After her injury, Giulia Gwinn supported the national team from the bank and received a lot of praise from the colleagues. But actually the captain had completely different plans for herself and her team.
Giulia Gwinn has a very special picture of herself: she is the woman in sneakers and blazers. The sporty creator. At least that’s how she was photographed for the cover picture of her biography. “Write your own story”The work that traces its way from the bolt places of the province to the big stadiums of the world.
This summer she wanted to lead the German national team in the arenas of Switzerland to win the title at the European Championship. So she started as the new captain of the team after Alex Popp ended her national team career in October 2024. What became of it is known. In the first match against Poland, Gwinn twisted his knee after a good half an hour during a rescue operation against Ewa Pajor. She tried again, but had to get off the field after 40 minutes – she had injured the inner ligament.
“It hurt incredibly”
From then on, the captain was only seen on crutches – the European Championship had run personally for her. “I had done so much”she now complained after the German team had left the semi -finals. “Of course I wanted to actively help the team. That it was over after the first game was incredibly hurt”she confessed.
Pain she knows. The youngest injury was by no means her first heavier one. After celebrating her Bundesliga debut at SC Freiburg in 2015 as a 16-year-old, she was able to switch to Bayern in 2019. There she contracted a shoulder injury in October of the same year and was a good three months after an operation.
Outside – Giulia Gwinn.
Stoped by two cruciate ligament tears
In September 2020, she contracted a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament and several ligament tears in the right knee in the national team’s jersey against Ireland (3-0). After eleven months of injury, she celebrated her comeback in August 2021.
But that’s not it yet. After a new cruciate ligament rupture in training the Nationalman Schat in October 2022, it failed for several months. According to their own statements, the serious injuries changed their attitude towards sport: “My body awareness is no longer the same. I invest more time in the preparation and follow-up of the training sessions.”
Support in difficult times: Constantin Frommann and partner Giulia Gwinn (2023).
Gwinn – the versatile
In the national team, she established herself as a regular and leader. Your very great advantage: your flexibility. Gwinn is a versatile footballer who was initially striker but can also play in midfield, and ultimately found her regular position on the defensive outer lane.
She once explained about her preferences on the field: “I like to play aggressively. If we can put our game on the opponent and I can switch on the outer track in the attack, that’s perfect for me. Combination game over the wings with flanks – I like that.”
Gwinn at your rescue act against Ewa Pajor.
“Would like to take responsibility”
Already in 2022 she announced: “I want to take responsibility and embody that”. At the football tournament of the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, Gwinn was one of the top performers. Their transformed penalty in the game for third place secured the DFB selection to say goodbye to Hrubesch the bronze medal. Then she continued to move up, became a new captain after Alex Popps. With great ambitions from which the injury in Switzerland did not become anything. It remained the unfinished.
What do you do as a team captain when you have injured yourself, how do you behave? Departure and press your thumb from a distance? After all, it can be very stressful for those remaining to be constantly confronted with the image of the unfortunate. Gwinn decided differently: she commuted between the Rehabilitation Ort Munich and the team camp in Switzerland. Tried to support the colleagues from the edge of the field as much as possible.
Moral support for Ann-Katrin Berger.
“Nice to have Giuli with you”
Before the second group game against Denmark (2-1), she sent a message to the German team via Instagram: “I believe in you !!” Gwinn returned to Switzerland one day before the third group game against Sweden (1: 4) and came up with something special for every player. Sjoeke Nüsken explained: “She printed out a picture with a saying for each.”
Gwinn was present, heated up the team before kick -off in the circle and remained present on the sidelines. After the defeat against Sweden, she hugged the disappointed players. “It was nice to have Giuli with them. She is all the more important next to the place. She gives us energy”so Nüsken. She also had to experience the semi-final against Spain from the sidelines. “What mainly gets stuck is an incredible unit that we have formed”In retrospect, she says about the team’s prospects.
“Proud of the team”
Of course be now “A lot of frustration because we couldn’t bring it over time and to take the step into the final.” The 26-year-old finds: “We can be very, very proud. I am definitely very, very proud of the team.” Gwinn is convinced that the DFB team with this appearance “Sustainably moved”.
For Gwinn it is now in rehab. The “Focus is now on the knee and the European Championship”she says. The FC Bayern player cannot predict how long it will take before it is used again with the record champions. “You have to see week after week when I can be back.” The next big goals are already waiting in the club: In addition to the defense of the Doubles, the new FC Bavaria coach Jose Barcala strives for the victory of the Champions League in the long term.