With Turbine Potsdam and FC Carl Zeiss Jena, two clubs that can look back on a long history in women’s football have returned to the Bundesliga. Now the main goal is to avoid relegation.
The battle for promotion has rarely been so exciting, after all it was only decided on the last match day of the last second division season: Turbine Potsdam and FC Carl Zeiss Jena would return to the Bundesliga. And both clubs are certainly no strangers to German women’s football.
Potsdam was represented in the Bundesliga for almost three decades until its relegation in 2023, winning numerous German championship titles and even the Champions League in 2010. Meanwhile, women’s football also has a great tradition in Jena, and the club is entering its 14th season.
Jena the youngest team in the league
After being relegated from the Bundesliga two years ago, Jena reorganized its personnel. Isabelle Knipp, a former player, took over as sporting director, and a new coach, Florian Kästner, has been on the sidelines since last season. And he has a clear goal in mind. “Clearly staying in the league. We are also firmly assuming this, as we have confidence in the quality of our team,” Kästner told Sportschau.
Kästner did not have to get to know a large part of his team again, as key players such as captain Merza Julević, goalkeeper Jasmin Janning and Luca Birkholz, last season’s top scorer with 13 goals, remained with the club. Newcomers include Anna Margraf and Noemi Gentile – two players who have Bundesliga experience.
Overall, Jena has the youngest team in the league. “That is both a strength and a weakness,” says Kästner, who at 25 is also the youngest coach in the league. “Our team can approach games with a lot of dynamism and intensity without having to think too much about it. On the other hand, one or two players may lack experience.”
Potsdam with humility and concentration
Turbine Potsdam is also determined to stay in the league. As a newly promoted team, however, this requires a certain amount of humility and great concentration, says Marco Gebhardt. “We have to push ourselves to the limit in every single game and training session in order to be successful,” said the Turbine coach to Sportschau. At the same time, however, they also want to bring their own playing philosophy onto the pitch.
The decisive factors include the team structure and communication within the team. The latter in particular still needs to be worked on. “Giving each other more trust and being more open with one another is still a big piece of the puzzle for us,” says Gebhardt. “It’s not always just about the line-up, but much more about the attitude. If we internalize that, we will achieve our goals,” the 51-year-old is sure.
Turbine lacks a main sponsor
For a long time, Turbine Potsdam was considered the benchmark in women’s football. But those days are long gone; clubs with a strong men’s club behind them now dominate the scene. And that’s where the best players are drawn. When Turbine had to move down to the second Bundesliga last year, it was also a direct consequence of a change that the club was unable to cope with. The relegation naturally had a financial impact, and Potsdam is still looking for a main sponsor.
It is Gebhardt and his players’ job to block out these background noises. The coach has once again put his trust in Jennifer Cramer, the captain of the team who is a native of Potsdam. Viktoria Schwalm, who is currently injured, and Laura Lindner have also stayed in Potsdam. New to the team, however, are Emilie Bernhardt and Caroline Krawczyk, who moved to the Brandenburg capital from Werder Bremen and Switzerland respectively.
Jena wants to stand up to Wolfsburg
While Bernhardt can look forward to a reunion with her old club on the second match day – Turbine have to play away in Bremen – Jena will face VfL Wolfsburg. A mammoth task, but one that Kästner is not afraid of. After progressing in the DFB Cup last weekend and the good opening match against Frankfurt despite the defeat, the team has developed a certain amount of self-confidence.
Nevertheless, Kästner is of course aware of the strength of VfL, which has now extended its contract with coach Tommy Stroot. “The Wolfsburg women obviously want to take three points from Jena and may come to us with some frustration after the draw at the start. It is important for us to act as a unit,” said Kästner. Jena already showed that this can be achieved in the summer, when it managed to force a 0-0 draw against the “Wölfinnen”. However, Wolfsburg played without its stars, including Alex Popp and co.
