Bérangère Sapowicz (born 6 February 1983 in
Verneuil-sur-Avre
Verneuil-sur-Avre (, literally ''Verneuil on Avre'') is a former commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Verneuil d'Avre et d'Iton.
History
Following the revolt of ...
) is a former French
football player who played long time for French club
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
of the
Division 1 Féminine
The Division 1 Féminine, shortened as D1 Féminine or D1F, and currently known as D1 Arkema for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in France. Run by the French Football Federation, the league is contested by twel ...
. Sapowicz plays as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
and is a member of the
France women's national football team
The France women's national football team (french: Équipe de France féminine de football, sometimes shortened as Féminin A) represents France in international women's football. The team is directed by the French Football Federation (FFF). F ...
having made her debut in 2003. That same year, she was selected to participate in
2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, held in the United States.
Since 2018 she is goalkeeper coach of a men's team in the fifth league,
AS Fabrègues.
Club career
Early career
Sapowicz initially trained in gymnastics before beginning a career in football. She began her career playing for nearby club ''Association Sportive Bretolienne''. She spent 12 years at the club before joining the women's section of city club Évreux AC (now
Évreux FC). While at Évreux, she became a youth international and eventually was selected to attend
CNFE Clairefontaine
The Pole France feminin de Football (English: French Women's Football Pole), formally the Centre national de formation et d'entraînement de Clairefontaine (English: National Education and Training Center Clairefontaine) is a French training cent ...
, the women's section of the Clairefontaine academy.
Paris Saint-Germain
In 2002, she joined
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
and after a year in the youth system joined the club's senior team. In her first season with the club (2003–04), she appeared in 17 matches. The following season, her playing time decreased making only ten appearances in the league, which included scoring a goal. In the next two seasons, she appeared in 27 matches. Her 2007–08 season was uneventful as she missed the entire year due to tearing her
ACL in one of her knees. She returned to form for the
2008–09 season appearing in 20 matches as ''Les Parisiens'' finished the season mid-table.
The
2009–10 season saw the arrival of fellow internationals
Camille Abily,
Sonia Bompastor
Sonia Bompastor (born 8 June 1980) is a French football manager and former player who currently manages Lyon of the French Division 1 Féminine. She is the first person to win the UEFA Women's Champions League as both a player and a manager.
B ...
, and
Élise Bussaglia
Élise Bussaglia (born 24 September 1985) is a French footballer who plays as a midfielder for French club Dijon of the Division 1 Feminine. She was a member of the France national team. Bussaglia is a former winner of the National Union of P ...
. The arrival of the veterans paid extreme dividends to the club and Sapowicz as the goalkeeper failed to concede a goal until the 10th league match of the season. Sapowicz finished the season appearing in 25 total matches. She was the starting goalkeeper for Paris Saint-Germain in its 5–0 win over Montpellier in the
2010 Challenge de France Final. Sapowicz remained the first-choice goalkeeper for the
2010–11 season. The goalkeeper appeared in 20 league matches as Paris Saint-Germain qualified for the
2011–12 edition of 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 ...
after finishing runner-up to champions
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
.
International career
Sapowicz had previously starred with the women's under-17, under-19, under-20, and under-21 teams. In 2002, she was designated as the starting goalkeeper for the under-19 team at the
2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship
The 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship was held from 17 August to 1 September. It was the first sanctioned youth tournament for women put together by FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada. FIFA granted the tournament to Canada in March ...
, held in Canada. She appeared in all three group stage matches as France suffered group stage elimination. The following year, on 14 September 2003, Sapowicz was selected to the France squad to play in the
2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, despite not having any senior international experience. She was installed as the backup goalkeeper, but did not make any appearances as France suffered elimination in the group stage. On 14 September 2003, she made her senior international debut in a
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against
Japan. Due to an injury to France number one
Sarah Bouhaddi
Sarah Bouhaddi (born 17 October 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Division 1 Féminine club Paris Saint-Germain.
Club career
After spending 13 seasons with Lyon, Bouhaddi joined Paris Saint-Germain on 16 Se ...
, national team coach
Bruno Bini
Bruno Bini (born 1 October 1954) is a former French football manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of ...
gave Sapowicz the starting goalkeeper position for France's
qualifying campaign for the
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and the competition itself.
Career statistics
Club
''Statistics accurate as of 10 June 2011''
International
:''(Correct as of 16 July 2011)''
SAPOWICZ Bérangère
, French Football Federation, Retrieved 8 June 2011
Honours
Club
;Paris Saint-Germain
* Challenge de France (1): 2009–10
References
External links
*
*
*
FFF profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapowicz, Berangere
1983 births
Living people
French women's footballers
France women's international footballers
Paris Saint-Germain Féminine players
CNFE Clairefontaine players
2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players
Sportspeople from Eure
Women's association football goalkeepers
French people of Polish descent
Division 1 Féminine players
Footballers from Normandy