About me

As a child I proudly collected posters of famous footballers. Lothar Matthäus, Stefan Effenberg and Roy Makaay were hanging over my bed. At 16 years old I wanted to pursue a career as a professional footballer and play abroad. I took the initiative together with Carina Wenninger and we asked Bayern Munich if we could have a trial session with them.

We impressed Bayern enough for them to sign us and soon after we were off to live in Munich. It was not an easy time for me: far away from home at 16, new school system, new city. A whole new world. I had just turned 17 when I had my big debut. My biggest day turned into the worst day: Only after ten minutes I ruptured my anterior cruciate ligament. Hours later when I was in the hospital, the doctor told me: “Mrs. Schnaderbeck, professional football won’t be an option for you anymore!”.

Thankfully I didn’t give up on my career. I fought back from this injury and many more that came after. I played for FC Bayern for eleven years. I was a regular in the team and I took part in celebrating two German championships and a DFB Cup victory. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to realize that my dream of being a professional footballer actually came true.

Leaving FC Bayern to play for Arsenal was not an easy decision but I never regretted it. I felt it was time for a change in my career and English football, being on the rise, seemed to be a good challenge.

The excitement and happiness I felt during the first weeks at the club helped me to overcome the big shock and setback by injuring the cartilage in my knee very badly – the season seemed to be over before it had even begun. But I came back once more and experienced an absolute happy end: being in the starting eleven again and winning the league.

Playing for Arsenal is something very special. It’s a different football club, a special culture, and I am always amazed by the unique and loyal fans. If you step on the pitch, you feel the pride being a “gunner”. You feel the tradition, the responsibility coming with it and the fascination about this club. I am very happy that I have been part of it.

Football is fast-moving and things can change in an instant. For me, being 100 percent true to myself and keeping my integrity intact, is the most important thing. After coming back from my last injury and being in full training again at Arsenal it was important to me to have regular training sessions and game time for the remaining months of the season leading up to the Euros 2022. I’ve always felt very comfortable at Arsenal but since I was not the first choice anymore, I decided to go on loan to Tottenham when they made me an offer. I had the feeling that this is exactly the right thing to do both for my career and for my knee. Despite the rivalry between the two London clubs, we managed to solve everything well for both parties. Now looking back, it was the right decision.

Once again, I have experienced the importance of being open to new things and challenges. It was great to witness how the club have invested into the women’s team. It’s one of many ways to see how women’s football in England and globally is developing and growing and I feel lucky that I was part of the development.

What we have built in the national team goes beyond sport. We have showed that with the right team spirit, passion and emotions you can achieve anything. Looking back, it’s amazing how everything turned out. In the beginning we had to fight for even having training clothes that fit and to be taken seriously. Then we made it to the third place in the Euros 2017, played the opening game in the Euros 2022 in England in Old Trafford in front of 75.000 people and reached the quarter finals again.

There has always been a drive in us players to prove to everyone that despite the lack of resources we can achieve great things as a team. We had to fight for everything ourselves – no one was giving it to us for free. This team spirit was our key to success.

I’m incredibly proud to have made 83 caps for my own country and represented it as the captain of the team for 9 years.

After 8 surgeries on my right knee, I was tired – physically and mentally. After 3 league titles, 1 cup title and 2 European championships I was content and grateful. And after the Euros 2022 on the biggest stage of European football and in England that has been my home for 4 years – I have come full circle. It was the right moment to retire from professional football.

Now, I am sharing my experiences and lessons learned about success, high performance teams, diversity, dealing with setbacks and more in my keynotes. I bring my expertise as a TV pundit at ORF and as a member of the UEFA football board regarding strategic topic in Europeans female football. I have also founded my own sports marketing agency PRO-SPECTIVE. The goal is to help professional athletes market themselves and to consult them strategically and long term in regards to their career after their career.