Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was in Merle Frohms’ shadow for a long time. At 33 and after difficult times, the Göppingen native has found her way between the posts in the DFB selection.
Deeply moved, Ann-Katrin Berger stood in the catacombs of the Stade Vélodrome and described her feelings in a halting voice. Two years after her second cancer diagnosis, the 33-year-old suddenly found herself the number 1 goalkeeper for the German women’s soccer team at the Olympics. “The Olympic Games mean everything. That all the hard times that are behind me have been worth it,” said Berger after the DFB selection’s convincing 3-0 opening victory against Australia in Marseille.
Back to Thyroid Cancer
Berger was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2017 and then during the 2022 European Championships, when she was a substitute for regular goalkeeper Merle Frohms in England. The goalkeeper from the US club NJ/NY Gotham FC quickly fought her way back into competitive sport. After her eleventh and most important international match to date, however, she had to struggle to keep her composure. “It’s nice that there is still a happy ending. Playing at the Olympic Games is my happy ending,” said Berger.
In the second preliminary round match on Sunday (9 p.m.), also in the French port city, Berger and the DFB women will face the team of her adopted homeland. The Americans also won their opening match against Zambia 3-0. But the goalkeeper can’t give national coach Horst Hrubesch much advice about their next opponent, even though she of course knows some of the players: “I have no idea. I don’t watch that much women’s football, to be honest.”
Berger thought she was being “fooled” by Hrubesch
After a long wait, Berger has reached the top of the national team, even though she still wears the number 12. The fact that she finished third in the FIFA World Goalkeeper of the Year vote as Chelsea FC’s goalkeeper in 2021 and 2022 did not change her reserve status in the German team at the time.
With a smile, Berger stood on the pitch during the national anthem before the Australia match. “My family always said that when you play for the national team and you sing the anthem, you should do it with a smile because they are always so serious,” she explained later.
Hrubesch had left the duel between Berger and Frohms open to the outside world until the very end. “I really thought he was trying to fool me. To be honest. I really couldn’t believe it,” Berger said a few days ago about the national coach’s announcement that she would be between the posts. “Even when I was on the pitch, I had to pinch myself and say: It’s really true.”
Captain Popp is happy for Berger
Like the entire national team, Berger showed a very confident performance and almost set up a goal by Jule Brand with a long kick in the early stages. When asked how she managed to stay so cool, she said with a smile: “Years of work. Years of work, guys.” She couldn’t let her nervousness show. “I always think of my team. Because when I screw up, it’s usually a goal.”
Captain Alexandra Popp was also happy “for Anne that she finally made it after a long, long time.” Berger exudes extreme calm when she has the ball at her feet. Hrubesch, for whom Berger is the “new old woman,” praised “her clearances, her control of the penalty area. She’s good up in the air, and her footballing skills come into play as well.” But it’s the same with Frohms, he added: “Lucky for those who have two goalkeepers like her.”
The praise is only a small consolation for the previous number 1 at VfL Wolfsburg, who has hardly done anything wrong in recent years. Hrubesch had spoken to her first before making his decision: “Of course she must have swallowed it one day, I’m quite sure of that.” For Berger, the relationship with her teammate has therefore not changed much: “At the end of the day, we are sportswomen. Horst was simply clear and straightforward.”
Source: Stern
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