In 2022/23 season, two German sides made the knockout stages of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Wolfsburg made the final and Bayern Munich were knocked out in the quarter finals by a fighting Arsenal side. However, in 2023/24, no German side made the knockout stages of the competition, let alone achieve the feats of the previous season.
Now in the 2024/25 season, after heavy defeats to Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais, no German side will see the semi-finals. In a time where English, Spanish and French teams are consistently making the final stages of the competition, it begs the question of whether this is the necessary wakeup call for German football?
VfL Wolfsburg
On paper, Wolfsburg had the harder fight in Europe this season. Despite beating Italian side Fiorentina heavily in the qualifying rounds, Wolfsburg had an uphill battle in the group stages. To face Lyon in the group stage and then draw Barcelona in the quarter finals is rough.
But a side with the history of Wolfsburg should be making more of a mark on these games than they did. Losing 10-2 on aggregate should not be the reality of a side that has such a prestigious and long history in this competition.
In many ways, the tactics were all wrong from head coach Tommy Stroot. Laying off the ball and letting Barcelona dictate play was just too much momentum for Wolfsburg to fight against.
However, for his side, the wounds are much deeper than that. Lacklustre and uninspired all season, the side have lacked the final edge that expected of them in both the Frauen Bundesliga and the Champions League.
Paired with losing big players last summer, and their replacements being a step down from the level, Wolfsburg are currently a shell of the side that went 2-0 up against Barcelona in that fateful day in Eindhoven.
With more key players already confirmed to be leaving in the summer, Wolfsburg are truly losing all sense of the team they once were, both in Germany and on the European stage.
Bayern Munich
For Bayern Munich, injuries have plagued their season. With Georgia Stanway out for the foreseeable, and captain Glodis Viggósdóttir unable to play 90 minutes after returning from injury, the side have had to play a mismatched for quite some time and Alexander Strauss has been unable to call upon his preferred team.
Bayern were disorganised and chaotic in the second half away in France, allowing Lyon’s talent forwards to just hit them where it hurts, time and time again.
However, a backline of three traditional fullbacks and Magdalena Eriksson was not the right tactical choice. Whilst Eriksson is a fantastic defender, she deserves someone next to her that can offer the same levels as her as a natural centre back.
The side play some beautiful football but have struggled for goals this season, in ways they haven’t before. Despite Pernille Harder being in incredible form, striker Lea Schüller has struggled for the side in ways that aren’t like her.
And for all their dominance on German soil, the Champions League has always served as Bayern’s bogey tournament. Since 2020/21, the side have never seen further than the quarter finals, and have never made the final stage.
The Wakeup Call
This season has to be the wakeup call that German football needs. Time and time again, German football has been let down by underperformance on the biggest stage. The talent is there, the games are there, but it is not being allowed to the stage it deserves. The Champions League is where a team should go to thrive, not fall apart.
For Bayern, it’s not for a lack of investment. According to Soccerdonna, the side have the fourth most valuable squad of the quarter finalists in the UWCL. However, the same can’t be said of Wolfsburg. Of all 8 quarterfinalists, they sit 8th, with only €2.35million, compared to Bayern’s €4.38million. However, the talent aside, there is something truly missing in German football in the past two seasons to give it the step up it deserves.
It also must be said, it remains the only non-fully professional league in the top 4 countries in Europe. Whilst this may not hurt teams like Wolfsburg and Bayern directly, there is a clear distinction between Germany and the other top leagues in its treatment of women’s football. In that, teams can be compliant and still win trophies. That is simply not good enough.
German football is at serious risk of falling behind on the European stage. Whilst the Frauen-Bundesliga remains one of the most competitive leagues in Europe, their European presence is slowly falling behind. Other leagues and their teams are pushing and increasing the levels. Germany are at a serious threat of being out of reach of them sooner rather than later. The wakeup call has to be now, there is no time to waste.
