WAMS: How would you describe the current situation in German women's basketball, which celebrated a sensational triumph with the Olympic victory in Paris in the trendy 3 × 3 version? Is it actually booming?
Gülich: Based on ticket sales for the World Cup, definitely. Days before the start of the tournament, more than 200,000 tickets were sold for a total of 36 games. This has never happened in the previous 29 Women's World Cups. All tickets for the final are already sold out. It feels great that people in this country are so keen to be part of our women's sport live.
WAMS: Nevertheless, the German men have left a much more impressive mark in classic basketball in recent years. You are the reigning world and European champions and came fourth at the Olympics in Paris. The most significant success for women is the European Championship bronze medal in 1997. In the only World Cup participation so far in 1998, also in Germany, she only achieved eleventh place. Why is there this discrepancy between the genders?
Gülich: There are much more professional structures among men. They have better training and travel conditions. In contrast, many of our players have to work part-time to make ends meet. This means they cannot concentrate 100 percent on their sport. You can only train so much. You also have less time to prepare for and recover from hard stress. We are still very far from equality.
WAMS: Female players in this country earn an average of 4,000 euros gross per month. Salaries for men are many times higher. There is also a big gap between the federal leagues. While there are 18 men's teams playing for the German championship, there are only ten women's teams. The three women's clubs eligible for promotion this year have declared their intention not to participate because they would be overwhelmed organizationally and financially. That doesn't sound like a bright future. What urgently needs to change?
Gülich: Women's basketball simply needs more money and more investments in order to be able to create promising structures across the board. This starts with supporting children and young people so that female players can reach the professional level, who will then raise the standard in the Bundesliga and thus also serve as role models for the development of young talent. Clubs must be able to retain their best players. However, almost all of them are currently under contract with foreign clubs.
WAMS: In the WNBA alone, the most popular league in the world, five Germans are playing for the first time: Satou and Nyara Sabally, Frieda Bühner, Leonie Fiebig and Luisa Geiselsöder. Thanks to a new collective agreement, they earn annual salaries in the six-figure range.
Gülich: Of course it's lucrative, you can't turn down an offer like that.
WAMS: You were last active in North America in 2020. You currently play for Australian champions Townsville Fire. Can you make a living from your sport?
Gülich: Yes now. Above all, I am happy that I have recovered from my injury. It could have also meant the end of my career.
WAMS: You tore the cruciate ligament in your right knee in May last year in Bamberg during the European Championship friendly against the Czech Republic. Only three weeks ago it was decided that you could play at the World Championships. Did you believe you could return to the national team despite your health handicap?
Gülich: I always said to myself: You have to do it. With this attitude, I went to rehab every day, which I took just as seriously as normal training. When I threw the first balls at a basket again after months, something clicked and I was back in my world.
WAMS: How difficult was it for you to mentally cope with this forced break?
Gülich: It wasn't easy to be so physically limited, to deal with this pain and an uncertain future. It wasn't easy to learn to walk again or to be able to straighten your leg again. Without acceptance and patience you will find it difficult to cope. What helped me the most was trust in my work. Of course, I was worried and pondered many a time. I was afraid that when I returned I wouldn't be the same person as a player that I was before. Ultimately, I didn't really have any serious doubts about failing with my comeback. But the time out also had something very good.
WAMS: What do you mean by that?
Gülich: I look back on the complicated year with a lot of gratitude because I was finally able to breathe a little. I haven't lived in Germany for twelve years and have been moving around the world. Now I had time to see my family and meet old friends. I realized again that there is more to life than basketball. When you do competitive sports for as long as I do, your body starts to hurt a lot. It's crazy, but now I no longer have any pain when I wake up in the morning. I have never felt so good physically. I'm also completely recovered mentally and am now going into the World Cup with a completely different mindset.
WAMS: Where thousands of fans will be chanting your name, which is not a given in women's basketball. How does that make you feel?
Gülich: That's a cool feeling. I love packed arenas with a hot atmosphere when the energy spills over from the stands. I'm in my element there.
WAMS: When you look back at the World Cup in ten years, what would you particularly want to remember?
Gülich: That we achieved something lasting and can say: Wow, that was a great time.
*The interview was conducted before the first World Cup game.
