On Sunday (1 p.m., live on Magenta Sport), the VfL Wolfsburg soccer team will welcome seventh-placed SC Freiburg in the AOK stadium. Good news: Captain Alexandra Popp will be back in the Bundesliga squad for the first time since May last year. At the time, the national player tore cartilage in her knee and was out for a long time after an operation. At the end of January, Popp actually celebrated her comeback in a test match against Frankfurt, but the knee subsequently swelled again and a cartilage fragment had to be surgically removed. “Popp is operational,” confirms VfL trainer Tommy Stroot, who can count on Svenja Huth again. For the playmaker, playing against sand after recovering from corona disease was too early.
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Ewa Pajor (knee surgery), Pia-Sophie Wolter (torn cruciate ligament) and Shanice van de Sanden (foot injury) are still out, but there is still a question mark behind Lena Oberdorf, who is struggling with muscular problems. Storm: “Then, after further treatment, it is decided whether she is fit to play or not. But we already have a plan B in mind.”
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In the first leg there was a 2-2 in Breisgau after a mixed performance, but in the meantime VfL has stabilized in terms of play both on the offensive and on the defensive. Stroot would like to use the home advantage in the second leg, 700 spectators are expected. “When something went wrong, it was usually away from home in Freiburg,” said the 33-year-old. But now the runner-up is playing at home, “that makes a difference”. The women from Wolfsburg will play the game – like the men the day before – with the peace sign on their chests to show solidarity with Ukraine and to express the desire for peace. Volkswagen released the space for its logo.
With the 7-0 win against Sand last Sunday, the second in the table took a first important step after the four-week break, now it’s also about finding the rhythm of the game again. No stumbling, but with the Freiburg women, a difficult opponent awaits VfL. Storm: “Freiburg have a lot of good players who can be uncomfortable at certain times. We have to prepare for that, it will be a challenge.” It is clear that “we have to push ourselves to the limit for the three points”. But the team from Lower Saxony showed, among other things, in the 3-0 round of 16 victory against Freiburg that they can also win difficult games against the women from Breisgau “We’re looking forward to a very good opponent that we want to stand up to. Wolfsburg are a top team that wants to play for titles. We have to be compact and attentive,” said SCF coach Daniel Kraus.
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