Interview with Ralf Kellermann: "England is two to three steps ahead"

Germany's women's football needs big appearances in order to become more popular.

Is the cup final on this Sunday between Wolfsburg and Frankfurt (4 p.m. on ARD) - despite Corona restrictions - such an opportunity?

Unfortunately, we had to get used to games without an audience.

But the anticipation for the cup final is untroubled.

Women's football gets its appearance on a big stage on Sunday.

The ARD broadcasts live.

The date is deliberately chosen after the men's Bundesliga.

We need such highlights to attract attention.

VfL Wolfsburg can win the cup for the seventh time in a row.

Is that exciting?

We were always there in the crucial games - like in this year's semi-final against Bayern Munich, when nobody bet on us.

I find the way our victories come about is exciting.

In the end, it is the curse of good deed that we have been so successful over the past few years.

In the duel with Eintracht Frankfurt we were twice the better team in the league.

We also have the better individual players and are therefore going into the game as favorites.

But the Frankfurt women will throw in the maximum amount of resistance.

As an outsider, you are particularly looking forward to such a game of the year.

Would the cup win give you some consolation for the threat of a changing of the guard at the top?

We can't get along with the term changing of the guard - even if FC Bayern Munich wins the championship this year and we don't win the cup final. In return, VfL Wolfsburg has consistently won national titles from the Cup to the Champions League in recent years and has played them internationally. We know very well that FC Bayern have been upgrading for years and have big goals. It is good for women's football if you plan to replace Wolfsburg as a series winner in Munich. FC Bayern has the best conditions nationally and internationally. This applies to its infrastructure and its financial resources. We are not participating in the international arms race and are taking a different path that suits us.

Tommy Stroot replaces Stephan Lerch as VfL coach. Six new players arrive. Is VfL Wolfsburg changing its strategy in order to remain competitive?

We won't change anything because as an association we are a family unit. It's true: we have lost some top players to international competitors in recent years. Two more will follow this summer. Most of our newcomers are young and capable of development. We want to continue to find players who economically fit our opportunities and identify with the path of VfL Wolfsburg. A national player such as Lena Oberdorf sees us as an opportunity to develop over the years and then maybe take the next step. We could live with that. We also have good arguments when competing with top clubs such as FC Barcelona, ​​the current Champions League winner, who can pay many times the salary.

Where does German women's football stand in an international comparison?

We are still 100 percent able to keep up in terms of sport.

But the requirements at clubs like Chelsea or Manchester City have changed.

Above all, the offensive marketing of English football can mean that we can no longer keep up in the long term.

Many of the players we tried recently had extremely lucrative offers from England.

There are high salaries, great stadiums and more visibility thanks to a multi-million dollar television contract.

How precarious is the development?

England is already two or three steps ahead of Germany.

We urgently need to follow suit and we also need the German Football Association (DFB).

Before Corona there were already some ideas and a close exchange with the DFB to make German women's football more visible.

It's about creating highlight games with five-digit audience numbers.

We have to upgrade our product.

In which drawer are these plans?

It was not the top priority at the DFB to implement such plans.

The corona pandemic has thwarted these plans.

My clear demand is that these plans have to be out of the drawer as soon as the pandemic allows.

Continuity and solidarity at the top of the association would be good.

Many areas of the DFB have recently suffered from the fact that the focus was on other things.

But we need support from above to move forward.

Is there a woman who is missing at the top of the DFB with a passion for women's football?

I don't have enough insight into the entire area of ​​responsibility of a DFB President or Secretary General to be able to judge that. At VfL Wolfsburg we have a good mix in all decision-making areas of women's football, which ensures diversity. We do not rely on a quota system, but on quality and balance.