Birgit Prinz

Birgit Prinz

Personal information
Full name	Birgit Prinz
Date of birth	25 October 1977 (1977-10-25)
Place of birth	Frankfurt am Main, West Germany
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1986–1988	SV Dörnigheim FC
1988–1992	FC Hochstadt
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1992–1998	FSV Frankfurt
1998–2002	1. FFC Frankfurt	77	(78)
2002	Carolina Courage	15	(12)
2002–2011	1. FFC Frankfurt	250	(300)
National team‡
1994–2011	Germany	214	(128)
Honours Competitor for Germany Women's Football Bronze 2000 Sydney Team Competition Bronze 2004 Athens Team Competition Bronze 2008 Beijing Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:50, 22 June 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 June 2011 (UTC))

Birgit Prinz (born October 25, 1977) is a former German female professional association football player. She last played for 1. FFC Frankfurt and the German national team. Prinz is one of the game's most prolific strikers and the FIFA Women's World Cup all-time leading scorer with 14 goals (tied with Marta). She has been named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2005. On 12 August 2011, she announced the end of her active career.

Career

Club

Prinz began her career at SV Dörnigheim FC. She made her Bundesliga debut for FSV Frankfurt, where she played from 1992 to 1998. During that time Prinz won two Bundesliga titles and two German Cups. In 1997 and 1998 she was the Bundesliga top scorer. In 1998, she moved to local rivals 1. FFC Frankfurt, where she has had her biggest success at club level. In 13 seasons at the club, Prinz won six Bundesliga and eight German Cup titles. She also won the Bundesliga top-scorer award twice more in 2001 and 2007. Prinz won the UEFA Women's Cup three times with Frankfurt, in the 2001–02, 2005–06 and 2007–08 seasons. She also reached the final in 2004, but lost to the Swedish side Umeå IK.

For one season, Prinz joined Carolina Courage in the professional women's league WUSA in the United States. During her short stint in America she claimed the 2002 WUSA Championship. After the 2003 World Cup, Prinz declined an offer from AC Perugia to play in Italy's men's Serie A, fearing her transfer would be used as a publicity stunt and she would end up on the bench.

In her time at FFC Frankfurt, Prinz has won many personal awards, including a record eight German Female Footballer of the Year awards from 2001 to 2008. She was named the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2005. For four consecutive years from 2007 to 2010 she also came second, behind Brazil's Marta.

International

At the age of 16, Prinz made her debut for Germany's national team in July 1994 against Canada. She came on after 72 minutes and scored the game-winner in the 89th minute. One year later, she won her first major title at the 1995 European Championship, scoring in the final. That year she was also part of Germany's squad coming second at the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup. In final against Norway she became the youngest player ever to appear in a World Cup Final.

For the next decade, Prinz has had one of the most successful international careers in women's football. She won four more UEFA European Championships in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009. At the Summer Olympics she won bronze three times with the German team, in 2000, 2004 and 2008. At the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, Prinz helped Germany win its first World Cup title in the women's game. She was honoured as the tournament's best player and top-scorer. Four years later at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup she captained the team to Germany's second World Cup title; she was awarded the Silver Ball as the second-best player at the tournament.

Prinz holds several national and international records. With 14 goals, she is the all-time leading goalscorer at FIFA Women's World Cups. At the Summer Olympics Prinz and Brazil's Cristiane have both scored the tournament record of 10 goals. For the German national team Prinz has appeared 212 times and scored 128 goals. She is the team's most capped player and top goalscorer, and is also the most capped non-American player in the sport.

Private life

Prinz is a trained physical therapist. In 2010, she earned a degree in psychology at the University of Frankfurt.

Honours

Club

FSV Frankfurt

• Bundesliga: Winner (2) 1994–95, 1997–98
• German Cup: Winner (2) 1994–95, 1995–96

1. FFC Frankfurt

• UEFA Women's Cup: Winner (3) 2001–02, 2005–06, 2007–08; Runner-up (1) 2003–04
• Bundesliga: Winner (6) 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08
• German Cup: Winner (8) 1998–99, 1999-00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11

Carolina Courage

• WUSA Championship: Winner (1) 2002

International

• FIFA World Cup: Winner (2) 2003, 2007 Runner-Up (1) 1995
• UEFA European Championship: Winner (5) 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009
• Olympic bronze medal: (3) 2000, 2004, 2008
• Algarve Cup: Winner (1) 2006

Individual

• FIFA World Player of the Year: Winner (3) 2003, 2004, 2005; Runner-up (4) 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
• German Player of the Year: Winner (8) 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• All time leading goalscorer FIFA Women's World Cup – 14 goals(tied with Marta)
• All-time leading goalscorer Women's Olympic Football Tournament – 10 goals (with Cristiane)
• Golden Ball Winner: 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup
• Silver Ball Winner: 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup
• Top-scorer 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup
• Top-scorer Bundesliga: (4) 1996–97, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2006–07
• Silbernes Lorbeerblatt: 2007

See also

• List of association women football players with 100 or more international goals

External links

• Official website (German)
• Profile at the German Football Federation
• Birgit Prinz – FIFA competition record
• Profile at Weltfussball.de (German)

Preceded by Martina Voss	German Female Footballer of the Year 2001–2008	Succeeded by Inka Grings
Preceded by Mia Hamm	FIFA World Player of the Year 2003, 2004, 2005	Succeeded by Marta