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The first competitive game of the new season is a final straight away: on Saturday evening, the VfL Wolfsburg women face FC Bayern München in the Super Cup (kick-off 19:30 CEST). For Camilla Küver and her team-mates, the clash with the double winners offers the chance to claim the first silverware of the season – and at the same time to show how far the newly assembled team have already come during pre-season. Ahead of the match, the 23-year-old discusses the particular appeal of such an early test, Wolfsburg’s playing philosophy and her growing role within the team. Camilla Küver, tonight you face Bayern with the first trophy of the new season already at stake. What is it about this game that appeals to you? Camilla Küver: For one thing, there’s obviously the chance to start the new season with a trophy straight away. But it’s also just great when the competitive action really gets under way and there’s something at stake in games again. To face the best possible opposition right at the start is a huge incentive for us. We want to see what we’ve worked on over the past few weeks and how well we can put it into practice against absolute top-class opposition. At this early stage, not everything will probably run like clockwork or work exactly as you’d ideally want it to. But for me, that’s also part of what makes the Super Cup so appealing. “We see it as an opportunity to make a statement” We see the Super Cup as an opportunity to make a statement and test ourselves against the best. At the same time, we know that we mustn’t read too much into this one game in the context of the season as a whole. How are you feeling going into this first competitive game after pre-season? Camilla: Very positive. We improved from one friendly to the next. That shows that we’re very quick learners as a team and have a clear idea of how we want to play. Pre-season wasn’t particularly long, and we had several new signings. So initially it was about getting everyone on board as quickly as possible and working together on our idea of how we want to play football. We made good progress in that respect, both on and off the pitch, particularly during the training camp. What do you want that to look like on the pitch? Camilla: Obviously, we want to have a lot of the ball, but at the same time we also want to play with a lot of intensity. We want to keep putting the opposition under pressure and make sure they can’t settle into their game. You have to be fit to do that because there are repeated phases of very intense play. Overall, our game is very much about maintaining a high level of intensity. The changes to the squad also mean new roles are emerging. How are you finding that? And what role would you like to take on yourself? Camilla: When players like Alex Popp leave the club, the team obviously has to reshape itself to some extent. You can’t replace a player like her on a like-for-like basis. So, initially, the responsibility has to be shared among several players. A lot of us are very open to that and ready to step up. We have young players who are very eager to learn and others who want to take responsibility and lead the way. I’m ready to do that myself as well. It’s something I really enjoy doing and something I feel capable of. Particularly from my position at the back, I can take on a lot of responsibility, organise things and direct play. What do you need to do better against Bayern, and in the big games in general, than you did last season? Camilla: One big difference last season was the consistency Bayern showed on the pitch – not just domestically, but internationally as well. They play a very mature brand of football and manage to impose themselves consistently. For us, it’s about showing that consistency over the full 90 minutes, regardless of the opposition. Physicality is also an important factor for us, particularly in the big games. We have to be there in the decisive moments, win our challenges and come out on top in one-on-one duels. Bayern have enormous individual quality, and you have to keep that under control for the entire game. What are your ambitions going into the new season, particularly given the increasing competition in the Bundesliga? Camilla: Our ambitions haven’t changed compared with last season. We want to be right up there at the top. Of course, the reality is that Bayern are an extremely strong team and are currently ahead of us. But that doesn’t mean we’re satisfied with that. At the same time, the league as a whole is getting stronger every year and becoming increasingly competitive. A lot of teams have reshaped their squads, so I’m personally very interested to see how they develop over the course of the new season. Things have moved very quickly for you personally of late. How do you view your development and your goals with the national team? Camilla: When I look back at last season, it was pretty crazy how quickly things progressed. I’m very ambitious and want to continue being part of the national-team set-up and help the team as much as I can. With the World Cup just a year away, that’s obviously a major focus for me. At the same time, my injuries have also taught me not to look too far ahead. It’s much more important to show what you can do week in, week out. That’s how you improve as well. So I want to stay more in the here and now and focus on my performances.