After no fewer than four penalty saves, there was no doubting who the heroin was in Germany U17s‘ European Championship semi-final victory over Norway on Thursday. Stina Johannes, the goalkeeper of Bundesliga side FF USV Jena, made sure Germany would be in Sunday’s final against Spain – a repeat of last year’s final which the Germans won on penalties.
A tense semi-final encounter finished 1-1 after 80 minutes, with Anouschka Bernhard’s side prevailing on penalties which trailed the new ‘ABBA’ format. Germany were 2-0 behind in the shootout, but Stina Johannes’ heroics kept the young Germans in it and they went on to win by three successful penalties to the Norwegians’ two. We caught up with the 17-year-old to discuss her incredible performance.
DFB.de: Congratulations on reaching the final, Miss Johannes! How are you feeling after the drama against Norway?
Stina Johannes: It’s unbelievable. When you think about how many years you spend playing football and how much you invest in it every day, it’s a great feeling to reach a European Championship final. The whole team fought really hard for it. We’ve performed well in every game, kept believing and gave everything. It’s amazing to have reached the final!
DFB.de: You had a set-back early on. What did you make of the opening goal in the seventh minute?
Johannes: On the one hand it was an unfortunate start. That was exactly what we didn’t want to happen because we knew that Norway would be very defensive after that. This was the case as they sat very deep after the goal. But we knew that we still had 73 minutes to go. You keep believing in the quality you have in the side and never lose hope. We also came back against Italy in the qualifying stage for this tournament.”
DFB.de: Germany were clearly the better team in the second-half.
Johannes: We motivated ourselves again at half-time. Norway got more and more tired and couldn’t implement their defensive strategy as well as at the start of the game so we were able to get the equaliser through our quality.
DFB.de: And then it went to penalties which didn’t start all that well…
Johannes: Missing your first three penalties makes it very difficult. I simply said to myself before each penalty: “You need to stop this ball!”
DFB.de: And you managed to do that four times.
Johannes: I’ve been training a lot with our goalkeeper coach Silke Rottenberg. I tried to implement what we’d spoken about in the penalty shootout.
DFB.de: Are you willing to share your secret with us?
Johannes: I tried to watch the standing leg and run-up of the penalty taker very closely. That way I could work out which way she was going to go.
DFB.de: What’s the plan between now and the final?
Johannes: At first we need to relax and re-energise after this nerve-wracking semi-final. Then we’ll start preparing for the final.
DFB.de: 4-1 win in the opening match against Spain. Can you repeat that in final? The tournament has come full circle.
Johannes: There’s an enormous amount of excitement about the final and we’re really up for it. All of the players who have already experienced a European Championship final are raving about it. You never know if you’ll ever achieve this again. Our aim is clear: we want to win the game.
DFB.de: It was also a big tournament that made you want to play football.
Johannes: Yes, I watched a live match at the 2006 World Cup in Germany with my Dad. It fascinated me so much that I wanted to play myself. I started as an outfield player, but then I wanted to be a goalkeeper because in situations like these, when it goes to penalties, you have a lot of responsibility.
After no fewer than four penalty saves, there was no doubting who the heroin was in Germany U17s‘ European Championship semi-final victory over Norway on Thursday. Stina Johannes, the goalkeeper of Bundesliga side FF USV Jena, made sure Germany would be in Sunday’s final against Spain – a repeat of last year’s final which the Germans won on penalties.
A tense semi-final encounter finished 1-1 after 80 minutes, with Anouschka Bernhard’s side prevailing on penalties which trailed the new ‘ABBA’ format. Germany were 2-0 behind in the shootout, but Stina Johannes’ heroics kept the young Germans in it and they went on to win by three successful penalties to the Norwegians’ two. We caught up with the 17-year-old to discuss her incredible performance.
DFB.de: Congratulations on reaching the final, Miss Johannes! How are you feeling after the drama against Norway?
Stina Johannes: It’s unbelievable. When you think about how many years you spend playing football and how much you invest in it every day, it’s a great feeling to reach a European Championship final. The whole team fought really hard for it. We’ve performed well in every game, kept believing and gave everything. It’s amazing to have reached the final!
DFB.de: You had a set-back early on. What did you make of the opening goal in the seventh minute?
Johannes: On the one hand it was an unfortunate start. That was exactly what we didn’t want to happen because we knew that Norway would be very defensive after that. This was the case as they sat very deep after the goal. But we knew that we still had 73 minutes to go. You keep believing in the quality you have in the side and never lose hope. We also came back against Italy in the qualifying stage for this tournament.”
DFB.de: Germany were clearly the better team in the second-half.
Johannes: We motivated ourselves again at half-time. Norway got more and more tired and couldn’t implement their defensive strategy as well as at the start of the game so we were able to get the equaliser through our quality.
DFB.de: And then it went to penalties which didn’t start all that well…
Johannes: Missing your first three penalties makes it very difficult. I simply said to myself before each penalty: “You need to stop this ball!”
DFB.de: And you managed to do that four times.
Johannes: I’ve been training a lot with our goalkeeper coach Silke Rottenberg. I tried to implement what we’d spoken about in the penalty shootout.
DFB.de: Are you willing to share your secret with us?
Johannes: I tried to watch the standing leg and run-up of the penalty taker very closely. That way I could work out which way she was going to go.
DFB.de: What’s the plan between now and the final?
Johannes: At first we need to relax and re-energise after this nerve-wracking semi-final. Then we’ll start preparing for the final.
DFB.de: 4-1 win in the opening match against Spain. Can you repeat that in final? The tournament has come full circle.
Johannes: There’s an enormous amount of excitement about the final and we’re really up for it. All of the players who have already experienced a European Championship final are raving about it. You never know if you’ll ever achieve this again. Our aim is clear: we want to win the game.
DFB.de: It was also a big tournament that made you want to play football.
Johannes: Yes, I watched a live match at the 2006 World Cup in Germany with my Dad. It fascinated me so much that I wanted to play myself. I started as an outfield player, but then I wanted to be a goalkeeper because in situations like these, when it goes to penalties, you have a lot of responsibility.
