interview
With the preliminary round game against Poland, the DFB team starts on Friday (from 8:15 p.m. in the first and in the live stream) to the European Championship in Switzerland. Defender Giulia Gwinn then leads the German footballers into a tournament for the first time as a captain. In the sports show interview, she talks about responsibility, injuries and development as a leader.
Sportschau.de: Giulia Gwinn, unlike her very extroverted predecessor as a DFB captain, Alexandra Popp, she always looks quite quiet on the square. Have there been moments in which they have become loud in the past few months?
Giulia Gwinn: Definitely-when we retire 0: 1 in the Nation’s League game against Scotland. The national coach and I both got loud. That was necessary. We knew: If we don’t wake up now, we won’t win this game.
You have described Bastian Schweinsteiger as your captain’s model. Why?
Gwinn: Because his kind just gripped me. He was always an emotional leader for me. None who only ride around on the pitch. With his will he simply torn the team. How he tore up at the 2014 World Cup final for the team, that doesn’t get out of my head. And even if you had the feeling that the man can no longer go a meter, he kept going. And I definitely want to do that exactly the way: emotionally the teammates and go.
Alexandra Popp, Marina Hegering and Merle Frohms resigned from the national team last autumn, and other established players were also used less often due to injury. How did the team cope with this upheaval?
Gwinn: There were players who are simply personalities away from the square. You have to catch that with a relatively young team. I think we did it quite well. But for my feeling, it is special that many players feel like taking a step forward and are also willing to distribute this responsibility over many shoulders. I think there will be great possible in the future.
They played their first big tournament with the DFB team in 2019 at the World Cup in France. They met in the first group game against China – the headline in the “Bild” was at the time: “Upper opening thanks to our prettiest”. Again and again they are also referred to as “Germany’s most beautiful footballer”. Is that a compliment or rather annoying?
Gwinn: First of all, one has to say that “Poppi” (Alexandra Popp) was asked to describe their teammates before the tournament. And somehow the words “our prettiest” fell, which was of course funny at the beginning. But that’s not what I’m about. Of course I am also a young woman and like to make my hair beautiful and make me make -up. But what happens on the pitch is much more important to me. And I’m another person. I don’t care what I look like, so I get into the duels, so I run for my life. I don’t care if a tooth is knocked out. So you really can’t speak of “the most beautiful”, but rather of the one who wants to tear down for the team.
They have already injured themselves twice and torn the cruciate ligaments in both knees every two years. How did you deal with it?
Gwinn: The first time the diagnosis of the cruciate ligament tear pulled the floor under my feet. The months in rehab were already an extreme fight with myself. I came to the training area in Munich, did my thing and tried to somehow put on a smile. I tried to be strong, even though it looked very different in me. And I think I could probably have let that out in one place or another. But I just didn’t want to put any strain on it, so I often just put on a mask.
Was it different after the second cruciate ligament riss in autumn 2022?
Gwinn: The renewed injury was a blow. But it also helps you in a way when you are already familiar with the whole topic. It was once again a hurdle that I took to ultimately get a bit stronger.
How did these setbacks change them?
Gwinn: I grew on it. Because I was not allowed to play football for a total of two years, I simply feel a huge feasibility that I can stand on the pitch, that I can inspire so many people and that I can share this together with friends in the team. That is why I have become much more confident and very willing to take on more responsibility to advance the team.
You published a book in May. The title is: “Write your own story”.
Gwinn: This has been my personal motto for a long time, which I also had on my forearm. The book is primarily intended to inspire young girls, move them to football, encourage them, to go their way. When I look back, it was so difficult for me that there were no female role models. I want girls really have female idols. Women to look at.
With what goal does the DFB team go to the European Championship in Switzerland?
Gwinn: We were allowed to sniff the air in England in 2022, unfortunately it failed in the final. But we have already licked a little blood. Of course, the euro will be very, very difficult again. There are many teams that are absolute top and want to play for the title. But in any case, Germany is part of it.
Will your parents be back in the stands?
Gwinn: Yes! For me it is the greatest thing that they always support me. That was like that from the start. I know that you take a lot, cover countless kilometers with your motorhome just so that you can sit in the stands for 90 minutes and experience these moments.
The conversation conducted Inka Blumensaat as part of the filming of the documentary “ShootingStars”.