Wolfsburg make themselves at home in another German Cup win

"We have a feeling that this is our home."

Rebecka Blomqvist's exuberance as Wolfsburg lifted their ninth consecutive German Cup at the RheinEnergieStadion shone through her smile and words. 

The 4-1 victory on Thursday earned the Shewolves' their 10th title in the last 11 seasons and made the team the outright most successful team in the cup surpassing Eintracht (formerly FFC) Frankfurt, who they had drawn level with last year.

All of Wolfsburg's victories have come since the competition shifted from the Olympic Stadium in Berlin to Cologne in 2010. It is not lost on the players or fans that the city in the west of Germany feels like a home away from home.

"I love playing in this city and the atmosphere was great," Blomqvist told DW. "Of course, it’s even better when you win."

Goalkeeper Merle Frohms spoke of the unique connection between Cologne and club: "It's still special, every time. Just to get here every year and then to win. The quality of the different teams we've faced in the last few years keeps it special."

Blomqvist beams at 'greatest' goal

The roar of delight from Blomqvist as she struck a rebound past Freiburg's Gabrielle Lambert was so loud it could almost be heard over the record-crowd of 44,808. Her 58th minute effort had restored Wolfsburg's lead, after Janina Minge had pegged back the holders following Lisa Karl's early own goal.

A surprising inclusion in the starting XI, having spent much of the season coming off the bench, the 25-year-old jumped with such force and vigor into Svenja Huth's arms the pair almost toppled over.

Having announced her intention to find a new club challenge in the summer, netting at such a crucial time in the game felt all the sweeter for the Swede.

"It was an amazing feeling," Blomqvist said to DW. "It was one of the most important and greatest goals that I’ve scored for Wolfsburg.

"There have been some close games in the Bundesliga where I’ve scored the winning goal, like the 2-1 win against SC Sand, but of course this is a final and I am so happy I could do something for the team."

"At first I was a little bit confused it was a goal or not but when Svenja came and we hugged, there was so much happiness coming out."

Blomqvist's goal separated the sides until Alexandra Popp added a third in the 84th minute and Dominique Janssen converted a last minute penalty.

Parting gift

Having joined Wolfsburg in 2019, this was Blomqvist's fourth consecutive German Cup win, but a lack of playing time was the key factor in her decision to move on. A 15-minute hat-trick off the bench in a thumping 8-0 victory over Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga at the beginning of April showed the forward has lost none of her potency despite limited minutes.

And, with Eva Pajor having looked slightly off kilter in recent weeks and Wolfsburg faltering in the Bundesliga title race against Bayern Munich, Stroot put his faith in Blomqvist.

"We got exactly what I expected of her," the head coach explained. "Her goal was just further proof of that, but even in the first half she was very agile in between the lines."

"We prepared for Freiburg and expected to have less depth that normal, that they might start more cautiously to be able to break."

"The depth from Becks (Blomqvist) who acted like a second striker really helped us today and she really deserved it after the last few weeks."

"She has really imposed herself of late, so we knew something like that was possible today."

For her part, despite showing how lethal she can be off the bench, Blomqvist never had any doubt about being able to impact the game from the off.

Champions League looms large

"I’m always ready," she said. "Today, Tommy chose me and I was happy for that. But we know that there are always tight games here and anything can happen."

"The other team is always very keen to beat us when someone has a streak like we do. We’re very good at focusing and we showed today how hungry we still are."

Substituted with three minutes to go, Blomqvist chose to come off at the far end of the pitch, to soak up as much of the ambience and applause from the gleeful crowd as possible.

"I went out on the other side of the pitch on purpose," she explained. "So I could enjoy the little moment there. I’m really glad so many of the fans were here."

With the Champions League final against Barcelona in Eindhoven still to play, Blomqvist will be hoping to sign off her Wolfsburg career on the best possible terms. A goal in a victorious cup final was a great start.

Edited by: Matt Pearson