VfL Wolfsburg - Kellermann: "Interest in women's soccer as great as before the World Cup"
Despite the sporting setbacks at the World Cup, in the Champions League and the turbulence surrounding the national team, German women's soccer has not yet suffered any lasting damage to its image, according to Wolfsburg's sports director Ralf Kellermann. "The interest in women's soccer is still as great as it was before the World Cup, here in Wolfsburg anyway, but also throughout Germany," said Kellermann in an interview with the "Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung" (Wednesday). "We have only come down to earth insofar as we have seen: The competition is bigger than ever."
The 55-year-old Kellermann shaped VfL Wolfsburg into the dominant club in Germany in recent years. This year, VfL reached the final of the Champions League and provided the most German international players at the World Cup. However, the German team was eliminated in the preliminary round in Australia. And VfL also missed out on qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League this season, failing to qualify in two knockout matches against Paris FC.
"The classic women's soccer nations used to decide the European Championship title among themselves, and then maybe one or two opponents were added at a World Cup," said Kellermann. "The fact that Germany has now failed in this preliminary round group and we are eliminated against third-placed France simply shows how women's soccer has developed - in Europe and worldwide."
The following also applies to club soccer: "The fact is that the leading clubs are able to pay three times the salary," said Wolfsburg's head of sport. "The gap to FC Barcelona is perhaps a little bigger. Real Madrid are doing a lot, Lyon and PSG in France anyway and in Italy Juve and AS Roma are also going full throttle."
The women's Bundesliga homepage of VfL Wolfsburg
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- Ralf Kellermann, the sports director of Lower Saxony's VfL Wolfsburg, expressed that the interest in women's soccer in Wolfsburg and Germany remains high, despite the German national team's early exit from the World Cup and setbacks in the Champions League.
- VfL Wolfsburg, led by Kellermann, reached the final of the Champions League this year and had the most German international players at the World Cup, despite ultimately being eliminated in the preliminary round.
- The Women's Bundesliga team of VfL Wolfsburg, a dominant club in German women's soccer according to Kellermann, is part of the competition that has seen a significant development, with traditional women's soccer nations like Germany now facing tougher opponents.
- Kellermann noted that in women's soccer, the leading clubs are now able to pay up to three times the salary, with a larger gap to clubs like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and other European clubs such as Lyon, PSG, Juve, and AS Roma investing heavily in the sport.
- During an interview with the "Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung," Kellermann, who played a crucial role in shaping VfL Wolfsburg into one of Germany's dominant women's soccer clubs, discussed the current state of women's soccer and its ever-evolving competitive landscape.
Source: www.stern.de
