She will be expected to be a leader on and off the pitch. Dzsenifer Marozsán is the new captain of the Germany women’s national team. She is just 24 years old and has never before been in such a role. But that doesn’t actually matter too much. National team head coach Steffi Jones is demanding a strong personality and charisma from her new captain, two things which “Dszeni already has”. In the year ahead, the objective is clear: to defend the side’s European Championship title in the Netherlands.
Dzsenifer Marozsán had no other option. She had to pack it in and call it a day. This was the case every time the night drew in, with her parents making no exceptions. When the day was over, so was the fun. The next afternoon and usually after school, the whole thing started all over again. The rucksack was flung into the corner, and it was off to the football ground for a kick about. Once again, she was able to do the thing that she loved. Her brother, David, was also in on the action, along with friends from the neighbourhood. She would be practising for hours. Sometimes, she wouldn’t even notice that the street lights were already on and that the sun had set. It was at this same time that Marozsán once again had to call it a day. Barely a day went by when she wasn’t playing football.
When Marozsán recalls these stories from her past, her eyes light up. The highlightsof this journey are now well known, with Marozsán alone responsible. Germany head coach Steffi Jones recently made her captain of the national side. In the summer, she moved from 1. FFC Frankfurt to Olympique Lyon, possibly the best women’s club in the world. Marozsán is no longer just a budding talent. At 24 years old, she is one of the best female footballers in the world. However, her progression as a player hasn’t quite finished just yet.
At the Olympic games in the summer, Marozsán proved all of her critics wrong. The accusation was that the midfielder went missing in big games. Then came the final in the Maracana for the Olympic gold medal against Sweden. It would turn out to be Marozsán’s arrival on the big stage. She scored the opening goal of the game and played a huge role in Germany’s second. Silvia Neid was gushing in her praise for her after the game. “The older she gets, the better she will become,” said Neid on Marozsán. “In four years she will be a star. I will then be able to enjoy watching her from the stands.
You have to go back to Budapest in Hungary to understand the origin of this development. It was here that Marozsán was born and where she lived up until her fourth birthday. “I no longer have any clear memories of that time,” explains the midfielder today. “But I know enough to remember playing a lot of in front of our house, even back then. We didn’t have mobile phones or computers, we were just outside playing footballing. It was such a wonderful time.
Marozsán’s family moved to Germany in 1996. Her father, János, played for Hungary and signed a deal with the then Regionalliga side 1. FC Saarbrücken. “At the start, it wasn’t easy for us in Germany,” recalls Marozsán. “We couldn’t speak the language and it took us a while to find friends. It wasn’t as complicated for me as it was for my parents though. I quickly made a lot of friends in Kindergarten and this was how I picked up my German.” Two years later, once her father retired, the family wanted to move back to Hungary. However, both the children had fully settled in their new home and were not keen on a return. “We begged our parents to stay. Eventually they understood and put their own personal interests behind them for us. For that, I am extremely grateful.”
Dzsenifer Marozsán is very close to her family. When her schedule allows it, she often ravels back from Lyon to the Saarland, not least because her two beloved dogs live back home. “My current rhythm of life doesn’t work out with dogs’ one,” said Marozsán. When she is desperate to see her family, but the schedule doesn’t allow any time off, her parents will travel to France.
It’s a similar situation for her brother. They trust each other completely and he is her best friend. Yet at the same time, he is a cautionary example. David Marozsán was 17 years old and for a lot of people it was simply a matter of time before he would feature in the Bundesliga for the first time. Then came a huge disaster, with one misplaced step having far-reaching consequences. He suffered a cruciate ligament rupture, cartilage damage, torn meniscus and an MCL injury. His career was over before it had truly begun. “In the blink of an eye it was over. It was a very difficult time for all of us. I suffered with David,” recalls Dzsenifer. She drew some lessons from that situation. “It became clear to me that it can be over really quickly, so I looked after myself a lot more.” She tries to pass on the exact same advice to the younger players now coming into the national team.
For those outside of the team’s intimate circle, it is a surprise that the seemingly introvert Marozsán is the successor to Saskia Bartusiak as the leader of the national side. Yet within the changing rooms, she enjoys the respect of her team. “For me, she is the perfect captain. Her words carry a lot of weight and she is held in high regard. She makes her argument very clearly and gets straight to the point. She is a complete team player and has a lot of good leadership qualities,” said national team head coach Steffi Jones. “On top of that, Dszeni understands the game extremely well and has great people skills. She should be the key link between me and the team and she will represent the side extremely well.” Now come the two key points from Jones, which perfectly sum up Marozsán’s character: “The captain doesn’t always have to be the loudest, but has to have personality and charisma. These are two things that Dzseni has in abundance.”
Marozsán doesn’t always enjoy the limelight, the complete opposite in fact. She hates it when a lot of fuss is made over her. Actions speak louder than words for Marozsán. “Personal awards mean nothing to me,” she said. She made her first appearance in the Bundesliga at the age of just 15. No other player, either before or since then, has played a Bundesliga game at such an age. She has been the leading goalscorer at major tournaments and won golden boots, but all of these achievements have little significance for Marozsán. The only thing that counts for her? The success of the team. It’s why Marozsán has lot more time for her list of team achievements which include: Olympic gold medal winner, European Champion, Junior World Cup winner, Champions League winner and DFB Cup winner.
Hopefully there are many more of these achievements to come. The German national team’s main objective will be to defend their European Championship title in the Netherlands next year. You don’t have to ask Marozsán the obvious question, as she gives the answer anyway: “We are going there to win the European Championship again. That has to be our goal.” 16 words, two sentences, but only one clear aim from Germany’s captain.
European Championships 2017
16 teams will be take part in the 2017 Women’s European Championships in the Netherlands. The tournament’s opening game will be played on the 16th July, when hosts the Netherlands take on Norway in Utrecht. Steffi Jones’ side are have been placed in Group B and will take on Sweden (17th July, 20:45 CEST), Italy (21st July, 20:45 CEST) and Russia (25th July, 20.45 CEST). The group winners and the group runners-up will progress through to the knockout stages- The quarter finals take place on the 29th and 30th July, with the semi finals being played on the 3rd August. The city of Enschede will host the final on the 6th August 2017.
created by sw
She will be expected to be a leader on and off the pitch. Dzsenifer Marozsán is the new captain of the Germany women’s national team. She is just 24 years old and has never before been in such a role. But that doesn’t actually matter too much. National team head coach Steffi Jones is demanding a strong personality and charisma from her new captain, two things which “Dszeni already has”. In the year ahead, the objective is clear: to defend the side’s European Championship title in the Netherlands.
Dzsenifer Marozsán had no other option. She had to pack it in and call it a day. This was the case every time the night drew in, with her parents making no exceptions. When the day was over, so was the fun. The next afternoon and usually after school, the whole thing started all over again. The rucksack was flung into the corner, and it was off to the football ground for a kick about. Once again, she was able to do the thing that she loved. Her brother, David, was also in on the action, along with friends from the neighbourhood. She would be practising for hours. Sometimes, she wouldn’t even notice that the street lights were already on and that the sun had set. It was at this same time that Marozsán once again had to call it a day. Barely a day went by when she wasn’t playing football.
When Marozsán recalls these stories from her past, her eyes light up. The highlightsof this journey are now well known, with Marozsán alone responsible. Germany head coach Steffi Jones recently made her captain of the national side. In the summer, she moved from 1. FFC Frankfurt to Olympique Lyon, possibly the best women’s club in the world. Marozsán is no longer just a budding talent. At 24 years old, she is one of the best female footballers in the world. However, her progression as a player hasn’t quite finished just yet.
At the Olympic games in the summer, Marozsán proved all of her critics wrong. The accusation was that the midfielder went missing in big games. Then came the final in the Maracana for the Olympic gold medal against Sweden. It would turn out to be Marozsán’s arrival on the big stage. She scored the opening goal of the game and played a huge role in Germany’s second. Silvia Neid was gushing in her praise for her after the game. “The older she gets, the better she will become,” said Neid on Marozsán. “In four years she will be a star. I will then be able to enjoy watching her from the stands.
You have to go back to Budapest in Hungary to understand the origin of this development. It was here that Marozsán was born and where she lived up until her fourth birthday. “I no longer have any clear memories of that time,” explains the midfielder today. “But I know enough to remember playing a lot of in front of our house, even back then. We didn’t have mobile phones or computers, we were just outside playing footballing. It was such a wonderful time.
Marozsán’s family moved to Germany in 1996. Her father, János, played for Hungary and signed a deal with the then Regionalliga side 1. FC Saarbrücken. “At the start, it wasn’t easy for us in Germany,” recalls Marozsán. “We couldn’t speak the language and it took us a while to find friends. It wasn’t as complicated for me as it was for my parents though. I quickly made a lot of friends in Kindergarten and this was how I picked up my German.” Two years later, once her father retired, the family wanted to move back to Hungary. However, both the children had fully settled in their new home and were not keen on a return. “We begged our parents to stay. Eventually they understood and put their own personal interests behind them for us. For that, I am extremely grateful.”
Dzsenifer Marozsán is very close to her family. When her schedule allows it, she often ravels back from Lyon to the Saarland, not least because her two beloved dogs live back home. “My current rhythm of life doesn’t work out with dogs’ one,” said Marozsán. When she is desperate to see her family, but the schedule doesn’t allow any time off, her parents will travel to France.
It’s a similar situation for her brother. They trust each other completely and he is her best friend. Yet at the same time, he is a cautionary example. David Marozsán was 17 years old and for a lot of people it was simply a matter of time before he would feature in the Bundesliga for the first time. Then came a huge disaster, with one misplaced step having far-reaching consequences. He suffered a cruciate ligament rupture, cartilage damage, torn meniscus and an MCL injury. His career was over before it had truly begun. “In the blink of an eye it was over. It was a very difficult time for all of us. I suffered with David,” recalls Dzsenifer. She drew some lessons from that situation. “It became clear to me that it can be over really quickly, so I looked after myself a lot more.” She tries to pass on the exact same advice to the younger players now coming into the national team.
For those outside of the team’s intimate circle, it is a surprise that the seemingly introvert Marozsán is the successor to Saskia Bartusiak as the leader of the national side. Yet within the changing rooms, she enjoys the respect of her team. “For me, she is the perfect captain. Her words carry a lot of weight and she is held in high regard. She makes her argument very clearly and gets straight to the point. She is a complete team player and has a lot of good leadership qualities,” said national team head coach Steffi Jones. “On top of that, Dszeni understands the game extremely well and has great people skills. She should be the key link between me and the team and she will represent the side extremely well.” Now come the two key points from Jones, which perfectly sum up Marozsán’s character: “The captain doesn’t always have to be the loudest, but has to have personality and charisma. These are two things that Dzseni has in abundance.”
Marozsán doesn’t always enjoy the limelight, the complete opposite in fact. She hates it when a lot of fuss is made over her. Actions speak louder than words for Marozsán. “Personal awards mean nothing to me,” she said. She made her first appearance in the Bundesliga at the age of just 15. No other player, either before or since then, has played a Bundesliga game at such an age. She has been the leading goalscorer at major tournaments and won golden boots, but all of these achievements have little significance for Marozsán. The only thing that counts for her? The success of the team. It’s why Marozsán has lot more time for her list of team achievements which include: Olympic gold medal winner, European Champion, Junior World Cup winner, Champions League winner and DFB Cup winner.
Hopefully there are many more of these achievements to come. The German national team’s main objective will be to defend their European Championship title in the Netherlands next year. You don’t have to ask Marozsán the obvious question, as she gives the answer anyway: “We are going there to win the European Championship again. That has to be our goal.” 16 words, two sentences, but only one clear aim from Germany’s captain.
European Championships 2017
16 teams will be take part in the 2017 Women’s European Championships in the Netherlands. The tournament’s opening game will be played on the 16th July, when hosts the Netherlands take on Norway in Utrecht. Steffi Jones’ side are have been placed in Group B and will take on Sweden (17th July, 20:45 CEST), Italy (21st July, 20:45 CEST) and Russia (25th July, 20.45 CEST). The group winners and the group runners-up will progress through to the knockout stages- The quarter finals take place on the 29th and 30th July, with the semi finals being played on the 3rd August. The city of Enschede will host the final on the 6th August 2017.
