Melanie Behringer is one of the most successful footballers in the history of Germanys’ Women’s football. She won pretty much every title possible on club and international level. Read further to get an inside view.

“At Bayern Munich, I became captain for the first time in my career. That has been a game-changer because it’s a different role than just being a “normal” player. You are the connecting link between team and coaching staff. On top of that, you lead the team on the pitch, which comes with great responsibility. That was very influential in my personal growth. 

Personally, winning gold in the Olympics has been my biggest success. I was allowed to play in my favorite position and therefore was able to pull off my best overall performance. I’m genuinely ambitious. I always want to play on the highest level and most importantly want to perform on the highest level, which obviously doesn’t work out all the time. In return, I had to train hard and sacrifice a lot personally. It is a huge privilege to turn my passion for football into my job. I’m endlessly thankful for that.

Due to a knee injury, I had to retire early. Of course, I’ve pictured the end of my career in a different way, but I had a great run and I’m thankful for it. I am a believer and take my strength and motivation out of the belief in Jesus. That’s what I trust in and it’s the reason why I have never quit after an injury.

It is important to have fun playing football, enjoy training and working in a team. If that’s the case, the next step is to realize that playing football on a professional level means sacrificing many things in your personal life.”

Club career

SC Freiburg: 01.07.2003 – 30.06.2008
FC Bayern Munich: 01.07.2008 – 30.06.2010
1.FFC Frankfurt: 01.07.2010 – 30.06.2014
FC Bayern Munich: 01.07.2014 – 30.06.2019

Game stats

• 123 caps for the German senior national team
• 293 games in the German Bundesliga
• 27 games in the German Cup
• 11 games in the UEFA Women’s Champions League

Achievements

World Champion 2007
European Champion 2009, 2013
Olympic Champion 2016
Golden Boot Olympics 2016
German Champion 2015, 2016
German Cup Winner 2011, 2014