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Almuth Schult during her last game for VfL Wolfsburg
Photo:
IMAGO/Tatjana Herzberg/SPP / IMAGO/Sports Press Photo
Scene of the game:
In the 87th minute, Wolfsburg's number one Almuth Schult suddenly appeared in Turbine Potsdam's penalty area.
You know such scenes from the final phases, when the goalkeeper is also supposed to help to score a goal.
All or nothing.
But with Schult's excursion to the front, the DFB Cup final had long been decided for her team.
Maybe Schult just got bored against overwhelmed women from Potsdam, but maybe she wanted to give herself a parting gift in her last game for the German dominator of women's football.
She didn't score a goal, but the 31-year-old was still allowed to celebrate.
Result of the game:
There is only one rule in the women's DFB Cup, and that is that VfL Wolfsburg wins in the end.
The club has won the competition for the eighth time in a row, for the ninth time overall.
In the final, the current German champions prevailed 4-0 (3-0) against Turbine Potsdam.
The encounter took place in Cologne in front of almost 20,000 spectators.
The start:
The champions from Wolfsburg went into the game with clear favourites, and after less than two minutes they fired the first shot on goal.
Turbine tried to arrive in this final and also appeared in front of the opponent's goal in the early stages.
"It started excitingly," stated Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the half-time break on the ARD microphone.
But then the politician was allowed to observe a class difference from the stands.
The performance:
In the 11th minute, Wolfsburg's super striker Ewa Pajor scored the opening goal with a header from a corner kick – she had far too much space in her attempt.
Even at 2-0 Pajor had little trouble, again with a header.
With a nice low shot, Jill Roord made it 3-0 (41st).
Wolfsburg didn't have much more chances, but the few were all there.
The second half
started with a few seconds delay, at least on ARD, because the TV pictures from the game were back too late because the advertising block was apparently too long.
Then the impressions of the first half continued – Wolfsburg dominated, coach Tommy Stroot took Roord, one of his best players, off the field in the 60th minute because she had a yellow card.
You have to be able to afford it.
A deflected free-kick goal by Dominique Janssen was also unlucky for Turbine (69').
The Schult advance just before the end was the last excitement.
Farewell to the game:
She has been playing in Wolfsburg since 2013 and is now the face of this club with 15 titles, but now Almuth Schult is drawn to Hollywood.
From the new season, the goalkeeper will play for Los Angeles-based Angel City FC, a club founded by US actresses led by Natalie Portman.
On average, 20,000 fans attend the home games of the new Schult club, almost 20 times as many as currently in Wolfsburg.
The change in training:
Schult has repeatedly pointed out grievances in German women's football and fought for recognition.
Therefore, the USA change should not only be a sporting adventure.
She will observe in the USA which measures can also be used to advance women's football in Germany.
One thing is certain: Schult was always exciting and stimulating with her style, also as a TV expert during the EM 2021, she also brought VfL onto the stage.
Schult will be missed by the Wolfsburg women.
A journey through time:
In 2006, striker Isabel Kerschowski won the DFB Cup with Turbine.
It was a time when the women from Potsdam helped to dominate German women's football.
Today the top clubs have men's departments at their side: Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich, maybe soon Borussia Dortmund, which has been promoted to the district league with its women's department.
Kerschowski, now 34 years old, was allowed to play against Wolfsburg from the 55th minute – it would have been a football fairy tale if she had won the cup again with Turbine.
But the original women's football clubs like Potsdam are having a harder time, maybe they will even disappear at some point.
In any case, for Kerschowski it was the last game of her career.
Outlook:
Almuth Schult will not board a plane to the USA yet.
National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg will put together her squad for the European Championships in England next Tuesday.
Goalkeeper Schult should be number one in the squad and will be there when the German team play their European Championship opening game against Denmark on July 8th.
