Defender Joelle Wedemeyer had plenty to celebrate this week – not only VfL Women making it into the semi-final of the DFB Cup but also an extension to her contract with the Green-and-Whites. In this interview, the 27-year-old explained why she was still keen to stay at VfL after more than 12 years with the club, and spoke about the DFB Cup semi-final draw and Leipzig as the She-Wolves’ next opponents.
Joelle, that was a very successful week for you, wouldn’t you say?
Joelle Wedemeyer: “So far it has been! I was in the starting XI against Hoffenheim, we won 3-0 and made it through to the semi-final of the DFB Cup . We’re obviously also very pleased with the semi-final draw [against SGS Essen] where we got a home tie.”
Your contract extension was the second piece of good news this week. What is it that keeps drawing you back to VfL – after twelve-and-a-half years in the youth set-up and the first team?
Joelle: “I think it’s wonderful that, way back when I first started here, the club was already very well set out but despite that has still managed to keep on developing. What is also special is that you get to play with the best players from all around Europe, in a team of really high quality and we have good training sessions with lots of variety. What also appeals is that I’m always continuing to develop and basically, I feel that I’ve laid down some deep roots with the club.”
You have a home game against Leipzig on Monday. What are you expecting from your opponents?
Joelle: “I think that they’re a team that is really looking to take risks and push us to the absolute limit. They’ve got off to a good start in the second half of the season and now they obviously want to prove that they can mix it with the big teams. We’ll have to show them right from the off that they’re not going to get anything out of us.”
