Schult: "Rollercoaster of emotions"

Wolfsburg were beaten by Lyon on penalties in yesterday’s dramatic Women’s Champions League final. VfL keeper Almuth Schult spoke to DFB.de the morning after the match about the defeat and her plans for summer.

DFB.de: Ms. Schult, how are you feeling currently?

Almuth Schult: I’m pretty tired. We didn’t get much sleep. Losing the final is disappointing but from next week we’ll start looking to the future positively. It’s also worth remembering that we actually had a good season! We won the Cup and came second in the league, so last night’s result shouldn’t be overstated. Obviously it was a bitter defeat, but the rest of the campaign went well.

DFB.de: What are your thoughts on the game?

Schult: It was a rollercoaster of emotions. We started well but then Lyon took the lead, which took the wind out of our sails. We improved as the game progressed and deservedly equalised late on thanks to Alex Popp.

DFB.de: And then came extra-time...

Schult: Thanks to the late leveller we had a psychological advantage at this point and had some good chances. As the period progressed it became clear that both sides have had long seasons – we started to tire. A lot of players developed cramp ahead of the penalties.

DFB.de: Things started well for you...

Schult: …after saving the first penalty I was pretty certain that’d lift the cup. I got pretty close to the second one too. If I’d kept that one out it would have been game over as far as I’m concerned. However, things went differently. That’s football though.

DFB.de: Has the upcoming break come at the right time?

Schult: For sure. It’s good to have some time off to clear our minds. We had to fight until the end of the Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga season in order to reach next season’s Champions League and had some tough games in all competitions this year. Arguably it was a bit too much – I’m certainly looking forward to a few days without football!