Goalkeeper Almuth Schult is looking forward to the European Championship and her move to Los Angeles. Before that, however, she has one big goal: to win the DFB Cup again in the last game for VfL Wolfsburg.
Leading figure: Schult played in Wolfsburg for nine years and won 64 international matches
“That doesn't happen to me often,” says Almuth Schult apologetically and has to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye, “but it's becoming so conscious right now.” It's her last press conference at VfL Wolfsburg and not really a place for big emotions. But after nine years at the club, Schult is experiencing many “last times”. The 31-year-old has just won the championship with the Wolves, and the women's DFB Cup final (May 28, 2022) against Turbine Potsdam will be the big finale for her: “We definitely want to win the cup again,” says Schult, who will join Angel FC in Los Angeles this summer. Her final quota is frightening: Schult was in the final seven times with Wolfsburg, the team was successful each time, but she emphasizes: “There is no subscription to the title, every final starts at zero.” In any case, Wolfsburg is the clear favorite going into the final, in the last four competitive games Potsdam have been clearly defeated.
Healthy competition in the DFB team
It will hardly be quieter for Schult after the cup final. On the one hand, moving to the USA has to be managed for her and her family. On the other hand, the European Championship in England (July 6-31) is on the program for the national player. “I want to make the decision as difficult as possible for the national coach,” she emphasizes combatively. Schult, who was number one in goal for many years, is now only a replacement for Merle Frohms, who will also be her successor at VfL Wolfsburg.
Schult: seven DFB Cup victories to his credit
“We have a good relationship,” says Schult about Frohms and suggests that he can live with the role of number two. “I will do everything to ensure that this team is successful at the European Championship because we can win the title.” Real touchstones await the DFB team in the preliminary round with Denmark, Spain and Finland. The finalists can look forward to the spectacular backdrop of Wembley Stadium.
Hollywood girl power at Angel FC
After the flying visit to the motherland of football, Schult is waiting for a job in the “promised land” for women's football, the USA. “The league there is so balanced,” she says happily, “that means that as a goalkeeper you are challenged in a completely different way.” The season in the USA has already begun and Schult will join the Angel City FC team this season. The interest of the public and the importance of the US professional league National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) can hardly be compared with the Bundesliga. Around 10,000 fans come to the stadium per game. The opening game of Schult's club in Los Angeles was sold out with 22,000 spectators – the club sold 16,000 season tickets.
“I felt honored when the offer came,” says Schult about the contact with Angel City FC , a club that has set out to take women's football even further. It is “a great incentive” to be part of this project as a player. Schult has signed a one-year contract with an option for a further year. The club was founded by Hollywood star Natalie Portman, who mobilized other prominent supporters: Serena Williams, Billie Jean King, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Garner and other top-class names are connected to the newly founded women's football franchise. “I'm looking forward to this new chapter,” explains Schult, but the mother of twins also connects the new sporting challenge with a hope: “Maybe we as a family will have a little more time for ourselves because I'm simply less involved next to the games. “