Bayern plummet down Women's Bundesliga table

Bayern Munich lose top spot

Bayern Munich's 1-0 defeat to Wolfsburg in the Women's Bundesliga's showcase contest was, in some ways, acceptable for the champions.

The Bavarians controlled the ball and had great chances in a fierce game featuring tight defenses and little in the way of aesthetics. Wolfsburg, however, fought for every ball, and after a fortunate header from Kathrin Hendrich put the Wolves ahead, Bayern simply ran out of ideas.

"It wasn't a bad game for us," Bayern's Linda Dallmann told DW after the match.

Certainly not, but you never had the feeling Bayern would turn it around. And with Hoffenheim beating Leverkusen, last season's champions find themselves in third place.

Meanwhile, the club's response to questions about its upcoming training camp in Qatar was, once again, inadequate. As naively as the media conducts the discussion about human rights in the Arab country, Bayern reliably undercuts the level.

In response to a critical question on  TV channel Magenta Sport about the women's winter training camp in Doha, manager Bianca Rech tersely replied, "It makes sense for us in terms of sporting preparation. And I would like to see more questions about women's soccer than about Doha and Qatar."

Such answers can scratch at the halo of those female football players, who may like to speak from a position of disadvantage.

"I understand," the presenter responded. That's the way it is with a station that also sees itself as the marketer of the league.

Freiburg wants to make headway with fans

Freiburg can look back on this matchday with some relief. With a 1-0 win against Werder Bremen, the team has freed itself from the relegation zone for the time being after a disappointing start to the season.

"We imagined the start of the season differently," Hasred Kayikci, Freiburg's captain and the lone goalscorer of the game, told DW. "We wanted to distance ourselves from relegation as quickly as possible. The game against Bremen decides in which direction it goes for us this season: sixth to seventh range or 10th to 12th."

Now in eighth place, the situation is looking up for Freiburg, particularly given the upcoming move to the 24,000 capacity Dreisamstadion.

"This will make it easier for us to keep players or lure them here," Kayikci said. "Our [current] infrastructure is simply not suitable for the Bundesliga at the moment."

In Freiburg, it's clear what she's referring to: "We've lost a lot of players in the last five years, especially to Bayern Munich." A bigger crowd should help build the team more consistently.

On Thursday, some players, including Kayikci, held a discussion with the Freiburg fan scene, also about how to reach more supporters — for example, a combined ticket for men's and women's games. Against Wolfsburg in the German Cup, the Freiburg women managed to mobilize around 3,000 fans, with the support of the men's team's organized fan scene.

"We want to work at the club to bring the men's fans and the women's team closer together," said Kayikci. "We also want to support the fans more, not just expect something. We want to be a role model for others; in many women's clubs, such a fan talk is not common."

African Women's Champions League reaches semifinals

It was a little too close for comfort AS FAR Rabat's women's team after the Moroccan club squeezed through the group stage of the new African Women's Champions League on goal difference. They are now set to face Ghana's Hasaacas Ladies in the semifinals on Monday.

For the first time ever, there is a Women's Champions League in Africa. The final tournament will be held in Cairo on November 19. The Ghanaian and Moroccan sides will be joined in the semifinals by Mamelodi Sundown Ladies from South Africa and Malabo Kings from Equatorial Guinea.

The fact that AS FAR is participating is not really surprising. They are perennial champions in Morocco, having won the league every year since 2013, with the exception of the 2015 title.

Their success says a lot about power relations in the country: the women's team from Rabat are the team of the royal military in the autocratic state. One of the stars is captain Ghizlane Chebbak, an international with aspirations of becoming a coach and the daughter of the recently deceased men's international Larbi Chebbak.

She insisted in an interview with "La Quotidienne" that AS FAR's dominance is down to its own diligent work. Their dominance seems to have no limits — at the start of the new season at the end of October, Les Militaires, as they are nicknamed, thrashed their opponents from Atlas Fquih Ben Salah 11-0.

SC Sand on the rocks

Turmoil continues to reign at SC Sand. They are on their third coach in 2021, rarely a good reflection of upper management.

The dismissal of Nora Häuptle was followed by the emergency appointment of Alexander Fischinger. He kept them up, but had other engagements with another club and his football academy.

Then came the young Matthias Frieböse, who was given only seven match days before he was kicked out. Now Fischinger is back, but he lost 4-1 in his comeback match against Essen.

This article was adapted from German