"Bye-bye, Birgit" is the motto chosen for Birgit Prinz's testimonial match scheduled to take place in the Frankfurt Volksbank-Stadion on 27 March 2012 (kick-off 18:00, broadcast live on Eurosport), pitting the German national women's team against 1. FFC Frankfurt.
Germany's most successful player of all times, now aged 34, has decided to hang up her boots after a magnificent career that saw her win two World Cups, five European Championships, three Olympic Games bronze medals, an incredible eight "Player of the Year" awards given by the German Association of Sports Journalists, as well as numerous club football trophies and personal honours.
For this second instalment of a special series celebrating Birgit's priceless contribution to the game, DFB.de asked long-time team-mate Kerstin Stegemann to share a few memories with our readers.
Olympic Games: "I remember the 1996 Olympic Games, the first to feature women's football, and one day we – just like all the other athletes – were fitted out with the official kit. The leisure wear for women was a floral-design summer dress, medium-high heels, and a straw hat that we were supposed to wear for a sponsor photo opportunity. Birgit, myself, and the others just looked at one another to know how much we liked the idea… Well, suffice it to say all resistance was useless. We must have looked like a bunch of canaries! And to top it all off, they had chosen "a typically German song" for us to dance to. It was 'Dancing the Funky Chicken.' Thank you very much indeed!"
MEN'S FASHION: "I don't really remember which tournament it was, but for the first time ever we got our own women's match wear. The thing was, we hadn't had the chance to try anything on, so we simply ordered the sizes we usually wore. And what do you know? It turned out they all ran small, for really 'petite' women. Birgit couldn't even squeeze herself into an XL shirt. In the end, she was the only player on the team allowed to simply go on wearing men's shirts… and boy, did I envy her!"
FIRING UP BIRGIT: "Anyone who has known Birgit for a while knows that for her to really perform to the best of her abilities, she's got to be mad at something or somebody. I have tried this myself but it never worked out. In contrast, Tina Theune knew perfectly well how to get Birgit's gander up. Just look at the many titles and trophies they won together to realise it must have worked perfectly well."
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"Bye-bye, Birgit" is the motto chosen for Birgit Prinz's testimonial match scheduled to take place in the Frankfurt Volksbank-Stadion on 27 March 2012 (kick-off 18:00, broadcast live on Eurosport), pitting the German national women's team against 1. FFC Frankfurt.
Germany's most successful player of all times, now aged 34, has decided to hang up her boots after a magnificent career that saw her win two World Cups, five European Championships, three Olympic Games bronze medals, an incredible eight "Player of the Year" awards given by the German Association of Sports Journalists, as well as numerous club football trophies and personal honours.
For this second instalment of a special series celebrating Birgit's priceless contribution to the game, DFB.de asked long-time team-mate Kerstin Stegemann to share a few memories with our readers.
Olympic Games: "I remember the 1996 Olympic Games, the first to feature women's football, and one day we – just like all the other athletes – were fitted out with the official kit. The leisure wear for women was a floral-design summer dress, medium-high heels, and a straw hat that we were supposed to wear for a sponsor photo opportunity. Birgit, myself, and the others just looked at one another to know how much we liked the idea… Well, suffice it to say all resistance was useless. We must have looked like a bunch of canaries! And to top it all off, they had chosen "a typically German song" for us to dance to. It was 'Dancing the Funky Chicken.' Thank you very much indeed!"
[bild2]
MEN'S FASHION: "I don't really remember which tournament it was, but for the first time ever we got our own women's match wear. The thing was, we hadn't had the chance to try anything on, so we simply ordered the sizes we usually wore. And what do you know? It turned out they all ran small, for really 'petite' women. Birgit couldn't even squeeze herself into an XL shirt. In the end, she was the only player on the team allowed to simply go on wearing men's shirts… and boy, did I envy her!"
FIRING UP BIRGIT: "Anyone who has known Birgit for a while knows that for her to really perform to the best of her abilities, she's got to be mad at something or somebody. I have tried this myself but it never worked out. In contrast, Tina Theune knew perfectly well how to get Birgit's gander up. Just look at the many titles and trophies they won together to realise it must have worked perfectly well."
