A few weeks ago, Wolfsburg played Chelsea in the round of 16 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League - which, yes, is a glorious thing that exists albeit in relative obscurity - and Swiss midfielder Vanessa Bernauer went all Paul Pogba and unleashed this scowling, dipping boomer:
Vanessa Bernauer scores great goal for Wolfsburg against Chelsea, UEFA Champions League #womensfootball #UWCL pic.twitter.com/O28oM74EWd
— WomensSoccerUnited (@WSUasa) November 18, 2015What a goal! That’s immediately a Puskas Award nominee for the best goal of the year, although it will be in the 2016 version of the award, because FIFA released the 2015 short list last week:
Vanessa Bernauer
Also, we always take an opportunity to pile onto FIFA, especially as its officials are again being arrested in swanky Swiss hotels, so…how in the world is Carli Lloyd’s midfield wondergoal not on that list? It’s, essentially, the same goal as Alessandro Florenzi’s for Roma, and Lloyd did it in a WORLD CUP FINAL, YOU MORONS.
Anyway, settling down, Bernauer’s goal is a stunning one, and helped Wolfsburg advance to the final eight of the competition, which start March 23 and 24, 2016. That also reminds me that it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for some American television network to snatch up the TV rights to at least the semifinals and finals of the UWCL.
The quarterfinals are set with some big names from last year’s World Cup: Every significant player from the French Fun Bunch plays for Lyon or PSG, Brazil’s Marta has five goals in the competition for Swedish side FC Rosengård, and the Barcelona ladies score wow-worthy goals just like their male city-mates.
Putting the best women’s club competition in the world on national television could help the women’s sport capitalize on last summer’s momentum, just like the USWL did domestically. And it would certainly be better than whatever else FOX or NBCSN or whichever network would subject us to for a afternoons in March and April.
Grant Burkhardt is on Twitter @grantburkhardt and you can email him about the footie at burkhardt@the18.com
