It was a good evening for the FC Bayern footballers. Start of the Champions League, a sold-out stadium on the campus and in the end a 5-2 win against Arsenal FC. For Maria Luisa Grohs, however, there were two flaws with this game. And especially a scene like the second goal, when Grohs could only watch Laia Codina Panedas’ header after a corner, sometimes annoys Grohs for weeks. She then struggles with herself and the peculiarities of her position, in which she can rarely make amends for mishaps directly. These days, however, she had to look at these scenes strictly analytically. How well she succeeds could determine the next step in her career.
The FC Bayern goalkeeper is currently under special observation. That was the case against Arsenal and it will be the same on Saturday (5:45 p.m., ARD) when their team visits VfL Wolfsburg in the Volkswagen Arena in front of more than 17,000 spectators. The league’s prestige duel has been going on for years, but the conditions are different now. Although the champions meet the cup winners, Wolfsburg is struggling with the upheaval after the departures of top performers Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona), Dominique Janssen (Manchester United) and Lena Oberdorf (FC Bayern). VfL is currently fourth, five points behind league leaders Munich, their rivals are clearly favorites for VfL coach Tommy Stroot: “Bayern has the density and stability in the squad that is made for the big time. Although I would like to create tension.”
SZ PlusDFB resignation of Alexandra Popp
:Your gut decided
Alexandra Popp is ending her career in the German national team after more than 14 years. In order to fill the gap left by the leader, several female footballers will be needed – national coach Wück has to create a change.
Basically, it may be a preliminary decision at this early stage. For Maria Luisa Grohs, this duel is also a dress rehearsal. If she doesn’t make any serious mistakes, she’ll probably call national coach Christian Wück to find out if she has any plans for the week after next. The fact that this is the case has a lot to do with Merle Frohms, who is in the opposite penalty area on Saturday. In September, Frohms announced that she was resigning from the national team, at just 29 years old and despite the prospect of being promoted back to number one – after losing this status to Ann-Katrin Berger before the Olympics. Her decision came as a surprise; Wück said she would have liked to work with her. Instead, a casting began to determine which goalkeeper would be promoted to the training group with Berger and Stina Johannes. Grohs would be only too happy to take this place. And their chances are good. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Grohs’ coaches praise her mental strength, her sovereignty and her self-confidence
On a warm autumn day, the 23-year-old, nicknamed Mala, sits in a Munich café and reflects on her journey in the football world so far. She exudes the kind of satisfaction when everything is actually going well. Thanks to her, FC Bayern is still undefeated this season; across all seasons there are now 44 games without defeat in the Bundesliga, a record. Last round, Grohs was only overcome eight times on the way to the third championship in four years, by far the best. For her there is no question that she should be included in the DFB circle for the international matches against England on October 25th and Australia on October 28th.
She was already appointed in September 2022, but it wasn’t enough, the competition here is traditionally great and Grohs was sometimes noticed with his insecurities. However, she has retained her perspective from back then; it sounds like a footballer’s phrase, but as a consequence it requires discipline: “I concentrate on improving myself and performing and convincing myself. My strength has always been to go my own way, I can’t lose sight of that.”
This path began in her hometown of Münster at 1. FC Gievenbeck in a boys’ team before she moved to the U17 girls at VfL Bochum. It was more of a coincidence that she ended up at FC Bayern. She went to Airbus in Munich for a school internship, relatives live here, it was a pragmatic decision. Thanks to her Bochum coach’s contact, she was able to train with the Bundesliga team at FC Bayern. The goalkeeping coach at the time, Peter Kargus, wanted to keep them, but Grohs wanted to finish high school first. She came back for the 2019/2020 season, played in the second team and trained with the first team.
In 2024, the Munich team won the championship for the third time in four years. Here Mala Grohs (2nd from right) is celebrating with Linda Sembrant, Jovana Damnjanovic and Giulia Gwinn (lr). (Photo: Marius Becker/dpa)
In December 2021, regular goalkeeper Laura Benkarth was injured. Janina Leitzig was initially given preference, but Grohs proved herself in this phase after surviving Pfeiffer’s glandular fever, a torn ligament in her thumb, corona, shoulder pain, inflammation of the myocardium and a torn ligament in her foot. “The situation spurred me on and freed me mentally because I knew: I had a completely new chance,” says Grohs. Under coach Alexander Straus, she established herself as number one from summer 2022. “Mala was there to the point. She accepted the fight and delivered,” said Bayern goalkeeping coach Michael Netolitzky. “I always saw a lot in her, but at first I wouldn’t have believed that she would develop so well. A lot came from her.”
At 1.80 meters, Grohs has good qualifications and she spent many hours in the weight room to achieve the necessary athleticism. Both Netolitzky and Straus praise their goalkeeper’s mental strength, her sovereignty and her self-confidence. Grohs puts this package together in a rational way, transferring the analytical way of thinking from her mechanical engineering studies at the Technical University of Munich to football. She ignored all the voices that told her over the years that she needed to work on her charisma and become an extrovert. “I won’t be either. Many people have a fixed image in their head for the goal position, but there is another way,” says Grohs. “I’m not loud, but I try to communicate at the right moments.”
In a certain way, their path runs parallel to the development of the entire team: the foundation was there, as Grohs describes it, then the decisive moment came when structurally “the right adjustment screws were turned at the right time”. In the documentary about the women’s team, Maria Luisa Grohs says that she is more than just a footballer and that she can do even more. This awareness has made her freer; she makes sure to also promote her other talents. She used to want to be an astronaut, and maybe one day she’ll sit in a control room in front of big screens. But first and foremost she wants to be a footballer for FC Bayern – and also the national team.
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Dort spielte die Männernationalmannschaft am 24. April 1996, als sie das erste Mal seit der Unabhängigkeitserklärung des Staates ein Match auf bosnischem Boden austrug. Dort spielte sie 2012 und 2013, als sie sich das erste Mal für eine Weltmeisterschaft qualifizierte. Und dort spielt sie auch an diesem Freitagabend, als sie das erste Mal in einem Punktspiel gegen Deutschland antritt – auch wenn die 1:2-Niederlage dann doch eher als Fußnote in die Fußballgeschichte des Landes eingehen wird, weil es um Nations League geht.
Verblichene Sitzschalen, verrostete Eisentürme
Wenn man durch eine Seitentreppe ins Bilino Polje kommt, sieht man, dass es eines der Stadien ist, in denen die Spieler den Ball auf die Straße schießen können. Und dann sind da all die anderen schönen Details. Die Sitzschalen, auf denen viele der Zuschauerinnen und Zuschauer schon vor dem Spiel stehen.
Oder der Eisenturm, auf den der Mann klettern muss, der das Spiel fürs Fernsehen filmt. Und auch wenn das Flutlicht sichtbar macht, dass die Sitzschalen schon verbleicht sind und der Eisenturm schon verrostet ist, spürt man einfach, dass man in diesem Stadion einen sehr schönen Fußballabend erleben kann.
Es soll gleich geschildert werden, was an diesem Freitag dann auf dem Spielfeld passiert, wo Deutschland erfolgreich bleibt, doch muss es schnell darum gehen, wie dieses Stadion dem deutschen Publikum präsentiert worden ist.
Schon am Donnerstagabend veröffentlichte der Sender RTL, der das Spiel überträgt, unter der Überschrift „So duschen die DFB-Stars“ auf seiner Website ein Video. Darin sieht man, wie ein RTL-Reporter in der Mannschaftskabine des Stadions erst auf einer, wie er sagt, „herkömmlichen“ Holzbank sitzt und danach die Dusche inspiziert.
Er dreht an einem Wasserhahn und hält seine Hand unter den Wasserstrahl, weil er schauen will, „ob das Wasser tatsächlich dann auch warm wird“. Er wartet. „Am Anfang noch ein bissel kalt, aber es wird so langsam dann doch warm.“ Das sagenhafte Ergebnis dieser sagenhaften RTL-Recherche: In Bosnien-Hercegovina gibt’s warmes Wasser! READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Wer sich nicht für die Beschaffenheit der Sitzbänke und die Wassertemperatur der Duschen interessiert – darunter übrigens auch der Bundestrainer und seine Mannschaft (am Donnerstag sagte Julian Nagelsmann: „Wir haben kein Problem, dass die Kabine ein bisschen kleiner ist“) –, sondern für das Spiel, der erlebt dann auch einen schönen Abend.
Wirtz senstationell, Undav mühelos
Weil die Stimmung mit mehr als 10.000 Menschen im Stadion gut ist. Weil die deutsche Mannschaft zumindest zeitweise daran erinnert, dass sie selbst in neuer Konstellation ein Stimmungskiller sein kann. Und weil ein Stürmer aus Bosnien, den man auch aus der Bundesliga kennt, dafür sorgt, dass die Stimmung dann doch wieder gut wird.
Im Bilino Polje stellt der Bundestrainer zwei Fußballer in seine Startformation, die an diesem Abend das erste Mal für Deutschland spielen dürfen: Den Torhüter Alexander Nübel aus Stuttgart und den Stürmer Tim Kleindienst aus Mönchengladbach. Doch für den ersten Höhepunkt des Spiels, der dann auch der Höhepunkt bleiben wird, sorgt einer, der das auch sonst oft macht: Florian Wirtz.
Als Robert Andrich den Ball in der 29. Minute in den Strafraum lupft, sprintet Wirtz im richtigen Moment los und legt den Ball dann mit einer sensationellen Bewegung gegen seine Laufrichtung zurück, sodass Deniz Undav ihn ziemlich mühelos ins Tor schießen kann. Dann, in der 35. und 36. Minute, spielen sich die Szenen ab, die schlecht für die Stimmung sind. Weil Ermedin Demirović den Ball auf der einen Seite an die Latte des deutschen Tores und Undav auf der anderen Seite ins Tor schießt, steht es 2:0. Das Stadion schweigt.
Džeko macht die Bosnier froh
In der 54. Minute spricht es dann allerdings wieder, weil der Mann den Ball erobert, den sie in Bosnien-Hercegovina verehren. So singen die Menschen den Namen von Edin Džeko, dem Stürmer, der mittlerweile für Fenerbahce Istanbul spielt. Er ist immer noch gut, aber nicht mehr gut und schnell genug, um sich Angriff für Angriff gegen Abwehrspieler der Kategorie von Antonio Rüdiger oder Jonathan Tah durchsetzen zu können.
Doch in der 70. Minute, als sich fast alle Bosnier für einen Eckball in den Fünfmeterraum drängeln, schafft er es. Seinen Kopfball aus kurzer Entfernung kann Nübel nicht abwehren. Nur noch 1:2 – es wird spannend, da die Deutschen nach ihrer Führung nur noch Abseitstore – wenn auch knappe – geschossen haben. Der Stadionsprecher sagt den Namen Džekos daraufhin nicht dreimal, sondern fünfmal an. Die Menschen stehen wieder auf den Sitzschalen. Und bleiben dort, auch wenn sich an dem Spielstand nichts mehr ändert.
Am Montagabend spielt die deutsche Nationalmannschaft in der Arena in München ihr nächstes Spiel in der Nations League gegen die Niederlande (20.45 Uhr im F.A.Z.-Liveticker zur Nations League und im ZDF). Und es ist fast schon schade, dass nicht RTL, sondern das ZDF dieses Spiel übertragen darf, weil man schon gerne wissen würde, ob ein RTL-Reporter es wagen würde, in die Dusche zu spazieren und zu prüfen, wie gut der Wasserdruck dort wirklich ist.
Premier League – Manchester City’s turnover for the first time higher than Manchester United’s”>Manchester City have already found a successor to outgoing director of football Txiki Begiristain. The Premier League powerhouse has joined forces with Hugo Viana, who has enjoyed great success at Sporting Portugal in recent years. This is what the English media are reporting.
Begiristain will bid farewell at the end of the season, but Viana is expected to join the club from the start of 2025 to ensure rotation and facilitate a smooth succession, according to The Telegraph and other sources. After all, the 41-year-old Portuguese has big responsibilities to fulfill at the Etihad Stadium.
Viana impresses at Sporting
His Spanish predecessor played a crucial role in the rise of the Citizens. Viana himself has impressed in recent years at Sporting, where he has defined technical policy since 2018. He notably acquired coach Ruben Amorim from Braga, which proved to be a godsend.
Under Amorim’s leadership, Sporting won the national title in 2021 and 2024. The former Newcastle United and Portuguese national team playmaker also made some moves in the transfer market. He notably recruited Manuel Ugarte, Matheus Nunes and Pedro Porro. These three players were resold at a large profit. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Guardiola’s future
He also managed to secure high prices for Bruno Fernandes and João Palhinha, as well as youngster Nuno Mendes. Begiristain’s imminent departure is not expected to have a major impact on Pep Guardiola’s decision regarding his future, even though the two men enjoy a close relationship, both professionally and personally.
The coach has not yet extended his contract which expires at the end of the season. If Guardiola leaves, Xabi Alonso will undoubtedly be high on Manchester City’s list. However, with the arrival of Viana, it is also likely that Amorim will be seriously considered.
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