Sara Däbritz was on the pitch for the 100th time for the German national team on Thursday (08/03/2023) at the Women’s World Cup in the game against South Korea. The midfielder had imagined this anniversary very differently.
The 28-year-old dropped her eyes briefly. Actually, she wanted to take another step towards the world title in Brisbane on her big day. Instead, she now had to find words as to why Germany hadn’t won against the Asian women who hadn’t had any points or goals up to that point and had been eliminated after the preliminary round.
“It’s a disaster,” Däbritz exclaimed. The end was a “shock”, a “total disappointment”. The 2016 Olympic champion had recently stated that it was becoming increasingly difficult to win titles in modern women’s football. However, how far the DFB team would remain from triumph in Australia is tantamount to a nightmare.
Again and again doubts about Däbritz
Actually, Däbritz is one of the greats of German women’s football at the latest when he entered the illustrious 100 club. In any case, her CV leaves no doubt about her quality: she switched to the star ensemble in Lyon last year via SC Freiburg, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain and, after a long injury break, has also asserted herself at Olympique.
In the national team Däbritz is set anyway. Nevertheless, there are always doubts about the native of the Upper Palatinate. Because she is not a star like Alexandra Popp, who is the only active player in 131 games and who is perceived very differently with her goals.
The woman with the 13 can somehow everything
Däbritz rarely shines herself, but with her actions and her game she makes sure that others can shine. She’s always on the move, plugs holes in midfield and plays the penultimate pass rather than putting herself on the scorer list. Like in the game against Colombia (1:2), when the number 13 suddenly picked up the pace out of nowhere with her pass to Lea Schüller. Schüller skilfully forwarded and Lena Oberdorf took the penalty. It was the same against South Korea when they started the equalizer with a shift.
Sara Däbritz has been playing for the national team for ten years.
In the first group game against Morocco (6-0), Däbritz even scored himself. With the very fine blade she had kept her nerve in front of goalkeeper Khadija Errmichi and chipped the ball into the goal. The blemish: Däbritz was offside the pass. However, her 17 goals for the senior national team show that she really knows where the goal is – and can do anything as a footballer.
Many fans: 225,000 followers on Instagram
Playing a bit off the German radar at Lyon, you’d think the women’s football boom would happen without her. But Däbritz is right in the middle. She has 225,000 followers on Instagram. It’s no coincidence that she gave a big interview to “Vogue” magazine last year and was asked to do a photo shoot: “Would also look good at Paris Fashion Week – she’s fashionably up to date,” wrote Giulia Gwinn, who did not make it to the tournament after her cruciate ligament rupture, in the “image” in her presentation of the World Cup team.
Sara would also cut a fine figure at Paris Fashion Week – she’s fashion forward.
Däbritz is Olympic champion, European champion, German and French champion and also won the cup with Paris. She could talk loudly about her successes or berate her (younger) teammates on the pitch when things aren’t going well. But that doesn’t suit Däbritz, who said to the “kicker” before the World Cup: “I’m not really the speaker. But my way I still manage to get to people, to have a positive influence on them.”
Däbritz does it her own way
She described herself as “very warm, authentic and an open person”. It is very important to have different personalities in the team anyway. “You should never pretend – neither on nor off the pitch. Loud players should be loud, quiet players should be quiet. I try to do it my way.”
And she does, Däbritz goes her own way undeterred. In the list of DFB record players, she has already left big players like Inka Grings, who is coach of Switzerland at the World Cup, or Maren Meinert behind. Saskia Bartusiak, Martina Müller, Pia Wunderlich, Simone Laudehr and Heidi Mohr should soon overtake them.
From the end of September against Denmark, Iceland and Wales, there will certainly be more games for the 28-year-old in the Nations League, which is about qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Perhaps the saddest anniversary ever
On her messed-up day of honor, which is possibly the saddest anniversary in the history of German women’s football, Däbritz was not able to deal with any of that. Before the duel with South Korea, she had described it as a “milestone” that she would now appear for Germany for the 100th time.
After the game, she was shocked: “We tried and did everything, but it just wasn’t enough,” said Däbritz, adding sadly: “We really wanted to get into the round of 16 and had the dream of winning the tournament. Instead, we are eliminated and going home after the first round. It’s a disaster and it hurts like hell.”