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At 30, Dominant Footballer Birgit Prinz
Sees More
Birgit Prinz has become the face of women’s soccer in Germany, and the dominant striker is celebrated by fans around the world. On October 25, the National Team captain turns 30, just weeks after having helped her team successfully defend the World Cup title in China. If she is still playing at this world-class level in 2011, the three-time World Footballer of the Year could have the thrill of defending the World Cup title again, this time on home turf. FIFA will decide on October 30 which country will host the sixth edition of the women’s tournament, Germany or Canada. When Germany makes its final presentation to FIFA in Zurich on Monday, Prinz will be there, along with national teammate Fatmir Bajramaj, to support the bid. They will be joined by Chancellor Angela Merkel, via video feed, who was so inspired by the women’s victory in China that she promised to be even more motivated in Germany’s push to host the tournament. It seems that wherever the World Cup is played, though, Prinz is at home there. She made her first World Cup appearance at the age of 16, and in 2007 in her fourth tournament broke the record for most World Cup goals. But in her typically modest fashion, Prinz was not concerned with that particular milestone. “Goals win matches, but they aren't my yardstick. I wouldn't even have known about this record if the journalists hadn't asked me about it,” she said after the September 17 match against Japan, according to FIFA.com.
This year the striker is again nominated, along with four other German women, for the FIFA World Footballer of the Year award, the winner of which will be announced in December. It would be one more stellar addition to her long list of athletic accomplishments: two world championships, four European championships, seven German championships (with two different Frankfurt teams), and two Olympic bronze medals, to name just a few. American fans will remember Prinz from her 2002 season with the Carolina Courage, whom she also helped to the WUSA national title. A player who dominates a sport so consistently and completely could be making millions with a professional contract and endorsements, but professional women’s soccer is still struggling financially, even in “soccer land” Germany. Does this bother Prinz, who does have sponsorship deals with Nike and a local BMW dealership, among others, and is the franchise player for FFC Frankfurt in her hometown? Not really. Prinz has long recognized that there is life beyond the pitch. She works professionally as a physiotherapist, and even manages to squeeze in studies for a degree in psychology at the University of Frankfurt. “I wouldn’t want to swap places” with the men, she said in an interview with sports journalist Wolfgang Golz last year. “Of course, I wouldn’t object to having a couple of million in the bank, but money isn’t everything. This way I’ve got more of a private life, which I value very highly. Thank God the celebrity thing isn’t that extreme!” While she does not enjoy the fanfare, Prinz has learned to use it for causes she cares about. She is working with FIFA on its anti-racism campaign, and in 2005 she traveled to Afghanistan as the patron of the Learn and Play project, an effort that used the opportunity to play soccer to get girls and boys more interested in learning.October 25, 2007 Links
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