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Birgit Prinz
Birgit Prinz 20180519 (cropped).jpg
Prinz in 2018
Personal information
Full name Birgit Prinz
Date of birth (1977-10-25) 25 October 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth Frankfurt, West Germany
Height 1.79 m
Playing position Striker
Youth career
1986–1988 SV Dörnigheim FC
1988–1992 FC Hochstadt
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1993–1998 FSV Frankfurt 57 (45)
1998–2002 1. FFC Frankfurt 76 (78)
2002–2003 Carolina Courage 35 (23)
2003–2011 1. FFC Frankfurt 114 (136)
Total 282 (282)
National team‡
1994–2011 Germany 214 (128)
Honours
Women's football
Representing  Germany
World Cup
Gold 2003 United States Team
Gold 2007 China Team
Silver 1995 Sweden Team
Olympic Games
Bronze 2000 Sydney Team
Bronze 2004 Athens Team
Bronze 2008 Beijing Team
UEFA European Women's Championship
Gold 1995 Germany/England/Norway/Sweden Team
Gold 1997 Norway/Sweden Team
Gold 2001 Germany Team
Gold 2005 England Team
Gold 2009 Finland Team
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:09, 2 November 2013 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Birgit Prinz (born 25 October 1977) is a famous German former football player. She is known for being a two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. She was also named the FIFA World Player of the Year three times.

Birgit played for the German national team. She also played for clubs like 1. FFC Frankfurt in Germany. In the United States, she played for the Carolina Courage in the first professional women's league, the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).

She is one of the best strikers in football history. Birgit Prinz is the second highest goal scorer in FIFA Women's World Cup history. She scored 14 goals, just behind Marta from Brazil. In 2011, she stopped playing professional football. Today, she works as a sports psychologist for a German football club.

Playing for Clubs

Birgit Prinz started her football journey at SV Dörnigheim FC. She began her professional career in the Bundesliga with FSV Frankfurt. She played there from 1993 to 1998. During this time, she helped her team win two Bundesliga titles. They also won the German Cup twice. Birgit was the top scorer in the Bundesliga in 1997 and 1998.

In 1998, she moved to 1. FFC Frankfurt. This is where she had her biggest successes. Over 13 seasons, Prinz won six Bundesliga titles. She also won eight German Cup titles with Frankfurt. She was the top scorer again in 2001 and 2007. Prinz also won the UEFA Women's Cup three times. These wins were in 2002, 2006, and 2008.

Birgit also played for Carolina Courage in the USA for two seasons. She won the 2002 WUSA Championship with them. After the 2003 World Cup, she was offered a chance to play for a men's team in Italy. But she decided not to, as she felt it might just be for publicity.

During her time at FFC Frankfurt, Birgit won many personal awards. She was named German Female Footballer of the Year eight times in a row. This was from 2001 to 2008. She was also chosen as the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2003, 2004, and 2005. For four years after that, she came in second place, behind Marta.

Playing for Germany

Birgit Prinz
Prinz playing for Germany in 2011

Birgit Prinz joined the German national team when she was just 16. Her first game was in July 1994 against Canada. She came into the game late and scored the winning goal. One year later, she won her first big title at the 1995 European Championship. She even scored a goal in the final match. In the same year, she played in the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup. Germany lost to Norway in the final. Birgit is still the youngest player to ever play in a World Cup Final.

For the next ten years, Prinz had an amazing international career. She won four more UEFA European Championships. These wins were in 1997, 2001, 2005, and 2009. She also won three bronze medals at the Summer Olympics. These were in 2000, 2004, and 2008.

At the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, Prinz helped Germany win their first World Cup title. She was named the best player of the tournament and also the top scorer. Birgit became the captain of the women's national team in late 2003. She remained captain until she retired. Four years later, at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, she led her team to Germany's second World Cup win. She was given the Silver Ball award as the second-best player.

Birgit Prinz holds several national and international records. She is the second all-time leading goal scorer in FIFA Women's World Cups with 14 goals. She also held the record for most goals at the Summer Olympics with 10 goals for a while. For the German national team, Prinz played 214 games and scored 128 goals. This makes her the team's most capped player and top goal scorer.

Life Outside Football

Birgit Prinz is a trained physical therapist. In 2010, she earned her master's degree in psychology from the Goethe University Frankfurt. Since January 2012, she has worked as a sports psychologist. She helps young players and the women's teams at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

Career Statistics Summary

Goals by Competition

Competition Goals Matches
Friendlies/Algarve Cup 46 101
FIFA World Cup 14 24
UEFA Women's Euro 10 25
World Cup qualifiers 18 20
Euro qualifiers 30 25
Olympics 10 19
Total 128 214

World Cup and Olympic Tournaments

Birgit Prinz played in five FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments:

She also played in four Olympic Games:

In total, she played 43 matches and scored 24 goals in these nine big tournaments. With Germany, Prinz won the World Cup twice (2003 and 2007). She was also a runner-up in 1995. She won bronze medals at the Olympics three times (2000, 2004, and 2008).

Awards and Achievements

Birgit Prinz has won many awards throughout her career:

Club Honours

  • FSV Frankfurt
  • 1. FFC Frankfurt
    • UEFA Women's Cup: 2002, 2006, 2008 (and was runner-up in 2004)
    • Bundesliga (7 times): 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008
    • German Cup (8 times): 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2011
  • Carolina Courage
    • WUSA Championship: 2002

International Honours (Germany)

Individual Awards

See also

  • List of women's footballers with 100 or more international goals
  • List of women's footballers with 100 or more international caps
  • List of players who have won multiple FIFA Women's World Cups
  • List of German women's football champions
  • List of FIFA Women's World Cup hat-tricks
  • List of Olympic medalists in football
  • List of UEFA Women's Championship goalscorers
  • List of UEFA Women's Championship records
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