by Rachael Caldwell
It can be argued that the upcoming UWCL final has all the makings of a David and Goliath story. In this version, Goliath is Olympique Lyonnaise and David is VfL Wolfsburg. While Lyon has been a giant in the world of European soccer for a while, its not like Wolfsburg is armed with a mere slingshot. These are two teams with lots of firepower, and Stamford Bridge should be rocking on May 23.
Back home, Lyon was the outright champion of Division 1 Feminine in France, winning the title with 76 points this season, seven points more than second place team PSG. The domination doesn’t stop there, as Lyon won all their league competitions this year and set the record for most goals scored in one season with 114. That’s an average of six goals a game. Oh, by the way, their average goals per game is more than the total amount of goals scored against them all season: five.
Even with all the impressive things Lyon have done at home, their play in Champions League has been equally astonishing over the years. Lyon has won the past two Champions League titles, and heading into this year’s final they are looking to become the only team in the women’s game to win the CL three years in a row. To do so, Lyon will have to beat a team with a much different storyline.
This is the first-ever CL final for VfL Wolfsburg. It’s important to note that this is also the first time ever that Wolfsburg has participated in CL play. Wolfsburg also won their home league for the first time this season. So why not win their first Champions League?
Wolfsburg may not have won all of their league games, but they were just as dominant at home, winning the league by six points over FFC Frankfurt. Scoring 67 goals this season, Wolfsburg had a +53 goal differential. While Lyon may lead in total goals, Wolfsburg has the tournament’s leading goal scorer (Connie Pohlers with 8) and second place assist maker (Zsanett Jakabfi with 4).
This is the first time these teams have ever met in competition, and perhaps that’s just the way Wolfsburg wants it. On the other hand, Lyon has played in the last four CL finals, all against German teams. In this battle of established history and history in the making, one thing seems to be clear: there will be goals. Lots and lots of goals