“As a football romantic, I think there is nothing better than finishing everything where it started,” said Alexandra Popp about her last international match this Monday (October 28), where she is wearing, for the 145th time, the women’s national team shirt. German in the match against Australia, in Duisburg.
His national team career began there on February 17, 2010, when he came on as a substitute in the second half of the match against North Korea.
Duisburg plays a special role in Popp’s career, not only because of his debut with the national team 14 years ago. Born and raised in the Ruhr region, she signed her first professional contract with the then Bundesliga club FCR Duisburg in 2008. The fame of Popp’s great scoring talent had already spread internationally by then.
Popp is the best-known active German footballer internationally and in Germany she is almost more popular than she would like. According to him, he feels that he almost has no private life anymore. They recognize her on the street and talk to her frequently, although, in her own words, “she would really like to disconnect from popularity.”
Olympic champion in Rio, bronze in Paris
In her long career, the 33-year-old player has won many titles. Popp won the Champions League twice and the UEFA Women’s Cup once. She was German champion seven times and winner of the German Cup 13 times. Popp was named “footballer of the year” in Germany three times.
His greatest success with the German team was the Olympic victory in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. At the Olympic Games last summer in Paris, he said goodbye with the bronze medal. However, Popp has not achieved the title of European or world champion. The closest it came was at Euro 2022 against England. There the team lost against the host team. Popp missed the match, because he was injured a few minutes before the start of the match.
Popp celebrated his 13th career German Cup victory with VfL Wolfsburg in 2024.Image: Steinbrenner/IMAGO
Unconditional commitment, inspiring leader
Popp has scored 67 goals for his team before the last match. In addition to being a powerful goal scorer, the popular forward has always been characterized by her great commitment. “‘Poppi’ has a quality that few women in football have,” says former national coach Silvia Neid, who brought Popp into the national team.
But this ironclad commitment has also taken its toll: Popp has been missing several times for months due to serious injuries. When he announced his retirement from the national team at the end of September, he described his body as “a time bomb.”
With Popp’s departure, the team not only loses one of its best players, but also a strong leader, who has guided the team as captain since 2019. “She shows that you have to move forward, follow your own path and not let Don’t let anything get you down,” Kathrin Heinrich, a teammate in the national team and in Wolfsburg, told DW about Popp. “She has definitely been very inspiring to me,” he emphasizes.
Zoo animal keeper training
Popp’s contract with VfL Wolfsburg, where he has played for twelve years, runs until mid-2025. In his own words, he has not yet decided what will happen next. But she has already started thinking about the future after her playing career. “My wish would be to continue working in animal care and, in part, in football,” says Popp.
The professional footballer also trained as an official zoo animal keeper at the end of 2015. A rare combination but not unique. Lydia Williams, goalkeeper of the Australian team, also did so. Like Popp, Williams also announced the end of his international career this year.
(rmr/ms)
