Don’t linger on a negative result. Let it motivate you.

“I have had an intense but beautiful football career so far. To do so, you have to omit a lot. You are distanced from your family and friends, you don’t always play and you regularly have to swallow shit. At away games, for instance, I have endured monkey noises being made at me from the stands. Fortunately, the club and my team supported me a lot. In this respect, a women’s dressing room may also differ from the men’s. In my team, I have a number of women I can turn to when I’m not feeling so well.”

Because I made my debut at a young age and quickly made a transfer to Germany, I matured early. I went to live on my own at an early age, far from my family and friends. You do toughen up from that. It also has its advantages, because everything I have achieved and experienced so far I have been able to do more easily thanks to my maturity. But especially in my first year in Germany, I suffered a lot from that. I was very homesick, wanted to go back home. Mentally I was suffering. But you also know: I chose to do this, so I have to learn to live with it. I started talking to mental coaches who taught me how to cope. In open conversations, I learned to be more focused on myself. You can’t always influence other things, so you have to work on yourself. Doing so has done me a lot of good. I also know how to deal with setbacks better now. Before, if I missed a chance I could be frustrated for a whole match. Now it motivates me to do well next time.”

“Many people think you show weakness when you talk to a mental coach. But it’s actually a strength. I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling with something they cannot solve on their own.”

“When I was two years old, I said I wanted to play football in a stadium someday. That goal has never failed to motivate me to always go full steam ahead. And then when trainers also respond positively and tell you that you have talent, you push even harder. If you always keep doing your best, at least you can look in the mirror and say you did everything you could. Anything else is then beyond your control.”