Where Are They Now? The SGS Essen squad that nearly won the DFB-Pokal in 2020

Over the last decade, VFL Wolfsburg have been impenetrable in their defense of the women’s edition of the DFB Pokal, winning all of the last nine editions. However, back in the depressing times of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a plucky outfit from the Ruhrgebiet area of Germany nearly pulled off a great upset against the dominant force in German women’s football.

Sportgemeinschaft Essen-Schönebeck, or SGS Essen for short, currently plays in the highest tier of women’s club football in Germany, the Google-Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga. As of this season, it is the highest-ranked team without any backing from an existing men’s outfit that plays in the Bundesliga. Even though staying in the league for the last twenty years has been an outstanding achievement, finishing more often than not in the top half of the table, one adventure in the cup should and could have been the greatest moment in the club’s storied history. As such, the spotlight today will be on the players who nearly won that day and explore where they are now.

Goalkeeper: Stina Johannes – Eintracht Frankfurt
The then-20-year-old was in goal during the final and made some crucial saves to thwart the Wolfsburg forward line. She has been the number one goalkeeper for Eintracht Frankfurt since the start of the 2022-23 season, replacing the Wolfsburg-bound Merle Frohms. Johannes has played in all twenty games of the Bundesliga season so far, achieving seven clean sheets in the process.

Right Back: Jacqueline Meißner (formerly Klasen) – SGS Essen
Another one of the players to still play for Essen, Meißner has represented the Ruhrgebiet side since 2011 and currently has more than 250 appearances for the club. She currently has a contract until 2026, which would bring her association with SGS Essen to sixteen seasons.

Center Back: Marina Hegering – VFL Wolfsburg
Affectionately nicknamed Maschina for her tenacity and relentless work rate, Hegering captained the side all through the tournament as well as the Bundesliga season. She scored Essen’s second goal to put the team ahead and was a constant threat in set pieces. After the season concluded, she moved to FC Bayern München to sign her first-ever purely-professional contract before moving to Wolfsburg for the 2022-23 season where she signed a contract that stipulated a role within the coaching system after her professional footballing career.

Center Back: Nina Brüggemann – Hamburger SV
The former national team youth player spent five years in Essen, with the season of the Pokal adventure being the last. Playing the whole of the 120 minutes, she was the last of the penalty takers as her shot was saved by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Friederike Abt (now Repohl). Nowadays, she plies her trade in 2. Bundesliga side Hamburger SV.

Left Back: Lena Ostermeier – SGS Essen
One of only two players in the starting eleven to still play in Essen to this day, then-24-year-old Ostermeier played at left-back during the game instead of her preferred midfield role. Having played more than 150 times for the club and being part of the team for more than a decade, she is considered a club legend and outside of football, is also a Dr. rer. Nat. from the Technische Universität Dortmund, with her thesis being: Stability of selected liquid-liquid phase separations in biomolecular systems.

Defensive Midfielder: Elisa Senß – Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Currently completing her final season at the Werkself, Senß has become a reliable midfield general for the side currently in sixth place in the Bundesliga. She played the whole 120 minutes during the final as well, reliably preventing clear-cut chances for Wolfsburg that day. From August 2024 onwards, she will be representing Eintracht Frankfurt, adding even more stability in the midfield area.

Defensive Midfielder: Jana Feldkamp – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Feldkamp played a good game as a defensive midfielder during that final, and eventually stayed for another year in Essen before moving to Hoffenheim in the summer of 2021. A versatile player also capable of playing in the heart of defense, she currently has fifteen caps for the senior national team and with six assists this season, she is currently ranked third in the charts, only behind fellow national teammates Klara Bühl and Alexandra Popp.

Attacking Midfielder: Lena Oberdorf – VFL Wolfsburg
The then-19-year-old played in a more attacking role than the more-defensive one we know today and was a threat offensively with her tenacity and presence in the box. She also scored one of the penalties during the shootout, taking the second one after Lea Schüller. For the 2024-25 season, she will play for FC Bayern München, ending her four-year association with VFL Wolfsburg, whom she represented since the 2020-21 season.

Right Winger: Turid Knaak – Retired
The winger would play her last game for Essen in this final, and was substituted out in the 78th minute to make way for Irini Ioannidou. After the season ended, she would move to Atletico Madrid before ending her career at VFL Wolfsburg at the age of 31. In 2021, she completed her doctoral dissertation and possesses a Ph.D. from the Universität zu Köln, specializing in pedagogy for special needs children while also working as a research staff for the university.

Left Winger: Nicole Anyomi – Eintracht Frankfurt
The versatile forward only played for half the game – she was substituted out at 64 minutes for Ramona Petzelberger. Currently playing for Eintracht Frankfurt, she is currently the club’s top goalscorer with eleven goals in nineteen games in the 2023-24 season and is second in the overall list, just behind Wolfsburg forward Ewa Pajor. Also know as the dancing queen, Anyomi recently extended her contract with Die Adler until 2026.

Striker: Lea Schüller – FC Bayern München
Already one of the deadliest strikers in the Bundesliga, the then-23-year-old Schüller scored within eleven seconds of the game starting, breaking the record for the earliest goal in the competition. She would also score the first penalty in the shootout as the side finally lost the final. Alongside Marina Hegering, she would then depart for FC Bayern and become a reliable goalscorer for the Bavarians and the national team, having scored 38 goals in 58 caps.

Substitute: Irini Ioannidou - Retired
Coming in the 78th minute, Ioannidou would seal the equalizing goal for SGS Essen in the 90th, sending her side to euphoric joy. Sadly, her penalty, which was taken third, was held astutely by Abt. As of 2024 she has retired from professional football, having spent twelve seasons in Essen.

Substitute: Ramona Petzelberger – Tottenham Hotspur
Petzelberger was substituted on to replace Nicole Anyomi in the 64th minute to deal with the tired legs of the opponents as an offensive power. She currently plays for Tottenham Hotspur in the FA WSL, playing fourteen times and scoring one goal.