Ann-Katrin Berger and her parade for eternity

AUDIO: Ann-Katrin Berger’s outstanding year (3 min)

by Florian Neuhauss

It’s the 103rd minute, extra time of the European Championship quarter-final against France. Germany has been outnumbered for more than 90 minutes, fighting self-sacrificingly – and then this: captain Janina Minge unfortunately extends a cross towards her own goal. Berger is actually too far forward to hold this ball.

There are moments when the whole stadium holds its breath. And this is one of those. Even for the 35-year-old herself, the following scene plays out as if in slow motion. “For me it felt like 30 seconds, 45 seconds“, she looks back. In truth, the difference between victory and defeat is probably a fraction of a second.

“Looking back at it, I don’t know how I did it. I was surprised at myself.”

Ann Katrin Berger

In any case, Berger reacts with presence of mind. She jumps backwards – and stretches longer and longer. The French women’s screams of celebration caught in their throats when Berger actually wiped the ball off the line with his fingertips. Germany survives extra time and ultimately wins on penalties.

And even six months later, Berger is the one who is almost astonished the most. “In retrospect, when you look at it, I don’t know how I did it,” she admits in the NDR interview – and adds: “I’ve never done a parade like that before, never trained it or even tried it out. I didn’t know I could do it. I was surprised at myself.”

Berger: “Exploring the world and other cultures”

Berger, of all people. The Göppingen native didn’t play a role in the national team for a long time. She was in the shadow of Almuth Schult – already in the DFB junior teams. Later, Merle Frohms was ahead. This was also due to the fact that Berger’s career took place outside the public eye for a long time. “I always wanted to explore the world and other cultures,” explains Berger, who, after her time in Sindelfingen and at Turbine Potsdam, moved to NJ/NY Gotham FC in the USA via Paris St. Germain, Birmingham City and Chelsea in 2024.

Hrubesch surprisingly makes Berger number one

One of Berger’s trademarks: Always stay relaxed, even shortly before the game.

But then came Horst Hrubesch, who took over the national coaching position from Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and led the team to the Olympics. And he gave Berger preference – which paid off within a very short time. The “late caller” became a bargaining chip on the way to the bronze medal. And she remained number one, even if Wück tried to convince Frohms to resign after he took office – which she refused.

Big criticism of “recklessness” in the preliminary round of the European Championship

Since then, Berger has shone in the DFB uniform with her skills as a goalkeeper, but also with the ball at her feet. But the latter of all things suddenly became a big problem during the European Championships. Some say that Berger showed her footballing skills in the preliminary round game against Denmark (2-1) when she let attacking strikers get out several times. The others accused her of being careless.

“I’m Anne. Ann-Katrin only calls me my mother when I’ve done something.”

Ann Katrin Berger

And when asked whether he approved of his goalkeeper’s play, national coach Wück answered firmly no after the game: “I’ll sit down at the table with her and tell her we have to find other solutions. Because otherwise I won’t get old.”

After these words, there was already speculation in the media about Berger’s replacement in goal. She describes her game as “daring and risky, but mostly good”. And so the coach came to the conclusion that “Anne” (“Ann-Katrin only calls me my mother when I’ve done something.”) there was no way around it. Wück later asserted that there had never been a debate about goalkeepers.

Penalty shootout: Berger saves twice and scores once

And so Berger was in goal both in the bitter preliminary round defeat against Sweden (1:4) and in the quarter-finals against France. But their contribution to progress was not “just” limited to this very special parade. In the penalty shootout she converted a shot from the spot herself (“My team decided for me that I should shoot.“) and finally parried the French team’s decisive shot (6:5 nE).

It is all the more bitter that she also played her part in the elimination in the semi-final against Spain (0:1 nV). Berger made a mistake in extra time when she expected a cross from Aitana Bonmati, opened the short corner and was surprised by a shot from the world footballer.

She is a true miracle of mentality and stands for the motto “Never give up” and “take responsibility”.

Female Footballer of the Year – also in the USA

But just as openly as Berger dealt with her mistake (“The short corner has to be closed. The ball should simply have been mine.”), her outstanding achievements also outweigh the public perception. In Germany, like last year, she was again honored as Footballer of the Year (together with DFB captain Giulia Gwinn). There was also the award for best player in the US league, which she won for the first time with Gotham.

Honor where honor is due: Giulia Gwinn (l.) and Berger with their trophies as Footballer of the Year.

“I’m incredibly proud that I was able to win over the Americans with my game,” said Berger, who says she only became a goalkeeper as a teenager because she was so lazy (“Now the balls are coming towards me and I don’t have to run after them anymore.“).

There were a few hymns of praise for Berger this year. For DFB teammate Sjoeke Nüsken, Berger is no less than “the GOAT” – the greatest of all time: “She is simply an incredible goalkeeper.” And Wück praised Berger as a special “player personality” and a “very important part of the team”. And despite her 35 years, she will remain that way for the foreseeable future – with the 2027 World Cup in Brazil in mind.

Ann-Katrin Berger is continuing her career in the German national soccer team. The goalkeeper recently left it open whether she would continue to wear the DFB jersey.

Berger: “The game should go down in the history books”

Berger, who always appears calm and level-headed, doesn’t really care about the hype surrounding her. Especially since she is now more comfortable speaking English after many years abroad. And she ultimately consciously decided to take up a team sport. That’s why your performance as an individual can only ever be evaluated as part of the team.

And so she advocated that her parade against France should not be left alone, but that everyone should remember the girls’ “crazy performance” for a long time to come. “I have a lot of respect for that,” emphasizes Germany’s number one. “The duel with France was one of the toughest games I played with the national team – and it should really go down in the history books.”

It was a successful year for the DFB women. In the Sportschau interview, Christian Wück also struggles with missed opportunities – and wants to shape Germany “into a top nation”.