It is a delicate mission: On Tuesday, the women of VfL Wolfsburg set off on their journey to France, with Girondins Bordeaux hosting them on Wednesday in the decisive match for entry into the group stage.
The VfL women actually went into the 2nd round of qualification for the newly created group stage against the French women as high favourites. But a week ago, the “Wölfinnen” struggled to a close 3:2. Due to the close result, everything is still open for the return match on Wednesday evening at the Stade Jean-Antoine Moueix in Libourne.
VfL coach Stroot: “Will have to find solutions as a team “
“It will be an emotional game, we will have to find solutions as a team and show the right mentality,” said coach Tommy Stroot. After all, the dress rehearsal in the Bundesliga succeeded on Saturday with a 2-0 win at Werder Bremen. But similar to the game against Bordeaux, not everything went smoothly at the Weser and the players had to put in a lot of effort. The score remained 0-0 until the 78th minute, when Kathrin Hendrich and Ewa Pajor wrapped up the victory in injury time. Nevertheless, Stroot emphasised the positives after the game and also saw “things we can use against Bordeaux”.
However, Stroot had also spared some of his regulars for the important second leg. Pauline Bremer did not yet play. The national player tore her cruciate ligament almost a year ago and was back in the squad for the first time since her serious injury. For Bordeaux, she is not yet likely to be an alternative for the starting eleven.
For the first time, the Women’s Champions League will be played in a group mode. This group stage starts on 5/6 October, on 13 September the four groups of four teams each will be drawn. From Germany, only the champions Bayern Munich are directly qualified for the group stage, and besides Wolfsburg, 1899 Hoffenheim also want to make it to the financially lucrative group stage via qualification. The Kraichgauer women have their sights firmly set on their goal after beating Swedish representatives FC Rosenborg 3-0 in the first leg.
