The FC Bayern Women start the group stage of the UEFA Women's Champions League on Tuesday night at 21:00 CEST with an away game at Benfica. Julian Nagelsmann visited his fellow coach Jens Scheuer and his women's team ahead of the UCL match and wished the FCB team every success for the start in Europe's top club competition.
Three questions for Nagelsmann
Mr Nagelsmann, you recently attended an FC Bayern Women's training session. Did you have any involvement with women's football before that?
At Hoffenheim and Leipzig, I went to a number of training sessions and games involving the women's team. The coach from Leipzig, Katja Greulich, was on the same coaching course as me and we exchanged information from time to time. I think it's really important to communicate with each other throughout the club and develop a relationship. I don't think women's football attracts great attention and it suffers because of that. And I think it's really important and right for people from men's football to show their support and drop-in. My visit to the training session was less intended for the media but more for the team and staff who I want to get to know."
What have you picked up so far about the Bayern Women?
"That they are very successful like the men. I think, over the past few years, we have increasingly developed into a top club for women as well. Bayern are now playing an ever more significant role in Europe. A couple of years ago, I watched a Champions League match between Bayern Women and PSG at the Grünwalder Stadium."
What do you wish the team in the UCL group stage?
"It's always important to get off to a good start in the group stage. In the league, you have significantly more chances of making up for a bad game. That's just not the case in the Champions League. Therefore I wish Jens Scheuer and his team a similarly good start to the one we had at Barcelona."
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