“My dog ​​has more followers than me”

Flexible, communicative and a strong leader – FC Bayern signed Tuva Hansen from Norwegian champions SK Brann Kvinner last December because of these attributes. The 25-year-old defender very quickly developed into a top performer in the women's team of the German record champions and played in every Bundesliga game this year from the start.

Saturday (5:55 p.m., MagentaTV) will see the top game in German women's football: Bayern Munich will welcome VfL Wolfsburg on the FC Bayern campus. It is the duel table second against table first, VfL leads by two points. The 2,500 tickets were sold within 30 minutes.

During the English-language video interview with the Norway international, her dog Vilja, a Cockapoo, can be seen in the background. Hansen moved into her apartment in Munich three weeks ago.

WORLD: Ms. Hansen, are you afraid that your dog will soon be more famous than you? She has her own account on TikTok and more than a million followers.

Tuva Hansen: (laughs) Vilja is really getting more famous than me. She already has more followers than me. She's a great dog. And it helps me a lot that I quickly feel at home and comfortable in Germany.

WORLD: How did the animal thing with TikTok come about?

Hansen: Back then I just started writing a kind of diary about my life with Vilja on Instagram. This was fun and I started posting videos of her on TikTok as well. One of them went viral – almost overnight she had an enormous number of followers. Since then, her number of followers has continued to grow. When we train, Vilja sometimes stays alone for a few hours. Whenever we travel to games, luckily I have some nice people here in Munich to take care of them.

WORLD: Sporty: What do you expect from the top game against Wolfsburg?

Hansen: We have a very good team spirit. That's why I'm convinced that we have a great opportunity. I'm really looking forward to the game, like all of us at Bayern Munich.

WORLD: Wolfsburg has won the championship seven times in the past ten years. How difficult will it be for Bayern to defend last year's title?

Hansen: Wolfsburg are a top team, without a doubt. It will be very difficult for us. But we mustn't have too much respect and not think too much about how good VfL is. With the right morale and a lot of effort, we can do it. Bayern are a big club, I felt that in the first few weeks. Mia san Mia also means that you always want to win.

WORLD: You won the championship twice in Norway. How good is the level of the Bundesliga?

Hansen: The game in the German league is even more physical than in Norway. There are many good teams. The Bundesliga is a very competitive league.

WORLD: Your home country has joined forces with Sweden, Denmark and Finland, as the Nordic alliance “Nordics 2025” you are applying to host the EM 2025. One of the competitors in the application is France. What would a tournament in your own country mean to you?

Hansen: That would be fantastic and a really big thing for my country and our comrades-in-arms. I believe that Norway in particular needs this tournament. To show how great the new generation is in women's football. And what we can do as a country. Just think of last year's European Championship in England.

WORLD: The atmosphere in the stadiums was very good there, in Germany as many people watched on TV as usual only at men's games.

Hansen: Exactly. It was great. I very much hope that we will also get the opportunity to host such a great tournament. We need this chance, we need this push.

WORLD: After the EM in England, experts and fans praised the level of women's football, the sport had become more athletic. Where does women's football stand in 2023?

Hansen: It goes step by step. The big tournaments help a lot in the development of the sport. People there realize that it's cool to watch women's football, whether it's on TV or in the stadium. That can carry over to the leagues. The sport has become faster and more athletic, as the statistics show. He's always better to look at.

WORLD: Where is the enthusiasm for women's football greater: in Norway or Germany?

Hansen: At home internationals in Norway, the atmosphere in the stadiums is really good. Many people love to go to women's soccer. The sport is becoming more and more popular. In recent years, development has exploded, in a positive sense. The players have become role models for many girls and boys. It's a big step for women's football. It's definitely going in the right direction. In the league, 10,000 people and more came to the stadiums. That is very cool. In Germany, more people are generally visiting the stadiums, which makes me very happy.

WORLD: When Bayern Munich beat Arsenal FC 1-0 last Tuesday, 20,000 people came to the stadium in the Champions League.

Hansen: I'm not used to so many spectators in the stadium. This is something very special and great.

WORLD: Alexander Straus, your coach at Bayern, is also from Norway.

Hansen: Yes, it's very useful to be able to talk to the coach in your native language (laughs). But I learn German every day and ask my players to always speak German to me so that I can learn the language quickly. I can say "Servus" and "Let's go" quite well, otherwise English helps.

WORLD: What do you think about the discussion about equal pay, which has become even more intense since the EM in England?

Hansen: I can understand the demands. In our national team we have equal pay, our bonuses are as high as those in our men's national team. Our association was the first to equalize the premiums for women and men. But in club football it's different and complex. It won't happen overnight. The same applies here: step by step. I don't know if men's and women's salaries will ever be exactly the same at club level. We just have to do our job well. And then we'll see what comes out of it in the end.

WORLD: Ms. Hansen, what are your dreams and goals?

Hansen: I want to win the Champions League. And the German championship. To be honest, I want to win everything (laughs).