Schröder stays grounded after Potsdam procession

1. FFC Turbine Potsdam may have beaten ASD Torres CF 8-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final, but victorious coach Bernd Schröder felt the result was harsh on the Italian hosts. He also pinpointed Linda Tucceri Cimini's early own goal as "a killer blow", which Torres boss Manuela Tesse agreed was a crucial moment.

Bernd Schröder, Potsdam coach
It's not something we could have predicted. You never got the feeling when watching that it was 8-0 or that it was, let's say, such a clear win. The Italians played their part; they moved well and had their chances, but in the end we were the more effective and we had more chances. They are good opponents and they didn't play badly. We were just a bit better and, above all, the early goal which made it 1-0 in the first minute was obviously a killer blow for them.

We've been playing for 43 years and we've got sensational experience and excellent players, and you've got to say also that we're having a good season in the Bundesliga. That's a different proposition to the Italian league, but nevertheless Torres are not a bad team and I want to emphasise that.

It's not only down to the league, but you've also got to have a structure below it. We've got a great youth Bundesliga for our Under-17s. We've got a second division that our reserves play in and it's a complex process which is just not going to happen in Italy, where men's football is so strongly defined that there is simply not enough interest. It's different in Germany. We've been building up the women's game over years, investing in youth development and if anything we're getting even better.

Julia Simic, Potsdam midfielder
It sounds a bit stupid when you're not mathematically through already, but of course we've put ourselves into a great position with this big win today and I think we can now go into the second leg with a lot of confidence, and of course we're really looking forward to it too.

I think Torres are a good team, very combative and, like all Italian sides, very passionate and emotional. We did start the game well, but we still had to make a few changes early on because of the way they played. It was a good game from us and I think we fully deserved this win.

I think we combined very well at times and it's good for our game when you know you've got strikers who can score the goals and it's always very helpful for your self-confidence. What matters for us is that we make it into the semi-finals. Then we'll have two games which I think are going to be 50/50, and then anything's possible.

Lisa Evans, Potsdam forward
The Italians were really strong, especially in the first half when they made it really difficult for us and we struggled a lot, but we scored eight goals, and the tie's over now so we're happy. We just got the goals that mattered at the right times as well, so it's difficult for them. They'll probably be a bit disappointed that they didn't score, considering the chances they had.

Manuela Tesse, Torres coach
There is no point denying that the difference between the two teams was clear. Perhaps we had a bit more grit and determination against Arsenal last season and perhaps we started a bit too sheepishly here, even though we'd prepared the game very thoroughly and knew what we had to do. But I've got to say they were superior physically.

The own goal in the first minute really clipped our wings and we'd only just started. The rhythm is much slower in Italy and we've been saying this for years. This game's got to be an example for everybody in Italy who is involved in women's football.

We only have the Champions League where we play at such a high level. Over the course of a season in Italy, we've only got six games at this kind of level – just look at the league table. We have three sides fighting for the Scudetto and then there's a big gap from fourth downwards, whereas in the Bundesliga Potsdam aren't even top. We give it all we've got, training each day just like them, but it's about the mentality and the culture too.

Patrizia Panico, Torres forward
8-0 is a bit heavy, but there is a big difference [between the teams]. We helped them a bit because we lost our focus a few too many times and we basically didn't play football the way we can. Sometimes, tension plays tricks like this on you.

Maybe the positive is that we've got this far, but when you lose 8-0 there are very few positives you can take. For the second leg, it's practically over already. We'll try to show the whole of Europe that we can play differently to this and certainly do better than this embarrassment.

I think that what we lacked was personality. To play at the highest levels, you need to show a lot of personality, but often, and I see this with the national team too, when we play games at levels like these, it feels like the ball is scorching hot.

Hallbera Gisladóttir, Torres midfielder
8-0 is not a fair reflection of the way the game went, but I think some of the goals that we conceded were sloppy, especially when you go one goal down after one minute. We wanted to keep going, but then it became 2-0 early on, so it was always going to be a tough game for us, but still I think we could have scored.

Elisabetta Tona, Torres defender
Maybe they did not deserve eight goals, but they definitely proved they're a great side. We certainly should have done better. We've got players with experience of the quarter-finals of the Champions League, so we can't say it's purely down to that. It's a shame. We just did too little to be able to compete with them.