Rivalry and record crowd: Alexandra Popp eagerly awaits a very special premiere

Former national team captain Alexandra Popp can't wait to face Schalke 04 in her first Revierderby for Borussia Dortmund.

Ahead of Sunday's match against Dortmund's great rivals (3pm/WDR and PlutoTV), Popp knows what her Schalke-supporting dad might have said. "He would definitely have teased me a bit all week – I'm pretty sure of that," she said, laughing fondly at the thought of her late father. The former DFB captain is also sure he would have wanted her to leave the pitch "a winner".

For all she has experienced in her long and successful career, the 35-year-old has never played in a match quite like this Regionalliga West top-of-the-table clash. A record crowd of 17,555 fans will watch the showdown with Schalke. "I find it really exciting. I'm incredibly looking forward to the moment," Popp said. "To be honest, I'm curious myself about how I'll feel when it comes down to it, because I haven't been in this situation before."

Since moving from VfL Wolfsburg to the club she holds dear, Popp has yet to face the neighbours from Gelsenkirchen as a player. The ardent BVB supporter knows the fixture well as a fan. Her father, who died in December 2022 after suffering from cancer, supported Schalke, but Popp followed her brother, who is four years older, in backing Dortmund.

As a small child, she said, "you often take your cue from your siblings. That's how I was drawn to BVB," Popp explained. "At home, it was always very entertaining, you could say," the 2022 European Championship runner-up recalled with a smile. Popp said the derby had always involved "a great deal of emotion" for her as a fan. At the weekend, though, she knows she must approach the game "with a certain calmness" and, like her team-mates, not let the heated atmosphere get to her.

BVB go into the Revierderby as overwhelming favourites

Dortmund have dominated the western division so far and go into the match at the Stadion Rote Erde as favourites in front of their home fans. With Popp contributing 17 goals, BVB lead the table with a maximum 36 points from twelve matches (59:1 goals). Second-placed Schalke are already eleven points behind.

A defeat would not derail Dortmund's promotion bid, but only a win will do against their rivals from Gelsenkirchen. "When you have a game like this ahead of you, with such a big rivalry, you really want to enjoy it to the full," Popp stressed. She hopes to play the derby in the Bundesliga "as soon as possible".

If everything goes to plan, Popp reckons it could happen in three years. First BVB will, of course, win promotion, "and then Schalke will follow".