Janina Minge’s trademark is lightness: Thanks to her impressive technique and her strong psyche, the Freiburg native is one of the best players in the Bundesliga.
Everything looks so easy with Janina Minge: being a shooting star, one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga, national player or take measurements on the field and simply circle the ball in the corner. Her strength is her carelessness. “I don’t think about it that much. I just play football. That’s a bit of a football field feeling for me,” Minge describes her approach. It all started for her at home in Lindau on Lake Constance. The now 23-year-old grew up on the soccer field next door and then grew into a Bundesliga jersey – and has thus achieved her very big goal. “It was a dream of mine as a child to grow up, play football and earn my living with it. It’s all the nicer that it really worked out,” she says, pleased that her dream has come true at SC Freiburg.
Cool team player
Janina Minge has been with SC since 2015, when she was still a junior. Today she is a regular player in the Bundesliga – and what a player. Since this season at the latest, she has also been decidedly cool in front of goal. The result is eight goals in ten games. “Of course I’m happy that I was able to help the team with a goal or two,” Minge is a real team player, but she’s also happy about the attention she gets personally: “It’s great that there’s such hype about me naturally beautiful.”
The good idea of her trainer
She also owes the hype to trainer Theresa Merk. Because she had a very special idea for her former central defender. “Jani is characterized by being a very dynamic player who works a lot with speed and has the urge to go forward,” she describes Minge. “I had the thought that it would be more of a hindrance if she played defensively because then she would have to fulfill other positional tasks,” explains Merk Minge’s move to attacking midfield. And she was exactly right, because that is Janina Minge’s feel-good position. And she thanks her trainer with hits on the assembly line.
Grandpa Theo as a supporter
Another person who also has a large share in Janina’s success is Grandpa Theo with his good tips. “He always says I should just shoot at goal, then he’ll go in. And somehow it works,” she laughs, describing her grandfather, who is “a very special person” for her. Grandpa Theo sits in the stands at every home game, he is there and supports them to the best of his ability.
Get even more out of it with noodles
But that’s not all, there is another recipe for success: “Käsesspätzle are my favorite food. I eat pasta before every game, it’s become so common,” says Minge, who is also a little bit superstitious. “Of course it has something to do with the psyche. But I also think that if I eat pasta, I can get one percent more out of it,” laughs the likeable midfielder. And maybe it’s exactly this percentage that makes the difference, and Janina Minge to Freiburg’s leading player, where everything somehow seems so easy.
TV tip
On Saturday (2 p.m.), fourth-placed SC Freiburg welcome leaders VfL Wolfsburg in the top game at the Dreisam Stadium. SWR Sport shows the game from 2 p.m. on TV, live stream and on YouTube.
