?

Bremer: Of course not. We imagined that it would be much more difficult against PSG but we simply delivered an absolutely faultless performance in the first leg. We got to play in the men’s stadium and there were over 22,000 fans there supporting us. The game was played in a frenzy. It doesn’t get much better than that.

DFB.de: You won the French league title a few weeks ago and now you could get your hands on the Champions League trophy. Did you make the right step in moving to Lyon?

Bremer: It was not an easy decision to make a year ago. Today I can say that it was the perfect choice. I feel truly comfortable here – both personally and in terms of playing. Everything fits and that’s why I recently decided to extend my contract to 2018.

DFB.de: Is it not boring that Lyon completely dominate the French league?

Bremer: No, it’s not boring. PSG and Montpellier are both two top teams but then the level drops slightly after them. That’s different to in the Bundesliga, where there have definitely been some surprises this season. That’s rarely the case here. Nevertheless, each game poses a challenge in its own way. It is helping to further my development because I need to adapt to a new environment.

DFB.de: After lots of clear victories in the league, is it not sometimes difficult to up your game and rise to the occasion when a challenge against Wolfsburg awaits in the Champions League?

Bremer: Looking at our results, everything has gone perfectly so far. I’m certain that we’ll deliver another great performance in the final. We have lots of experienced players in our ranks, who have previously played in such big and important games.

DFB.de: Which players have impressed you the most?

Bremer: I can’t single anyone out. The overall level and quality is very high. We boast some very experienced players, for example: Wendie Renard and Camille Abily. However, I could mention plenty of others names too.