Angerer's guide to champion Germany players
domingo, 28 de julio de 2013
Resumen del artículo
Germany captain Nadine Angerer, the hero of the final win, takes us through the winning squad in Sweden, from the three beauty queens to the "perfect daughter-in-law".
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Cuerpo del artículo
The first time the UEFA Women's EURO had a group stage in 1997, holders Germany retained tht title. They repeated the feat in 2001, 2005, 2009 and are now back in the showpiece again in 2013 – all with goalkeeper Nadine Angerer in the squad.
Taking over as first choice from Silke Rottenberg in time for their fifth straight success in 2009, Angerer has captained Germany to yet another success in Sweden. The keeper, who saved two penalties to be final player of the match, talks us through the holders' 23-strong squad – including the beauty queens, their 'little punk' and why they need a 'silence fox'.
1 Nadine Angerer (goalkeeper, Brisbane Roar, 34)
I cannot describe myself, others have to do it...
2 Bianca Schmidt (defender, 1. FFC Frankfurt, 23)
She is a very quiet person but always ready for a joke. Sometimes I wish she would say more.
3 Saskia Bartusiak (defender, 1. FFC Frankfurt, 30)
She is real thinker but she can also laugh out loud and be very funny. She is a very positive person.
4 Leonie Maier (defender, FC Bayern München, 20)
She's very small and she is a threat for each opponent. She is a fresh person and always in a good mood. Her Swabian dialect is funny, too.
5 Annike Krahn (defender, Paris Saint-Germain FC, 28)
We call her our Ruhr-region Brazilian. She is very well organised and knows the birthdays of all the players by heart. She is structured and it is important to have a player like her.
6 Simone Laudehr (midfielder, 1. FFC Frankfurt, 27)
She is a very important player for us. After a long injury, she has fought her way back into the team. She is a very quiet person and Saskia Bartusiak's room-mate. She is a relaxed and good character.
7 Melanie Behringer (midfielder, 1. FFC Frankfurt, 27)
She is the good soul in the tournament. She is very important for the team and has a good team spirit. She is a real fighter and always gives everything in training. Mel is just a great person.
8 Nadine Kessler (midfielder, VfL Wolfsburg, 25)
She is our motor in midfield. She has not been part of our team very long, but she settled in well and quickly. She is curious and wants to know everything and I am happy to have her with us.
9 Lena Lotzen (forward, FC Bayern München, 19)
She is pure class; she is from Wurzburg, where I was born too. She is a real cool person and always ready for a joke. She is as bold as brass and very confident.
10 Dzsenifer Marozsán (forward, 1. FFC Frankfurt, 21)
She is our strategist and technically one of the most gifted players in the world. She is very calm, very social and has always a good feeling for the team and is emphatic. She is very important for us.
11 Anja Mittag (forward, FC Malmö, 28)
She is our Swedish queen and loves shopping. She is a real team player and you can talk with her a lot about movies. She is also always ready for a joke.
12 Almuth Schult (goalkeeper, VfL Wolfsburg, 22)
I don't know any other person who can talk that much. We invented a sign for her, the 'silence fox', which means that Almuth has to stop talking and listen to others. She's understood this quite well so far.
13 Célia Okoyino da Mbabi (forward, 1. FFC Frankfurt, 25)
She will get married soon. She is great, a very structured and determined person. She is very intelligent and also a real cool person who fits perfectly in the team.
14 Isabelle Linden (forward, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 22)
She is our little punk. No, she is simply a cool person and very self-confident in a positive way. She is really important for the team, because she always says something funny. I am happy to have her with us.
15 Jennifer Cramer (defender, 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam, 20)
Has she ever said a word? I don't know. She talks very little, but she is a very intelligent and disciplined player. I would be glad if I got the chance to party with her. I am wondering if she would be a different person then.
16 Melanie Leupolz (midfielder, SC Freiburg, 19)
She is the perfect daughter-in-law. She is just a nice person, very open-minded and funny. She is also very calm, but her laugh is infectious.
17 Josephine Henning (defender, VfL Wolfsburg, 23)
She is a very creative person and has always good ideas. She is always in a good mood and you can discuss with her a big variety of topics. I like her opinions. She is also a very positive person.
18 Svenja Huth (forward, 1. FFC Frankfurt, 22)
She is our little terrier, she is a real biter in training. She is the best friend of Dzenni Marozsán and she puts everyone in a good mood. She works for the city of Frankfurt and sometimes she is like a real officer.
19 Fatmire Bajramaj (midfielder, 1. FFC Frankfurt, 25)
She is a very sociable person, she loves children and is a real team player. She has always been there for her team-mates. It was great when she went to Lena Lotzen ahead of the first game and motivated her, though she plays in the same position. She told her that she is fully backing her and that shows how cool she is.
20 Lena Goessling (midfielder, VfL Wolfsburg, 27)
She is one of our beauty queens, together with Anja Mittag and Lira Bajramaj. She is real cool person too and pure fun: when she opens her mouth, she makes the entire table laugh.
21 Laura Benkarth (goalkeeper, SC Freiburg, 20)
She has had a great development. She was a wallflower at the beginning and she didn't say a word. We could really kid her. But now she defends herself and answers back. Great!
22 Luisa Wensing (defender, VfL Wolfsburg, 20)
She is our heading monster. She grew up close to the Dutch border. She is the pet of our team and she gives everything in each training session. She is also a funny person and a bit the leader of the younger players.
23 Sara Däbritz (forward, SC Freiburg, 18)
When I won my first European title [in 1997], she was learning to walk. She is great. I didn't know her before she joined our team. And when she said something for the first time, I heard her strong Bavarian dialect and I was rolling on the floor laughing. She has a loud, funny voice, but she is already very mature given her young age.