Grings delighted to lead Duisburg in final

At the heart of FCR 2001 Duisburg's run to face fellow UEFA Women's Cup debutants Zvezda-2005 in the final over the next two weekends is one of the continent's most established strikers, Inka Grings. The 30-year-old, who made her comeback for Germany this year, looks set to be the Frauen-Bundesliga's leading scorer for the fifth time in a decade. Ahead of Saturday's first leg in the Russian city of Kazan she spoke to uefa.com.

uefa.com: How would you assess the UEFA Women's Cup final against Zvezda-2005?

Inka Grings: It is a real career highlight. I don't know if we'll get to experience anything like this ever again. The game is also something very special because [Zvezda's home town] Perm is Duisburg's twin city and we will play the return leg at the MSV Arena. Just like reaching the German Cup final in Berlin, it's a unique event and I'm delighted it's finally about to get going.

uefa.com: What do you know about your opponents in the final?

Grings: We watched extracts of their [semi-final] against Umeå [IK], and got an initial impression of what is awaiting us. I have a massive amount of respect for them: They have not made it to the final as debutants for no reason. As we don't know so much about them, we will have to approach the first game cautiously, as we did in Lyon, and then adapt what we do to suit that. Our initial target is to avoid conceding there.

uefa.com: Is the possibility of ensuring a place in the new UEFA Women's Champions League next season important?

Grings: That's at the back of my mind. In the German championship there is nothing more that we can do, it's out of our hands now. It's important for us now that we win the UEFA Cup and we go into the game with that pressure upon us, because we want to be playing European football again next season. We can only achieve that if we win the UEFA Cup. A healthy amount of pressure is no bad thing.

uefa.com: Is it evidence of the strength in depth of women's football that you, new to the competition, have reached the UEFA Women's Cup final?

Grings: That is surely the be all and end all, because you are then consistently challenged throughout the whole year to perform at the very highest level of the sport. I truly believe that is an advantage for us. We have made specific improvements to our squad in one or two positions and we are now reaping the rewards of the work we have put in over the years.