Alexandra Popp

Alexandra Popp (German pronunciation: [alɛˈksandʁa ˈpɔp];[1] born 6 April 1991) is a German footballer and Olympic gold medalist. She plays as a striker for VfL Wolfsburg and the German national team.[2] She previously played for FCR 2001 Duisburg and 1. FFC Recklinghausen. She was twice named German Footballer of the Year in 2014 and 2016, and in February 2019 was named captain of the national team.

Alex Popp with Duisburg in 2011.

Alexandra Popp
Popp with Germany in 2017
Personal information
Full name Alexandra Popp
Date of birth (1991-04-06) 6 April 1991
Place of birth Witten, Germany
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 VfL Wolfsburg
Number 11
Youth career
FC Silschede
1. FFC Recklinghausen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 1. FFC Recklinghausen
2008–2012 FCR 2001 Duisburg 80 (31)
2012– VfL Wolfsburg 132 (66)
National team‡
2006 Germany U15 5 (0)
2006–2008 Germany U17 25 (17)
2009 Germany U19 8 (6)
2009–2011 Germany U20 9 (14)
2010– Germany 107 (53)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 April 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:53, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

Career

Club

Popp started her career at FC Silschede, playing there in mixed-gender teams until she reached the age limit of 14. Later she changed to 1. FFC Recklinghausen and played three years before joining the Bundesliga side FCR 2001 Duisburg in 2008. She had also been approached by French champions Olympique Lyonnais at the time, but chose Duisburg. Popp made her Bundesliga debut in September 2008 against Herforder SV and scored her first two goals three weeks later in an 8–0 win over TSV Crailsheim.

In her first year at Duisburg, Popp won the Double: the 2009 UEFA Women's Cup and the 2009 German Cup. She was awarded the 2009 Fritz Walter medal in silver as the year's second best female junior player.[3] One year later, she again claimed the German Cup title and finished runner-up with Duisburg in the 2009–10 Bundesliga season. Because Duisburg had major injury worries during the 2010-11 season, Popp played the majority of matches at left back.

In the 2012-13 season she moved with her club teammate Luisa Wensing to VfL Wolfsburg. In her first season there she won the Treble (association football) with the Frauen-Bundesliga championship, the DFB-Pokal Frauen and the UEFA Women's Champions League.

A year later Wolfsburg successfully defended their title the UEFA Women's Euro 2013. For the Bundesliga championship, it came down to a match on the final day of the season against the previously unbeaten 1. FFC Frankfurt. Frankfurt needed only a draw to win the championship, while Wolfsburg needed to win. Popp scored the winning goal in the 89th minute, and Wolfsburg was again victorious in the DFB-Pokal.

International

At the 2008 UEFA U-17 Women's Championship, Popp won her first international title with Germany, scoring the team's second goal in the final. The same year, she reached third-place at the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. In February 2010, Popp made her debut for Germany's senior national team in a friendly match against North Korea. Less than two weeks later she scored her first two international goals at the 2010 Algarve Cup in a 7–0 win over Finland.

Popp returned to junior competition for the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, which was held on home soil in Germany. She won the title with the German team and was the tournament's break-out star, being honoured as the best player and top goalscorer. She scored in every game,[4] and with ten goals she holds the scoring record for that tournament (together with Sydney Leroux and Christine Sinclair).

Popp was then called up for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup squad.[2] She played in all four games for the host nation, coming on as a substitute, but the Germans placed only sixth, defeated in extra time by eventual champions Japan. Later that year, she played in the European Championship qualifier against Kazakhstan, where she and teammate Célia Šašić (nee Okoyino da Mbabi) each contributed four goals to a record 17-0 victory. With this achievement she became the seventh German woman to score four goals in an international game.

On May 24, 2015, Silvia Neid named Popp to the senior team for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. In Canada the team reached fourth place, defeating seeded teams Sweden and France but again falling to the eventual champions, the United States. Popp started in four of the team's seven games, scoring once.

Popp was called up again for the 2016 Summer Olympics, where Germany won the gold medal.[5] She played in all six games, contributing a goal and two assists. Each player on the team received a Silbernes Lorbeerblatt, Germany's highest sports honor, for their performance.

In the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 tournament she played with the senior team, losing in the quarterfinals to Denmark.

She is the captain of the squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. She played every minute of the group stage games and scored a header versus South Africa.[6] She made her 100th appearance for Germany on 22 June 2019, where she also scored the first goal against Nigeria.[7]

International goals

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first:

Source:[2]

Personal life

Popp attended Gesamtschule Berger Feld in Gelsenkirchen, one of four facilities certified as "elite schools of football" by the German Football Association. She was the school's sole female pupil and could only attend courtesy of a special permit. She studied and trained with junior players of the German men's Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04. Popp left school after the 12th grade with a Fachabitur diploma.[8] Following a one-year internship at a physiotherapist, Popp successfully completed a three-year apprenticeship to become a zookeeper at Tierpark Essehof in Lehre.[9][10]

In interviews she has declared herself a fan of Borussia Dortmund.

Honours
Popp with the DFB-Pokal trophy in 2013.

Club
FCR 2001 Duisburg
VfL Wolfsburg

International

Individual
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References
  1. Krech, Eva-Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz Christian (2009). Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch [German Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 302, 835. ISBN 978-3-11-018202-6.
  2. "Nationalspielerin Alexandra Popp" (in German). DFB.de. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  3. "Hegering und Popp ausgezeichnet" (in German). RP Online. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  4. "Popp and Kulig in dreamland". FIFA.com. 1 August 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  5. "Gold for Germany as Neid finishes in style". fifa.com. 19 August 2016.
  6. "Germany beats South Africa 4-0 to win World Cup group". Fox Sports. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  7. "Alexandra Popp leaves Nigeria flat to send Germany fizzing into quarter-finals". The Guardian. 22 June 2019.
  8. "Eine Karriere im ICE-Tempo". DerWesten.de. 20 May 2009. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  9. lt. ausführlichem Interview in: RevierSport 9/2013, S. 30 f
  10. rs (6 June 2012). "VfL-Star Alex Popp: Job in Essehof". waz-online.de. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  11. Golden player 2008
  12. Golden Ball 2010
  13. Golden Shoe 2010
  14. "Fußballerin des Jahres 2014: Das Ergebnis" (in German). kicker.de. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  15. "Alexandra Popp ist Fußballerin des Jahres" (in German). ndr.de. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
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