“My biggest goal is to stay healthy in the long term”: Giulia Gwinn Image: picture alliance / Eibner press photo
Before the duel with Austria, national player Giulia Gwinn talks in an interview about the consequences of her knee injuries, the great effect of mental training and the art of the perfect penalty kick.
Ms. Gwinn, you won the championship title with FC Bayern Munich last season, are now back in first place in the Bundesliga table and are also favorites going into the cup final against VfL Wolfsburg, the long-standing industry leader, which your team recently beaten gave a lesson at 4-0. Are we currently experiencing a change of power in German women’s football?
Of course we are happy with how things currently look for us. What sets us apart: Our attitude is always clear, we try to stick to ourselves in every situation and don’t really look at what Wolfsburg is doing, for example. I am hopeful that we can further strengthen our position with FC Bayern. Last summer we strengthened ourselves to a new level with the signings of Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson in offense and defense. We had a decent amount of confidence in our performances in the first half of the season, but not one that completely satisfied us. There was a phase before Christmas when everything didn’t go well, for example in the Champions League. But during the winter break we gathered all our strength and completed a training camp in which we committed ourselves to our high goals and from which we emerged with new power. We also have harmony off the pitch. This is a crucial key. Since then, many of the victories that we have achieved with good football have contributed to a self-confidence that feels like a tailwind.