It was a convincing performance by VfL Wolfsburg's women’s team. With their 4-0 win over Frankfurt on Sunday evening, Ralf Kellermann’s side pretty much confirmed their place in the Women’s Champions League final. The team, that currently lies second in the Allianz Women’s Bundesliga, will most likely face Lyon and Germany international Pauline Bremer. Lyon thrashed Paris Saint-Germain 7-0 in the first leg of their tie.
Isabel Kerschowski played a large part in Wolfsburg’s victory. The 28-year-old has been on form for a number of weeks, which has been evidenced in her time with the national team recently and her opener against Frankfurt. In an interview with
DFB.de, the Germany international spoke about the all German semi-final and how they will keep up the intensity for the return leg on Saunday (15:00 CEST).
DFB.de: Miss Kerschowski, are you in any doubt that you won't make it to the final?
Isabel Kerschowski: If we put in a similar performance to the first leg then I am not in any doubt, as we played almost perfectly in the first half. It was really good and really fun. It has to be said as well that Frankfurt weren’t at their best.
DFB.de: Do you have any critiques?
Kerschowski: Yeah, we wasted a number of chances after the restart. If weh ad carried on as we were in the first half the result could have been even clearer.
DFB.de: In the other tie, Lyon beat Paris 7-0 in the first leg. How can you explain these results?
Kerschowski: It is definitely shocking because logically you would have the four best teams in Europe in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Because of this I am also quite shocked by the one-sidedness of the results. I don’t really know much about the Lyon vs. Paris match but in our game it happened that we were very, very strong and nothing really went Frankfurt’s way.
DFB.de: You gave your side an important 1-0 lead. It seems as if everything went perfectly for you as well. Do you have this impression as well?
Kerschowski: Yeah, absolutely, it has been going well for me for a number of weeks. I am feeling good, training intensely and have been having a lot of fun recently.
DFB.de: You’re also scoring regularly, both for Wolfsburg and the national team.
Kerschowski: I believe that I have been having the best phase of my career recently. At 28 years old I am no longer the youngest. Currently, everything is good.
DFB.de: Why is that?
Kerschowski: I am feeling the trust of my coach, from Ralf Kellermann in Wolfsburg and also Silvia Neid for the national team. It’s really good. I am always trying to repay their faith with my performances on the pitch. At the moment everything is falling into place.
DFB.de: It’s coming to the end of the season and there must be a lot of pressure on the players. Are you happy to have a few days off?
Kerschowski: The national players have been playing consecutively for five weeks. You can feel that. Therefore, it is good to not have a match in the week and have time to breathe. Things will continue with the second leg of our tie with Frankfurt.
DFB.de: Is it difficult to keep up the intensity when you are in such a strong position?
Kerschowski: No, not at all. We have built a cushion but we aren’t in the final yet. We need to put in another focused performance. Furthermore, we are still unbeaten in 2016. Hopefully it stays that way. We are very confident.
DFB.de: You are second in the Allianz women’s Bundesliga and have a four point gap over Frankfurt and three games in hand. Everything is pointing to another year of Champions League football next year.
Kerschowski: All I can say at the moment is that we have laid a good foundation. We aren’t quite through though. For example, we still have a match against Turbine Potsdam to play. That will definitely be a tough challenge, especially because we lost 5-2 in our own back yard last time – we haven’t forgotten that. Furthermore, we have another large aim as well, which is to defend out DFB Cup title. (21st May in Köln against SC Sand)
[mmc/ma]
It was a convincing performance by VfL Wolfsburg's women’s team. With their 4-0 win over Frankfurt on Sunday evening, Ralf Kellermann’s side pretty much confirmed their place in the Women’s Champions League final. The team, that currently lies second in the Allianz Women’s Bundesliga, will most likely face Lyon and Germany international Pauline Bremer. Lyon thrashed Paris Saint-Germain 7-0 in the first leg of their tie.
Isabel Kerschowski played a large part in Wolfsburg’s victory. The 28-year-old has been on form for a number of weeks, which has been evidenced in her time with the national team recently and her opener against Frankfurt. In an interview with
DFB.de, the Germany international spoke about the all German semi-final and how they will keep up the intensity for the return leg on Saunday (15:00 CEST).
DFB.de: Miss Kerschowski, are you in any doubt that you won't make it to the final?
Isabel Kerschowski: If we put in a similar performance to the first leg then I am not in any doubt, as we played almost perfectly in the first half. It was really good and really fun. It has to be said as well that Frankfurt weren’t at their best.
DFB.de: Do you have any critiques?
Kerschowski: Yeah, we wasted a number of chances after the restart. If weh ad carried on as we were in the first half the result could have been even clearer.
DFB.de: In the other tie, Lyon beat Paris 7-0 in the first leg. How can you explain these results?
Kerschowski: It is definitely shocking because logically you would have the four best teams in Europe in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Because of this I am also quite shocked by the one-sidedness of the results. I don’t really know much about the Lyon vs. Paris match but in our game it happened that we were very, very strong and nothing really went Frankfurt’s way.
DFB.de: You gave your side an important 1-0 lead. It seems as if everything went perfectly for you as well. Do you have this impression as well?
Kerschowski: Yeah, absolutely, it has been going well for me for a number of weeks. I am feeling good, training intensely and have been having a lot of fun recently.
DFB.de: You’re also scoring regularly, both for Wolfsburg and the national team.
Kerschowski: I believe that I have been having the best phase of my career recently. At 28 years old I am no longer the youngest. Currently, everything is good.
DFB.de: Why is that?
Kerschowski: I am feeling the trust of my coach, from Ralf Kellermann in Wolfsburg and also Silvia Neid for the national team. It’s really good. I am always trying to repay their faith with my performances on the pitch. At the moment everything is falling into place.
DFB.de: It’s coming to the end of the season and there must be a lot of pressure on the players. Are you happy to have a few days off?
Kerschowski: The national players have been playing consecutively for five weeks. You can feel that. Therefore, it is good to not have a match in the week and have time to breathe. Things will continue with the second leg of our tie with Frankfurt.
DFB.de: Is it difficult to keep up the intensity when you are in such a strong position?
Kerschowski: No, not at all. We have built a cushion but we aren’t in the final yet. We need to put in another focused performance. Furthermore, we are still unbeaten in 2016. Hopefully it stays that way. We are very confident.
DFB.de: You are second in the Allianz women’s Bundesliga and have a four point gap over Frankfurt and three games in hand. Everything is pointing to another year of Champions League football next year.
Kerschowski: All I can say at the moment is that we have laid a good foundation. We aren’t quite through though. For example, we still have a match against Turbine Potsdam to play. That will definitely be a tough challenge, especially because we lost 5-2 in our own back yard last time – we haven’t forgotten that. Furthermore, we have another large aim as well, which is to defend out DFB Cup title. (21st May in Köln against SC Sand)