Alexandra Popp (; born 6 April 1991) is a German

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medalist. She plays as a striker for

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

and the Germany national team. She previously played for

FCR 2001 Duisburg FCR 2001 Duisburg (full name: ''Fußballclub Rumeln 2001 Duisburg'') was a German women's football club from Duisburg. The first team played in the Bundesliga. They originate from a women's team formed in 1977 under the umbrella of FC Rumeln-Kald ...

and 1. FFC Recklinghausen. Popp was named

German Footballer of the Year The title Footballer of the Year (German: ''Fußballer des Jahres'') has been awarded in Germany since 1960. Eligible are German players as well as non-German players playing in Germany. In 1996, the title Women's Footballer of the Year (German ...

twice, in 2014 and 2016, and in February 2019, was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the national team.

Club career

Popp started her career at FC Silschede, playing there in mixed-gender teams until she reached the age limit of 14. Later she changed to 1. FFC Recklinghausen and played three years before joining the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side

in 2008. She had also been approached by French champions Olympique Lyonnais at the time, but chose Duisburg. Popp made her Bundesliga debut in September 2008 against

Herforder SV HSV Borussia Friedenstal, or Herforder SV, is a German sports club based in Friedenstal, a suburb of Herford, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club was founded in 1953 and the women's team was established in 1969. Friedenstal greatest success was the q ...

and scored her first two goals three weeks later in an 8–0 win over

TSV Crailsheim TSV Crailsheim is a German association football club from the town of Crailsheim, Baden-Württemberg. History Founded as the gymnastics club ''Turnverein Crailsheim'' in 1846, the association today has over 3,000 members in 20 departments, inc ...

. In her first year at Duisburg, Popp won the

Double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

: the 2009 UEFA Women's Cup and the 2009 German Cup. She was awarded the 2009

Fritz Walter Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (, ; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany an ...

medal in silver as the year's second best female junior player. One year later, she again claimed the German Cup title and finished runner-up with Duisburg in the 2009–10 Bundesliga season. Because Duisburg had major injury worries during the 2010–11 season, Popp played the majority of matches at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. In the 2012–13 season she moved with her club teammate

Luisa Wensing Luisa Wensing (born 8 February 1993) is a German footballer who plays as a right back for SC Freiburg. Wensing has also represented Germany in international competition, playing at junior level in the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and 2012 F ...

to VfL Wolfsburg. In her first season there she won the treble with the Frauen-Bundesliga championship, the

DFB-Pokal Frauen The DFB-Pokal Frauen is the main national women's football cup competition in Germany, thus the female counterpart to the DFB-Pokal. It was created in 1980, and since 1991 includes Eastern teams as well. The most recent champions are VfL Wolfsburg ...

and the

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. The ...

. A year later Wolfsburg successfully defended their

title. For the Bundesliga championship, it came down to a match on the final day of the season against the previously unbeaten

1. FFC Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt is a German women's association football club based in Frankfurt. Its first team currently plays in the German top flight, Frauen-Bundesliga. From 1998 to 2020, the club was known as 1. FFC Frankfurt. Eintracht have won sev ...

. Frankfurt needed only a draw to win the championship, while Wolfsburg needed to win. Popp scored the winning goal in the 89th minute, and Wolfsburg was again victorious in the DFB-Pokal.

International career

At the 2008 UEFA U-17 Women's Championship, Popp won her first international title with Germany, scoring the team's second goal in the final. The same year, she reached third-place at the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. In February 2010, Popp made her debut for Germany's senior national team in a friendly match against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. Less than two weeks later she scored her first two international goals at the

2010 Algarve Cup The 2010 Algarve Cup was the seventeenth edition of the Algarve Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Portugal. It took place between 24 February and 3 March 2010. It was won by the United States who defeated World and ...

in a 7–0 win over

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Popp returned to junior competition for the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup on home soil. She won the title and became the tournament's best player and top goalscorer. She scored in every game that Germany played and with ten goals, she holds the scoring record for that tournament (together with

Sydney Leroux Sydney Rae Leroux (; born May 7, 1990) is a professional soccer player and Olympic gold medalist who currently plays as a forward for Angel City FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in Canada to a Canadian mother and an Americ ...

and Christine Sinclair). Popp was then called up for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. She played in all four games as a substitute, but the Germans were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual champions

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Later that year, she played in a European Championship qualifying match against Kazakhstan, where she and teammate Célia Šašić each contributed four goals to a record 17–0 victory. With this achievement, she became the seventh German woman to score four goals in an international game. On 24 May 2015,

Silvia Neid Silvia Edith Maria Neid (born 2 May 1964) is a retired professional German football player and manager. She is one of the most successful players in German women's football, having won seven national championships and six DFB-Pokal trophies. Bet ...

called Popp up for the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

. In Canada, Germany finished fourth, defeating fellow European powerhouses Sweden and France but were eventually defeated by eventual champions the United States. Popp started in four of the team's seven games, scoring once. Popp was called up again for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, where Germany won the gold medal. She played in all six games, contributing a goal and two assists. She received the

Silbernes Lorbeerblatt Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and ...

, Germany's highest sports honour, for her performance, along with the rest of the German team. Popp missed the

UEFA Women's Euro 2017 The 2017 UEFA European Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2017, was the 12th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the women's national tea ...

tournament due to injury. The loss of a key player like her reasonably impacted Germany's performance, as they lost in the quarter-finals to Denmark. She was the captain of the German squad for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It ...

. She played every minute of the group stage and scored a header against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. She made her 100th appearance for Germany on 22 June 2019 against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in the round of 16, where she also scored the opening goal. Popp scored both of Germany's goals in their semi-final win against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Euro 2022 The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UE ...

Personal life

Popp attended

Gesamtschule Berger Feld Gesamtschule Berger Feld is a ''gesamtschule'' in Gelsenkirchen. It is located in the Erle region and has 1325 pupils and 118 teachers. It is known for the fact that a great number of its former students have become professional football players. ...

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...

, one of four facilities certified as "elite schools of football" by the

German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...

. She was the school's sole female pupil and could only attend courtesy of a special permit. She studied and trained with junior players of the German men's

side

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...

. Popp left school after the 12th grade with a '' Fachabitur'' diploma. Following a one-year internship at a physiotherapist, Popp successfully completed a three-year

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

to become a

zookeeper A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

at Tierpark Essehof in

Lehre Lehre is a municipality in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The current population is 11,539 and is situated approximately southwest of Wolfsburg, and Braunschweig. The municipality received the name of Lehre on June 10, 88 ...

. In interviews she has declared herself a fan of

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Popp goal.''

Honours

FCR 2001 Duisburg *

: 2008–09 *

: runner-up 2009–10 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

: 2008–09, 2009–10 VfL Wolfsburg * UEFA Women's Champions League: 2012–13, 2013–14 * Bundesliga: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 * DFB-Pokal: 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 Germany *

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

: Gold medal,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalen ...

runner-up:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious an ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, 2014 Germany U20 * FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Germany U17 *

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament for female players under the age of 17. It is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The tournament is held in even-numbered ye ...

: third place

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* UEFA U-17 Women's Championship:

Individual *

UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, is a European championship football tournament, organized by UEFA, for national teams of women under age seventeen. The tournament was first played out ...

: Golden Player 2008 *

Fritz Walter Medal The Fritz Walter Medal is a series of annual awards given by the German Football Association to youth footballers in Germany. First awarded in 2005, it is named in honour of Fritz Walter, captain of West Germany's 1954 FIFA World Cup-winning tea ...

: Silver 2009 * FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Golden Ball:

* FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Golden Shoe:

Footballer of the Year in Germany The title Footballer of the Year (German: ''Fußballer des Jahres'') has been awarded in Germany since 1960. Eligible are German players as well as non-German players playing in Germany. In 1996, the title Women's Footballer of the Year (German ...

: 2014, 2016 *

: 2016 * IFFHS Women's World Team: 2020 *

Silver Boot:

Team of the Tournament:

References

External links

* * * *
National team profile
at

DFB DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...

Player German domestic football stats
at

* *
Alexandra Popp – A star in the making
Feature by Chris Punnakkattu Daniel * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Popp, Alexandra 1991 births Living people People from Witten Sportspeople from Arnsberg (region) German women's footballers Germany women's international footballers FCR 2001 Duisburg players VfL Wolfsburg (women) players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's association football forwards Olympic footballers of Germany Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Olympic gold medalists for Germany Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic women's footballers of Germany Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia People educated at the Gesamtschule Berger Feld 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players FIFA Century Club UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players Frauen-Bundesliga players