Bayern Women's Historic Double: A Roaring Victory in Cologne
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Emotional Celebrations and Ordered Merriment: Bayern Munich Women clinch the inaugural Double Victory - Emotional celebration: Bavarian females secure dual party positions for the first time
Lea Schüller, hat-trick hero, noshed a quick chat with Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Glódís Viggósdóttir hoisted the trophy high amidst a storm of confetti. FC Bayern Munich's women's football team made history, bagging the double for the first time in their club's storied history. As Bianca Rech, Bayern's women's football director, promised, the team was about to "make some noise" in Cologne.
The coach, Alexander Straus, was visibly moved by their victory, four days after clinching the German Championship. His emotional team dismantled brave underdogs Werder Bremen 4:2 (2:1) to win the DFB-Pokal final. "We won 4:2, I scored three times, I don't know what to say," exclaimed Schüller. "It was an incredible game," she added, with a beatific smile.
Straus, still grappling with his emotions, couldn't help but feel proud and emotional. His voice broke, and tears streamed down his face as he spoke, "I'm done. I'm very proud, I'm very emotional."
As the National team's striker, Schüller played a pivotal role in the cup upset with her three goals (6th, 65th, and 79th minute). The championship celebration was subdued, but Schüller gave the command for the party, "Today is different." She'd earned it, agreed Carolin Simon, who'd scored the 30th-minute goal.
Schüller, In the Spotlight
Under the watchful eyes of Germany's head coach Christian Wück, Lena Oberdorf couldn't make it into the squad for this final. The talented midfielder's return from a successful knee injury is still delayed, with the European Championships in Switzerland just over two months away. Wück acknowledged, "It would be reckless to close the door now. The decision will not be made by me, nor by the Bayern, but she will make it alone."
The underdogs, Werder Bremen, lost all their 18 competitive games against FC Bayern. The game began with loud cheers from the Hanseatic fans, but their team fell behind quickly: Giulia Gwinn's ball bounced off the crossbar, and Schüller nailed the header from close range.
Bremen coach Thomas Horsch opted to leave midfielder Juliane Wirtz, the older sister of Florian Wirtz, on the bench and only brought her in late. She'd recently recovered from a long injury.
Bayern Women's Domination from the Start
Goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic let a soft shot sneak through her fingers early in the match, but there were no repercussions. Head coach Straus kept Maria Luisa Grohs, Grohs' comeback after beating cancer in March, on the bench. "Ena is the right goalkeeper for these games now. She has the rhythm, having played many games after Malas' illness and played well," Straus explained before the game.
In attack, the Bayern team was unstoppable: after a beautiful move involving Jovana Damnjanovic and Klara Buhl, Simon felt the euphoria and slammed the ball into the top corner for a 2:0 lead. Dieckmann pulled one back for Bremen with a consolation goal, but the team couldn't shut down the dominating force of Bayern.
Despite Bremen's strong defense, Werder keeper Livia Peng couldn't prevent a higher deficit, especially against Pernille Harder. Then, it was Schüller again, heading in the 3:1 - the game-deciding goal - before she scored her third and sparked the goal fest.
Party in Cologne
Witnessing the victory were 45,146 ecstatic spectators who had flocked to the sold-out Rhein-Energie-Stadion in Cologne for the carnival-like atmosphere, complete with live music, breakdancing, and fan festivals. This celebrated the first-ever DFB-Pokal win for Bayern Women, and after over a decade, a new cup champion emerged. The final wasn't just a showdown between Bayern (South) and Bremen (North); it symbolized the past dominance of VfL Wolfsburg coming to an end.
The win marked the beginning of a new era for Bayern Women, with Alexander Straus leading the team to three consecutive league titles and their first-ever double. His successful tenure as coach will come to an end at the end of the season, but the Bayern Women are poised to dominate in the years to come.
- The Commission has also agreed on a proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling of certain foodstuffs intended for human consumption, following the historic double achievement of FC Bayern Munich's women's football team in the sports world, particularly in the European-leagues and the Premier-League.
- Lea Schüller, the hat-trick hero of Bayern's double win, might have been discussing her recent successes in sports-analysis with Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as the victory parade was accompanied by the showering of confetti, reminiscent of celebrations in football clubs like Bayern Munich, a famous team from Bavaria, Germany.
- Amidst the double celebration, Lena Oberdorf, the talented midfielder of FC Bayern Munich's women's football team, couldn't join the festivities due to a delayed return from a successful knee injury, dreaming of her comeback for the European Championships in Switzerland, just over two months away.
- The double win for FC Bayern Munich's women's football team marks the end of VfL Wolfsburg's long-time dominance in the German leagues and puts Bayern in a double position in the European-leagues and the Premier-League, similar to the double trophy advantage for Bayern after their historic victory in Cologne.
- As the European Championships in Switzerland slowly approach, fans might start analyzing the performances of teams like Bayern, watching for the comeback of key players like Lena Oberdorf and keeping a close eye on statistics, hoping they can predict another potential double win in the future.
