‘Final two years back an extra, now the goal’
NOS Football––Customized
That Wolfsburg will go into Saturday afternoon’s Champions League final against FC Barcelona in Eindhoven as an underdog does not bother Oranje international Dominique Janssen at all.
Indeed, it is refreshing at times. “We are actually always the favorite, so I think it’s nice not to be.”
Because in Germany, only Bayern Munich, which took the national title, is ahead of Wolfsburg’s women. The club has already won the Champions League twice (in 2013 and 2014) and is considered a powerhouse in international women’s soccer.
But this season’s strong European campaign did come as a surprise. In recent years, the international top was getting wider and wider, with new competitors from England and France surpassing Wolfsburg. Three times a Champions League final was lost, most recently in 2020.
Under German coach Tommy Stroot, who has a Dutch mother, Wolfsburg also lost several top players in recent transfer periods.
“We have gone through a very good development in recent years,” Janssen analyzed. “And that despite the fact that many players have left. Two seasons ago a Champions League final would have been an extra, now it has really become an objective.”
Watch an interview with Wolfsburg coach Tommy Stroot below. He talks about Wolfsburg’s chances in the final as well as about Jill Roord, who indicated earlier this week that she would like to play for Barcelona one day:
Wolfsburg coach Stroot hopes for stunt in CL final: ‘Rightful that we are here’
For the three internationals of the Dutch national team (in addition to Janssen, Lynn Wilms and Jill Roord also play at Wolfsburg), it is a nice bonus that the final will be played in the sold-out Philips Stadium.
“The fact that we are playing here is SO cool,” Janssen said. “I’ve just said in other interviews: Dutch fans are crazy. It’s great that it’s completely sold out here.”
Putellas want revenge
Janssen will face Alexia Putellas – world soccer star of 2021 and 2022 – on Saturday. She faces FC Barcelona in the final match of the Champions League for the third time in three years.
Two years ago she won final, but last season Barcelona was defeated in Turin by Olympique Lyonnais (3-1), despite a goal by Putellas.
Putellas wants revenge, year after failed Champions League final: ‘Been working on it ever since’
The goal against Lyon was one of Putellas’ last achievements before she tore her cruciate ligament. She missed a soccer season in which Barça made a big impression even without her. Real Madrid was no match in the Spanish league and the Champions League final was reached with conviction.
Barcelona made mincemeat of Benfica, FC Rosengård and AS Roma in a strong campaign. Only in the semi-finals did coach Jonatan Giráldez’s team struggle, but Chelsea were also eventually defeated.
And now, on the eve of the final at the Philips Stadium, mainstay Putellas is also there again. “From the defeat in Turin against Lyon we have been working on being here. Tomorrow at 4 p.m. we all have to be there and play 100 percent in service to the team. We have to have the calm to play our own game against Wolfsburg,” the star player said.
“It is one of the best teams in Europe,” she said of the German squad of Dutch national team players Roord, Janssen and Wilms. “They have a clear game plan and have top players.”
Grateful
Putellas made her return to the squad in late April against Chelsea. She played a handful of games in May and scored her first goal since her return in the lost El Clásico against Real Madrid.
“I’m physically completely ready for tomorrow. To reach my old top level I need time, the medical staff already told me. But I feel good and am grateful for that. Every moment I had to suffer through my injury now makes it worth standing here.”
