“The decision to quit matured over months. I had the feeling that I wanted to break new ground and develop professionally,” said the VfL offensive player on Thursday. Most recently, the 31-year-old was mostly on the bench at Wolfsburg, and she no longer played a major role in the DFB team either. “It’s not nice to sit on the bench, but it’s part of the sport. But that wasn’t something that made me want to end my career.”
Knaak switched from Atlético Madrid to the Mittellandkanal last summer. Before that, she played alongside Essen at Bayer Leverkusen and MSV Duisburg. Overall, Knaak has 16 games in the national team.
VfL can still win the double
After the semi-finals in the Champions League against FC Barcelona, VfL still has the chance of a double from the championship and the DFB Cup this season. With the 5-1 win at their ex-club from Essen on Wednesday evening, Knaak is on the verge of winning their first championship title. “It would be a dream for me to win the championship because it involves the most consistency and work,” she said.
The leaders could already be cheering for the championship on Friday if pursuers Bayern Munich lose to Bayer 04 Leverkusen. On Sunday he could do it perfectly himself in Jena. Turbine Potsdam is also waiting for the DFB Cup final at the end of May. “I hope that we can win the two possible titles and bring the season to a good end,” said Knaak. “It’s important for the team as well as for me personally.”
Knaak earned her PhD during her career
The national player had completed her doctorate during her football career. She wrote her doctoral thesis on the topic “Written language acquisition in children with learning needs”. “The PhD is probably not a bad starting point for a new life or my professional career,” she said. She is currently holding some talks, but there is nothing “mature to say” yet.
TV expert soon?
Soon she may explain what is happening on the pitch to a larger audience as a TV expert. According to her taste, there are now more experts during live broadcasts, but there could be more: “Ultimately, it’s a popular sport and the opinions of women are also part of it.”