Nadine Keßler Explained

Nadine Keßler
Birth Date:4 April 1988
Birth Place:Landstuhl, West Germany
Height:1.69 m
Position:Attacking midfielder
Youthclubs1:SV Herschberg
Youthclubs2:SV Hermersberg
Youthclubs3:SC Weselberg
Youthyears4:2004–2005
Youthclubs4:1. FC Saarbrücken
Years1:2005–2009
Caps1:52
Goals1:37
Clubs1:1. FC Saarbrücken
Years2:2009–2011
Caps2:34
Goals2:19
Clubs2:1. FFC Turbine Potsdam
Years3:2011–2016
Caps3:58
Goals3:31
Clubs3:VfL Wolfsburg
Totalcaps:144
Totalgoals:87
Nationalyears1:2003
Nationalcaps1:2
Nationalgoals1:1
Nationalyears2:2003–2004
Nationalcaps2:15
Nationalgoals2:3
Nationalyears3:2004–2007
Nationalcaps3:23
Nationalgoals3:10
Nationalyears4:2008
Nationalcaps4:10
Nationalgoals4:2
Nationalyears5:2010–2016
Nationalcaps5:29
Nationalgoals5:10

Nadine Keßler (pronounced as /de/;[1] [2] born 4 April 1988) is a German retired footballer and current UEFA's head of women's football.[3] She played for VfL Wolfsburg and the German national team.[4] Keßler was the recipient of the FIFA World Player of the Year award at the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or.

Early life

Born in Landstuhl, Keßler was raised in nearby Weselberg, where she attended kindergarten and primary school. As a youth, she began playing for boys clubs SV Herschberg, SV Hermersberg, and SC Weselberg.[5] At the age of 16, she began playing for the female team 1. FC Saarbrücken in the second division. From 2006 to 2007, she was the team's leading scorer.

After graduating from high school in 2007, Keßler began basic training in the Bundeswehr in October 2007. She was stationed in a sports promotion group at the Bundeswehr Sports School in Warendorf and held the rank of Corporal. She also attended the German University for Prevention and Health Management (DHfPG) where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Health Economics in 2012. In 2014, she enrolled in the MBA program at DHfPG.[6]

Club career

1. FFC Turbine Potsdam

Keßler signed with 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam in the top-division Frauen Bundesliga in 2009 at the age of 21.[7] She helped the team finish the regular season at the top of the league table with a record scoring 11 goals.[8] The team clinched the 2009–10 UEFA Women's Champions League after defeating Olympique Lyonnais in penalty kicks.[9]

VfL Wolfsburg

In 2011, Keßler transferred to VfL Wolfsburg.[10] The team finished second during the 2011–12 regular season with a record. Keßler scored 11 goals tying for fourth in the league for most goals scored.[11]

During the 2012–13 season, Keßler scored eight goals helping Wolfsburg finish first during the regular season with a record.[12] She captained the team to win the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League after defeating Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 in the final.[13]

In 2014, Keßler led Wolfsburg to championships in the Frauen Bundesliga and UEFA Women's Champions League.[14] Wolfsburg became the first German team in the history to win the treble of League, German Cup and Champions League. Keßler was awarded the UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award.[15] She was awarded the FIFA Player of the Year award in January 2015 having received 17.52% of the vote over Marta (14.16%) and Abby Wambach (13.33%).[14] Upon receiving the award, she said, "It's a reward for hard work, good performances and a good development track. I know it's a trophy for individuals, but I'd never have won it without my teammates."[16]

She signed a new one-year contract on 12 May 2015.[17] She announced her retirement on 14 April 2016.[18]

International career

Keßler represented Germany at the youth level on the under-15, 17, 19, and 20 teams from 2003 to 2008. She made her debut for the senior national team at the 2010 Algarve Cup on 26 February 2010 in a match against Finland after coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for Lena Goeßling and scoring her first international goal in the 77th minute.[19]

Keßler played attacking midfielder for Germany during the 2013 UEFA Women's Euro helping the team win their sixth consecutive trophy with a 1–0 win over Norway.[20]

International goals

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

List of international goals scored by Nadine Keßler[21]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 26 February 2010 Parchal, Portugal 6–0 7–0 2010 Algarve Cup
2 13 February 2013 Strasbourg, France 2–3 3–3 Friendly
3 3–3
4 11 March 2013 Lagos, Portugal 2–0 2–0 2013 Algarve Cup
5 21 September 2013 Cottbus, Germany 2–0 9–0 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
6 8–0
7 23 November 2013 Žilina, Slovakia 1–0 6–0 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
8 4–0
9 12 March 2014 Faro, Portugal 1–0 3–0 2014 Algarve Cup
10 8 May 2014 Osnabrück, Germany 4–0 9–1 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Honours

1. FC Saarbrücken

2006–07, 2008–09

runner-up 2007–08

1. FFC Turbine Potsdam

2009–10, 2010–11

2009–10

2010

VfL Wolfsburg

2012–13, 2014–15

Germany

Third place 2008

2006, 2007

2013

2014

Individual

Silver 2006

2014

2014

2014[22]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Krech. Eva-Maria. Stock. Eberhard. Hirschfeld. Ursula. Anders. Lutz Christian. Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch. limited. German Pronunciation Dictionary. de. 2009. Walter de Gruyter. Berlin. 978-3-11-018202-6. 647, 766.
  2. Web site: Nadine Keßler ist Weltfußballerin 2014. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/wlYNK-zcGcE . 2021-12-15 . live. YouTube. Womensoccer is awesome. 24 January 2015. 9 November 2018. de.
  3. Web site: UEFA Women's Champions League: Q&A with Nadine Kessler on new format . 5 December 2019 . uefa.com . 23 January 2020 . en.
  4. Web site: Steckbrief Nadine Keßler . dfb.de . 27 February 2010 . de.
  5. Web site: Es ist schön, zu Hause zu sein. Der Pfälzische Merkur. 6 February 2015. 14 August 2013.
  6. Web site: Nadine Kessler (26): The German University is Ideal for Competitive Athletes. . German University for Prevention and Health Management. 6 February 2015. 23 May 2014.
  7. Web site: "Mir imponiert, wie es hier läuft". 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam. 6 February 2015. 25 September 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150206222621/http://www.turbine-potsdam.de/newsmeldung.php?id=15720&s=0910. 6 February 2015.
  8. Web site: Frauen Bundesliga 2009/10. Soccer Way. 6 February 2015.
  9. Web site: 2009/10 UEFA Champions League. Soccer Way. 6 February 2015. 20 May 2010.
  10. Web site: Nadine Keßler transfers to Wolfsburg. womensoccer.de. 3 September 2011. de. 29 March 2011.
  11. Web site: 2011/12 Frauen Bundesliga. Soccer Way. 6 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160309222231/http://us.women.soccerway.com/national/germany/frauen-bundesliga/2011-2012/regular-season/r14980/. 9 March 2016. dead.
  12. Web site: 2012-13 Frauen Bundesliga. Soccer Way. 6 February 2015.
  13. Web site: Saffer. Paul. Wolfsburg show teeth to take Lyon's title. UEFA. 6 February 2015.
  14. Web site: Nadine Kessler beats Abby Wambach for Women's Player of the Year award. Sports Illustrated. 6 February 2015. 12 January 2015.
  15. Web site: Kessler wins Best Women's Player Award. UEFA. 6 February 2015. 28 August 2014.
  16. Web site: Kessler: I'm totally overwhelmed. https://web.archive.org/web/20150118110118/http://www.fifa.com/ballon-dor/news/y=2015/m=1/news=kessler-i-m-totally-overwhelmed-2505970.html. dead. 18 January 2015. FIFA. 6 February 2015. 12 January 2015.
  17. Web site: Keßler verlängert in Wolfsburg bis 2016. dfb.de. 12 May 2015.
  18. https://web.archive.org/web/20160414111650/http://de.fifa.com/womens-football/news/y=2016/m=4/news=kessler-beendet-karriere-mit-28-jahren-2781112.html Keßler beendet Karriere mit 28 Jahren
  19. Web site: Deutschland – Finnland 7:0 (1:0) . dfb.de . 27 February 2010 . de.
  20. Web site: Women's Euro 2013: Germans win sixth straight European title. BBC Sport. 6 February 2015. 28 July 2013.
  21. Web site: Players Info Keßler Goals. 3 February 2014. DFB.
  22. http://iffhs.de/former-results/ Awards 2014
  23. Web site: IFFHS WOMAN TEAM - UEFA - OF THE DECADE 2011-2020 . IFFHS . 31 January 2021 .