Julia Simic - Football is my life

WHO AM I WITHOUT SOCCER?

When asked today about the highlights of my career, my answer is likely to be unexpected. There were great moments involved, such as the Champions League final, the European championship title with the national youth team as well as the German championship or cup victories.

Honestly, however, it was the Comebacks after long breaks from injuries, which I will remember as even more emotional. To be replaced in front of your teammates, the coaching and support team and everyone who has accompanied you during this difficult time and to be back on the pitch is an unbelievable feeling.

I still get goosebumps when I think about it today. The emotions when you are allowed to play again, when you have bitten your way through for months or over a year, are simply outstanding.

The downside: At the same time, I had to experience again and again how brutal injuries can be. I particularly remember the year 2016: I suffered a syndesmosis ligament rupture at the worst possible time.

I played in Wolfsburg, was a regular player and missed all finals — Champions League final, DFB Cup final, championship. That was brutal, also because the new national coach Steffi Jones had promised me an invitation to join the national team.

Of course, there were also other bitter setbacks. In particular, the outcome of the 2009 Bundesliga season with FC Bayern still hurts today. We were runner-up — we missed a goal to the title. That was probably the only time I woke up the next day and couldn't get out of bed. I was just mentally exhausted by then. The fact that we were unable to win the last game with another goal still haunts me today.

WE HAVE SOME CATCHING UP TO DO

But my look back also includes the development of women's soccer to reflect over all the years of my active career.

What is gratifying is that it has developed insanely structurally. In the meantime, we have a great framework of school and soccer on courses at the DFB, which the girls can draw on. In girls' soccer at club level, however, the framework conditions are not yet comparable with those of boys. Here, the players' development paths are still completely different.

For example, there is no junior performance center as standard. But at the same time, we see that access for talented female soccer players to the boys' NLZ is improving. Also because people recognize that talented girls can keep up with boys.

This would have been unthinkable in the past and shows that we bring great talent to the top when we specifically promote them. Our U17 has huge potential and I am sure that with this talent we will be able to play among the world's best again in the future.

So we don't have to hide in soccer terms in Germany, but when it comes to media relations, marketing and thus also the importance of women's soccer, we have a lot of catching up to do. I'm taking a lot with me here, especially from England. Women's soccer plays a much bigger role there — also in society. And other nations such as Spain, France and Italy are also catching up.

In this context, I would like to remind you that we in Germany have already shown how things can work. At the 2011 home World Cup, almost everyone interested in sports knew five to ten female national players by name. Female soccer players were in the media, on posters, in advertising — I remember Lira Bajramaj (now Alushi), for example, who was in the Nike TV commercial.

We need to get back to this point: You have to get the national players back into the public eye through reporting, marketing and effective campaigns. We need draft horses, role models, personalities who draw others along. And we can learn that from England in particular. There, players stand for something — you know their story, private things too, you connect something with them. And they are also invited to social events, for example with the royal family or to Wimbledon.

In addition, all games are broadcasted on TV, great content is produced and those responsible manage to make the topic of women's soccer attractive. Laura Vetterlein has on another blog Very busy with it. We need to get there.