Jones: Germany still the team to beat

Steffi Jones knows a thing or two about winning the UEFA European Women's Championship – she was in the Germany defence when they lifted the trophy in 1997, 2001 and 2005, tasted success in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup and scored both goals for 1. FFC Frankfurt in the first UEFA Women's Cup the year before. Jones retired from international football in 2007 and is now president of the local organising committee for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. She has been in Finland watching UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ and with Germany preparing for Thursday's final against England in Helsinki she spoke to uefa.com.

uefa.com: Why are Germany so strong?

Steffi Jones: The basis of the success was laid down in the past. When Tina Theune was still at the helm of the national team, the German FA built up structures to offer the players the best possible training conditions and to promote the women's national team as much as possible. Furthermore, we have really good coaches like Tina Theune, Silvia Neid, Ulrike Ballweg, Maren Meinert, Bettina Wiegmann and Ralf Peter – we are really in a good position and they continued improving the teams over the years. Germany is a frontrunner in women's football and they are always the team to beat. It's a lot of work to stay on top, that's why it makes it even more satisfying to have reached the final again.

uefa.com: A lot of people say, Germany are a 'Turniermannschaft' – tournament team. Would you agree?

Jones: Definitely, yes, but you should never take anything for granted as the wind can change quite easily. Of course, we hope we can repeat our success in the future, but there might be different times coming. You also need a bit of luck to go far in a tournament, I remember our defeat against the United States in the 1999 World Cup [losing 3-2 after leading 2-1]. Against Norway in the semi-final in Finland we were lucky that we didn't concede a second goal, when Norway hit the post.

uefa.com: What kind of final do you expect?

Jones: I think it's going to be a good final. England have continued to improve over the last few years, their youth teams, too. The English players showed a lot of confidence in this tournament and they've improved from game to game. They made some mistakes, but they will be confident of beating Germany. But I still think that Germany are a bit more solid as a team and with their strong substitutes they are always able to move up a gear, if necessary. That's why Germany are favourites.

uefa.com: What is your main task as 2011 president?

Jones: I am an ambassador for women's football. I want to create a positive awareness not only within our sport, but also in politics and I want to promote the game in schools and clubs. After doing this job for one and a half years I am still surprised at how varied these tasks are. I am enjoying the work and all the public appearances, where I can promote women's football step by step. I enjoy doing it a lot.