Popp before Westfalenpokal debut: “I just love playing” | OneFootball

Alex, how did you follow the men’s DFB Cup match on Tuesday?“Nice and relaxed on the couch. You could see that the boys struggled a little at the start to get the final ball over the line, but from Hamburg’s point of view the unfortunate own goal broke the deadlock, and after that the BVB boys really started enjoying their football.”

Alex Popp and the DFB Cup — that’s a unique relationship. 13 titles — unmatched in either the women’s or men’s game. But for the first time in 19 years, the competition is now taking place without you. How much sadness is there in that?“I followed the play-offs a little recently, and it really is strange not to be playing in the DFB Cup this year. But it’s not as if I’m not playing for a cup at all. So I’ll survive it.”

Namely the Westphalia Cup. Next Wednesday, 9 September at 7:30 p.m. at Stadion Rote Erde. At 35, you’ll be making your debut in this competition.“I’m looking forward to it. Whether it’s the league or the Westphalia Cup, I simply love playing. And it’s also an English week, which is something I’m familiar with too. Playing is simply the most fun part alongside all the training. So I’m really looking forward to the first cup match — and against an old acquaintance, too.”

Of all teams — as people like to say — against 1. FFC Recklinghausen, your first club in women’s football. How special is that?“There could have been so many different matchups, but for it to be Recklinghausen of all teams in the first round is really crazy. But I’m happy about it. Silschede would have been even wilder, but Recklinghausen comes right after that. I look back on a really great time there, one that shaped me a lot.”

You played as a youth player in Recklinghausen and then spent a season in the women’s Verbandsliga. What memories do you still have from your time at FFC?“A very positive, very good, and also very successful time. During my youth years, we played in the final stage for the German U17 championship title. And then with the women — I was even moved up — we had a really strong, ambitious squad that wanted to get promoted, but unfortunately we missed out because of goal difference compared with TuS Harpen.”

What else has stayed with you from that season?“I scored quite a lot of goals together with Sarah Grünheid, who amusingly now plays for another club we don’t want to mention. The two of us worked extremely well together up front and won many matches very dominantly and clearly. But what has stayed with me most is the extremely positive nature of so many people there, with whom I’m still in touch. And if that’s still the case after so many years, even though I no longer play there, then it shows that it was a really special time.”

Which people shaped you back then, and who are you still grateful to today?“My coach, of course — Ralf Giera. He was my coach with the U17s and then also moved up with me to the women’s team. He was very tough, but also very sensitive. In the key moments, he always knew very well how to deal with us. And then there were many teammates who had already played at a higher level, like Nadine Kirsch, Kathrin Stemmer or Steffi Rohrbeck, who now works here at the BVB Evonik Football Academy. They were influential teammates who really pulled you along as a young player, and that was very important for me.”

“A top match basically says it all. Of course, we’re still fairly early in the season, but Recklinghausen has also been playing in the Regionalliga for quite a while now, so I think it will be an exciting duel, and of course we want to get through it. Our clear goal is not just to win this match, but to win the cup as well. And for that, we’ll of course need as much support as possible.”

And by winning the Westphalia Cup, you qualify again for the DFB Cup. So how motivated are you to play again in your favorite cup competition next season?“That’s definitely at the back of my mind a little. In the best-case scenario — the way we all dream and hope it will happen — we’ll also achieve promotion, and then we’d be in the DFB Cup anyway. But just to be on the safe side, it would be quite useful to win the Westphalia Cup.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.