#Dragging her Wob teammates already

[leaschuller]

About Lena Oberdorf:

Lena Oberdorf, 18 years old, became the youngest German World Cup player in history in 2019. She has now 13 international matches (2 goals), and she is also the winner of the Fritz-Walter-Medaille for the best young female player in 2020. In the Bundesliga, Oberdorf played for SGS Essen for the first time in 2018, and now she plays for VfL Wolfsburg (depending on success, Oberdorf’s transfer fee is around a six-figure sum. There is no official confirmation for this.) So far, Oberdorf mainly played in the defense, in the future she could also imagine playing as a playmaker.

Full Interview Translation:

This is where the future of German football speaks

Wolfsburg's new player Lena Oberdorf is an exceptional talent. The 18-year-old speaks about her rapid development, the Champions League restart - and misogynistic remarks on the pitch.

SPIEGEL: Ms. Oberdorf, at the age of 18 you switched to the German series champions Wolfsburg, and according to newspapers they have paid for you an "unusually high" transfer fee for women's football. Does that put you under pressure?

Oberdorf: I didn't even know that, nor do i know the amount. That is why I don't feel any pressure now.

SPIEGEL: In football, it's usually the case that the parties agree not to disclose the transfer fee. With the men the amount of transfer fees often gets out after all, but with the female football players you hardly hear anything at all about them. Your transfer could have set an example - according to the motto: female football players also cost money!

Oberdorf: But then I would feel pressure now. I'm glad it wasn't published. I also think it's nice that you aren't just talking about money in women's football. We are human beings and transfer fees are insignificant. It is clear that transfer fees are not common in women's football, but they are also part of it.

SPIEGEL: The Champions League will continue on Friday and you can play for your new club. At least in theory, the team is a well-oiled machine. With who do you want to compete for a starting spot?

Oberdorf: I'm not even thinking about something like that. In Wolfsburg it's common, that there is a lot of rotation. Four days after the Champions League final on August 30th, the Bundesliga starts again. It's not about taking someone's place. I'm just waiting for my opportunity. It is certainly good that i can play many positions: in central defense or on the six in front of the defense. I could also imagine playing a ten. The main thing is to play in the center.

SPIEGEL: All in all, that sounds cautious for a footballer who has already played 13 international matches und has played in a World Cup, who has already been described as the boss of German national team's defense.

Oberdorf: These numbers don't interest me at all. And I don't see myself as the boss of the defense either. A defense consists of four players, I am one of them. It's better if everyone takes responsibility.

SPIEGEL: The final tournament of the Champions League will take place in Bilbao and San Sebastián. The COVID-19 case numbers in the region are going up, Germany has designated Spain as a risk area. How do you deal with the development?

Oberdorf: We talk about it in the locker room. It's a shame that the numbers are now rising again, also for the tournament. But there are hygiene rules, regular tests for us, and we will live in a hotel with our own floor. We can't travel to Spain with fear.

SPIEGEL: FC Bayern will also be represented at the final tournament. The club has just signed many young international players. Why not you too?

Oberdorf: I only heard that Bayern were interested. But I found Wolfsburg more appealing. Also, the way football is played here suits me very well. Wolfsburg is very dominant, when I used to play against them with my ex-club Essen, we had about ten percent of ball possession.

SPIEGEL: What exactly is more appealing about Wolfsburg than about Munich?

Oberdorf: Everyone wants to go to Munich, at least as a tourist. Living there can be hectic though. I don't think I can make it to training in five minutes with the traffic. It's important to me to be in an environment with short journeys. Here in Wolfsburg, we almost all live close together, I'm only five minutes away from where Sara Doorsoun lives. I need this closeness to feel comfortable.

SPIEGEL: At the age of 18, you are now playing in the oldest team in the league - the average age of Wolfsburg women so far was just under 27. How is the difference noticeable?

Oberdorf: Oh, that's why they brought me in, to lower their average age! No, I'm lucky that, despite my age, I'm already far in my development. My parents did well. Honestly? Sometimes the players here are still like children in their heads.

SPIEGEL: Does it annoy you to be constantly asked about your age?

Oberdorf: I think it's good to be asked about it again and again. So it stays in the memory. Many media outlets forget that i am only 18 years old. But I am not a little chicken anymore.

SPIEGEL: There is a lot of discussion in Germany about the future of women's football. How do you rate the progress?

Oberdorf: The path is good, but the goal has not yet been reached. There could be even more. When the men have an international match, an advertising poster hangs on each advertising pylon. If we have a top game, it only hangs on one in ten. There is still a lot of work to be done.

SPIEGEL: Who do you see especially as taking that responsibility?

Oberdorf: Us players first. We need to use our reach in social media a lot more to bring this sport in the forefront. DFB and the clubs can certainly improve a lot when I think about marketing. the women's department is already well known here in Wolfsburg, even as a newcomer, I am often recognized on the streets.

SPIEGEL: Can you imagine being a strong voice in your sport going forward?

Oberdorf: At 18 you're not taken that seriously. But later i can certainly use my fame as a footballer.

SPIEGEL: You are a fan of FC Schalke. Does it annoy you that there - and also with their biggest rival Borussia Dortmund - they are not betting on professional women's football?

Oberdorf: Absolutely, even if I wouldn't switch to them right away. It's important that such clubs are betting on women's football. Also from an international point of view, it makes a huge difference, whether I receive an offer from Schalke 04 or from SGS Essen. A derby between Dortmund and Schalke would also appeal to a lot more viewers.

SPIEGEL: Schalke now established women's football in mass sports - they're starting in Kreisliga B (8th division).

Oberdorf: Always these excuses.

SPIEGEL: Is popular sport an excuse?

Oberdorf: If so, then do it right - with the aim of playing in Bundesliga. Other clubs show that it's possible.

SPIEGEL: There has been a small revolution in the Netherlands: Ellen Fokkema, a female player, will play in the future for a men's team in the 7th division. Do you find such a concept appealing?

Oberdorf: Yes, I do. I've played with guys for a very long time and benefited from them - I've become more robust, more assertive. I would have spent more time in a boys' team if that had been possible. But the question is whether a female player can help the men. Can she take it physically? At some point I came to the point where conflicts arose, it doesn't have to be of a sporting nature at all, but i can also be that you no longer find common topics of conversation. When suddenly only German rap was the topic in the locker room, at first, I couldn't even say anything.

SPIEGEL: At SPIEGEL, we repeatedly receive letters from readers that football is a men's sport and that women are simply not good enough for it. Have you ever been confronted with hatred?

Oberdorf: There is a story that I can remember. In the B-Jugend, a boy once said to me on the football field: "Why are you here? Go back to the kitchen." Then I just thought we are going to sort it out on the pitch. The guy never won a duel. That was my answer.

#Lena Oberdorf #GerWNT #VFL Wolfsburg Frauen #UWCL #She's so far beyond her years it's incredible #Dragging her Wob teammates already #I could cry #Baby's winning a Ballon D'or one day #woso #wofo #frauen bundesliga #Lena said I am mature and y'all aint