Inka Grings (born 31 October 1978) is a German former international

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, rugb ...

who played as a striker. She played sixteen years for FCR 2001 Duisburg before joining

FC Zürich Frauen FC Zürich Frauen is a women's association football club from Zürich, Switzerland. Its first team plays since the founding of the Swiss national league in 1970 in the first division. The team has won 23 national championships and has won the C ...

. She also played for the Germany national team. Grings is the second all-time leading goalscorer in Germany's top division, the

Frauen-Bundesliga The Frauen-Bundesliga (German for ''Women's Federal League''), currently known as the FLYERALARM Frauen-Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of league competition for women's association football in Germany. In 1990 the German Fo ...

, with 195 goals and claimed the league's top-scorer award for a record six seasons. Playing for Germany, she was the top-scorer at two

UEFA European Championships The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

. Grings was named

Women's Footballer of the Year (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 ...

in 1999, 2009 and 2010. She is the manager of Switzerland national team after previously coached

in the Swiss national league.

Early life

As a child, Grings wanted to be a

tennis player Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

. However, after no tennis club had accepted her, she instead started playing football at TSV Eller 04 in 1984. She later played for Garather SV.

Club career

Duisburg, 1995–2011

Grings signed with FCR 2001 Duisburg in 1995. She quickly became an important player for the club and in the following years one of the most successful goalscorers in Germany. In 1998, Grings won the

German Cup 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 consider ...

, her first major title. She scored three goals in the final against

FSV Frankfurt Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt also fielded a rather successfu ...

. The following year in the 1998–99 season she became 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 footb ...

's top-scorer for the first time. Grings was named

in 1999 by the country's sports journalists. Over the next decade, Grings became the Bundesliga all-time leading goalscorer, hitting the mark of 350 goals in January 2011. She won the Bundesliga title with Duisburg in the 1999–00 season; that year she also set the all-time record for goals in a Bundesliga season by scoring 38 goals. She won the German Cup on two more occasions in 2009 and 2010, and lifted the

UEFA Women's Cup 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 ...

in the 2008–09 season. Grings was the Bundesliga top-scorer for three years in a row from 2008 to 2010 and was again voted Women's Footballer of the Year (Germany) in 2009 and 2010.

FC Zürich, 2011–13

She ended her contract at Duisburg one year early in an agreement with the club and announced transferring to an international club. On 1 September 2011 she joined Swiss side

. In the first season she won the championship as well as the cup.

Chicago Red Stars, 2013

In May 2013, Grings signed with the

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sin ...

for the inaugural season of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

in the United States alongside

Sonja Fuss Sonja Beate Fuss (born 5 November 1978) is a German football defender. She played for the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Germany national team. She has played in the German Frauen-Bundesliga since 1992. ...

. On 4 August 2013, she scored a brace against

Seattle Reign FC OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...

helping the Red Stars win 3–1. Grings was on the starting lineup in 14 of the 16 games in which she played for the Red Stars and scored three goals on the season. The Red Stars finished the 2013 season sixth in the standings with an 8–6–8 record. She was waived by the Red Stars in September 2013.

International career

Grings made her debut for the Germany national team in May 1996 against

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 ...

. She appeared for Germany at the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national soccer teams. It was hosted as well as won by the United States and took place from June 19 to July 10, 1999, at ...

, scoring three goals. However, Germany was eliminated in the quarter-final. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, she won the bronze medal with the German team, scoring once against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the group stage. Grings' career, particularly at international level, has repeatedly been affected by injuries. She missed the 2001 European Championship on home soil and the

2003 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial championship of women's national soccer teams organized by FIFA. It was held in the United States from September 20 to October 12, 2003, at s ...

due to injury. When she tore the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

in her knee shortly before the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, Grings initially announce to end her career. However, she changed her mind during

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

. With four goals, Grings was the top-scorer at the 2005 European Championship, when Germany claimed its sixth European title. At the

2007 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but th ...

and the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, Grings was not part of the German squad, because of disagreements with head coach

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. Betw ...

. She returned for Germany at the 2009 European Championship, claiming her second European title. With five goals Grings again was the tournament's top-scorer. She has been called up for the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the even ...

. Grings has scored 64 international goals and is ranked third behind

Birgit Prinz Birgit Prinz (born 25 October 1977) is a German former footballer, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year. In addition to the German national team, Prinz played for 1. FFC Frankfurt in the Frauen-B ...

(128) and

Heidi Mohr Heidi Mohr (29 May 1967 – 7 February 2019) was a German footballer who played as a forward. She was renowned for her speed and her ability to shoot with both feet. In 1999 she was voted Europe's Footballer of the Century. Club career Mohr pl ...

(83) for Germany's all-time top goalscorers. During 93 appearances, she has averaged 0.69 goals per games, which makes her the team's second most prolific scorer.Deutscher Fußball-Bund
Top scorers
DFB.de. Accessed 1 March 2010.

Personal life

Grings is openly

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, she had a well publicized relationship with women's team colleague

Linda Bresonik Linda Bresonik (born 7 December 1983) is a German retired footballer. She played as a defensive midfielder or wing back. She mostly played for Duisburg, and many times for Germany. Career Club Bresonik began her career at the age of five at T ...

, and also dated male

Holger Fach Holger Fach (born 6 September 1962) is a German football manager and former professional player. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he could also pitch in at centre back. Club career Between 1981 and 1998, Fach played 416 Bundesliga games for Fort ...

, former head coach of

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 ...

Career statistics

International

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

Goals by competition

Matches and goals scored at World Cup and Olympic tournaments

Inka Grings competed in two

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

: USA 1999, and Germany 2011; one

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Sydney 2000 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

; played in 13 matches and scored 6 goals. Along with her Germany team, Grings is a bronze medalist from Sydney 2000.

Honours

FCR 2001 Duisburg *

: 1999–00; runner-up (7) 1996–97, 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10 *

: 1997–98, 2008–09, 2009–10; runner-up 1998–99, 2002–03, 2006–07 *

: 2008–09 FC Zürich Frauen * Nationalliga A: 2012, 2013 *

Swiss Women's Cup The Swiss Women's Cup (; ; ; ) is a women's football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1975 by the Swiss Football Association (SFV-ASF). Finals All final matches are: Titles by club References External linksfootball. ...

: 2012, 2013 Germany *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

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 ...

: Bronze medal

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Individual *

: 1999, 2009, 2010 * Top-scorer

(6): 1998–99, 1999–00, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 * Top-scorer

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 equivalent ...

* Top-scorer

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 ...

: 2010–11

References

;Match reports

External links

* *
Profile
at 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 ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grings, Inka 1978 births Living people Footballers from Düsseldorf Bisexual sportspeople Bisexual women German women's footballers German expatriate women's footballers Germany women's international footballers Women's association football forwards 1. FC Köln (women) players FCR 2001 Duisburg players Chicago Red Stars players National Women's Soccer League players Association footballers' wives and girlfriends German expatriate sportspeople in the United States German expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Expatriate women's footballers in Switzerland Olympic footballers of Germany Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players LGBT sportspeople from Germany LGBT association football players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics German women's football managers MSV Duisburg managers Olympic women's footballers of Germany UEFA Women's Championship-winning players FC Zürich Frauen players Swiss Women's Super League players