football
Austria’s national soccer team has to accept the next resignation of a deserving player. Long-time Bayern and current Roma legionnaire Carina Wenninger will close the chapter on active football after this season. “I will end my professional career in the summer. I’ll stop when it’s most beautiful, it’s been a wonderful 16 years,” said the 32-year-old from Styria, who will remain with the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) as league manager, at a press conference in Vienna on Wednesday.
Wenninger, who recently wore the captain’s ribbon for six months, has played no fewer than 127 games for the Austrian national team, the second most after the current record holder Sarah Puntigam (133). Most recently, she played the first half in the 3-2 friendly against Belgium on Friday, followed Tuesday’s 2-0 win against the Czech Republic from the bench. The defender was part of the teams that featured at the 2017 (semi-finals) and 2022 (quarter-finals) European Championships.
After missing out on participation in the 2023 World Cup, which will open in Australia and New Zealand in 99 days, the generation change in the ÖFB team is continuing. Long-time captain Viktoria Schnaderbeck and Lisa Makas had already ended their careers after the successful European Championships in England, and later Jasmin Eder and Stefanie Enzinger also said goodbye to the team.
Wenninger, who is aiming to win the Italian championship with Roma, initially played for SV Thal, FC Gratkorn and LUV Graz before becoming a record player in 15 years at Bayern Munich. She won the German championship three times with Munich and won the Supercup with Roma at the beginning of her one-year commitment. In the quarter-finals of the Champions League came the end, but winning the championship and the cup would be the worthy end of an impressive career.
Wenninger will remain in the ÖFB in a new role
Wenninger will remain in football and will work in the association in the future. “In the future, Carina will be the manager of the domestic Bundesliga so that the next steps can also be taken here,” explained sports director Peter Schöttel. The football association only advertised this new post in the spring, and Wenninge seized the opportunity. “I am happy to come home after many years.”