In part four of 90min– Position checks for the 2021/22 women’s Bundesliga season are about the defensive midfielders. The number six is one of the most important positions, both in backward and forward movement. The quality of the defensive midfielders plays a major role in the course of the season – who was particularly convincing in the women’s Bundesliga?
The Fritz Walter medal for the best young player, participation in the European Championship at 18, victory in the cup and a German championship: at just 20 years old, Lena Oberdorf, often referred to as Germany’s talent of the century, has already celebrated more success than many players in her entire life Career. Oberdorf was also right in the middle of the titles with VfL Wolfsburg and not only there and played a decisive role in the successful season of the women wolves.
Oberdorf doesn’t show her age on the pitch and she plays with the toughness of a 30-year-old. She knows how to use her physique very well in duels and secures the defense with intelligent defensive behavior, intercepts many balls and sometimes resorts to a tactical foul when things get dicey.
But Oberdorf, who used to be a striker, also has many attacking qualities, which is why coach Tommy Stroot pushed her back from central defense to midfield after a few games. This change has paid off, as Oberdorf can show off her overview and game intelligence even better on the six. With precise long passes or her own runs with the ball, the two-footed midfielder creates many chances for Wolfsburg’s offensive with Huth, Waßmuth and Roord.
This season she has presented slightly less goal threat than last (two goals, seven last season), but this is also due to her more defensive role in Stroot’s system. When Oberdorf cannot play, she is sorely missed – for example in Wolfsburg’s 5-1 defeat in the Champions League against defending champions Barcelona, where the team in a sold-out Camp Nou clearly noticed that Oberdorf’s calm structure and resolute tackle behavior were missing to have.
Sjoeke Nüsken is also only 21 years old, but also already an absolute top performer at her club, Eintracht Frankfurt. Nüsken is an undisputed regular player and has been on the pitch every minute this season.
She played a leading role in the first Champions League qualification in the early history of the Adlerinnen, after the merger with 1. FFC Frankfurt. In the 90th minute, for example, she scored 3-2 with a nice header against Bayern Munich, which gave Frankfurt an enormously important victory. As they were just three points clear of Champions League rivals Turbine Potsdam at the end of the season, the three points were all the more important.
Above all, Nüsken can convince offensively and contributes a lot in the game up front. She can dribble, has very good ball control and often pushes the ball forward. In addition, her positioning is good, so that she can intercept a lot of balls, and her header power also benefits Nüsken when defending set pieces.
There are many talented midfielders in Bayern’s squad: Lina Magull, Sydney Lohmann and Linda Dallmann, to name just three of them. In order for these offensive free spirits to be able to develop their full effect, however, they also need defensive protection in midfield. The runner-up has this in the person of the Austrian Sarah Zadrazil, who is an important part of the team with her calmness on the ball.
Zadrazil’s strengths lie above all in the build-up game and in one-on-one duels, in which she acts very calmly. She is also a very hard-working player who runs a lot and closes the spaces at the back.
Offensively, she plays long, precise balls, which are important for Bayern’s fast wingers like Klara Bühl. However, she could intervene even more in the penalty area to increase her goal risk. For her national team, she is usually a bit more active offensively and also a key player. Whether Austria manages to surprise again this summer like they did at EURO 2017, when they reached the semi-finals, will therefore also depend to a large extent on Zadrazil.
