'You can lose to everyone' - Chicago Red Stars defender Maxi Rall highlights biggest differences in NWSL after leaving Bayern Munich to start 'crazy' new adventure outside of Europe

The differences between Europe and the U.S. are often discussed in the women’s game. While the former has an historic soccer culture, the latter boasts the most successful women’s national team. Debates are frequent on which side of the pond has the better domestic league then, and while some may agree to disagree in that respect, there’s no argument that the two have different strengths and benefits for players.

Rall describes moving to Chicago as a “jump in the cold water” because of how different it is to what she knows, a jump she decided to make as she knows that she doesn’t have too many years left of her career. “In Europe, I was not that interested,” she says, talking about other options she had for a new adventure. “I don't know why, because I wanted something completely different maybe. I've been to a lot of countries in Europe and I just wanted to see the U.S. I had some context with Babett [Peter, Red Stars assistant general manager] because she's also German, so that's why the connection to Chicago came up. That's why I ended up here.”

Coming into a roster predominantly made up of American players, it has been a little strange being “the other one”, in Rall’s words, but it’s a welcoming group that “made it really easy to feel good”. Off the pitch, she’s been able to settle as well. “I'm 30, so I'm grown up. I can handle some different situations.”

It’s on the pitch that she describes as “a little bit more difficult” because of the contrast between soccer in the U.S. and back home in Germany. “I think the style of playing where I come from, and what the girls are maybe used to, is different. It's way more transitional and we're not that all-possession team, so this is a big difference for me, I have to say. To adapt to this style of playing will take some time, for sure.”

That leads us on nicely to talk about those differences, and Rall is particularly well-placed to discuss them. Though she does note the style of play being an adjustment, the big things she picks out when asked to compare and contrast are actually cultural. There is “the entertainment around a game” and also the consistent numbers that come through the gates to watch matches unfold in the NWSL.

“Of course, the stadiums, because there are not that many people watching these games in Germany,” Rall notes. “Sometimes, okay, one or two times a year you have also big stadiums, especially when you play Champions League, then more and more clubs getting into the big stadiums. But otherwise, when you play the league... In some clubs, there are almost no people to watch the games, so this is completely different.”

It's certainly an area where Germany, and some other top leagues across Europe, need to improve - and are trying to do so. The average attendance in the 2023-24 Frauen Bundesliga sat at 2,876, with Wolfsburg boasting the best club average at 5,691 and Duisburg the worst at 991. Meanwhile, the average attendance in the NWSL so far in 2024 is 11,322 and the lowest club-specific average is 5,652.

There’s a huge difference in the competitiveness of the NWSL and the leagues in Europe, too. In Germany, England, France and Spain in particular, there are often the haves and have-nots. There is a group of really top teams with a lot of resources, some competitive upper mid-table sides that battle hard for Champions League spots and then there are sides that most expect those towards the summit to beat.

In the NWSL, which has factors like a college draft, for example, that try to keep the league close and competitive at all times, any team can genuinely beat any team. Last year, former Real Madrid striker Esther Gonzalez, now at Gotham, said that every NWSL game was "like a Champions League game, at the highest level". As the division enters its mid-season break in 2024, even the bottom team - the Utah Royals, a new expansion side - is only nine points off a playoff place.

“In Germany, you have three or four [teams], so they are on top, and then there is the rest, and there are the lower teams, maybe two really bad teams. It's almost or often clear who is winning each game,” Rall explains. “Here, this is completely different. This is also really nice and this is making the league really fun to watch.

“But if you play for Munich and you play against a lower team, you know you have to win. There is no question. You're not allowed to lose, so this is then something different. You have a little bit more pressure, you know you have to and if you don't, then it's burning this week in the facility. This is another kind of pressure I think you had, especially at Bayern, but here, you never know. You can beat anyone and you can lose against everyone.”

That imbalance in Europe can make for some hugely anticipated games. So often when Rall was at Bayern, the title races could come down to those two regular season games against Wolfsburg because neither would drop many points to other teams. If one did, it could genuinely decide the destination of the league trophy. How different is it for Rall to play in the NWSL then, where her team is never going to be expected to simply brush an opponent aside before a ball is kicked?

“It is completely different, but in Munich, we had a really, really good team and you feel also really confident to win these games, because you know you have a better team and, of course, then it counts in these one or two games against Wolfsburg or Frankfurt or whatever,” she says. “You have to be there and then the league is going to be decided in these games, so these games were kind of special always. That was also a special feeling.

“Now, here, you have some playoffs. This is also different. You can make it to the playoffs even if you lose a few games. This is not possible in Germany. You have to win every game and if you lose one that is not expected, then you don't have a chance to win the Championship anymore. Here you have more chances. This is, I don't know, different. I don't know what's better or not.”

As the league takes a small break and gets ready for the NWSL x Liga MX Summer Cup, in which teams from the U.S. will battle those from Mexico’s rising league, Rall and the Chicago Red Stars sit well-placed for a spot in the post-season. Eight teams will make the playoffs and Chicago is currently seventh, with a six-point cushion to Racing Louisville in ninth. There have been some good spells and some not-so-good spells, but it's all to play for when the NWSL returns.

“I think it's fine. We should be happy so far,” Rall says of her first half-season in Illinois. “I think the team is in a growing up process. There are a lot of young players, a lot of experienced players, new players, and I think where the team is coming from, we can be really happy so far - and I think the club is.

“I think every team always can improve. You never will play perfect soccer, which is not possible maybe. We can get better in a few situations, especially with the ball. I think we have a lot more potential to grow and to understand soccer and to find our identity of playing. It's always to try to get better and grow.

“In the end, if you make it to the playoffs, I think then everything is possible because in one game, everything can happen, which is a little bit bad for the team who is in first place at the end of the season, because I think they are really constant. They are winning almost every game. There are really strong teams but it makes it more exciting so then every team can win in the end.

“We didn't set a clear goal [before the season] but I think the goal for everyone deep inside is clear. I think we try to make it to the playoffs. That's why we're playing. In the end, we will see if we can make it or not.”