11 of the best women footballers of all time
Women’s football has seen its share of jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring moments. It has a history made rich with fairy tale denouements and exhilarating spectacles. For this reason, it is a bit painful that women’s football often goes under the radar.
While names like Marta, Carli Lloyd and Mia Hamm may be quite familiar, the list of women’s footballing greats and their achievements deserve far more praise than they get. This is a list of the greatest women players who have championed the beautiful game.
#11 Nadine Angerer
In 2007, the German outfit were absolutely dejected when their first choice goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg was hit with a knee injury that would see her miss the World Cup. They turned to a certain Nadine Angerer to step into those shoes, and the rest as the say (mind the cliche) is history.
Angerer walked on to the pitch day in and day out and pulled the shutter on her goal time and again. Germany didn’t concede a single goal in six games and she even saved Brazilian footballing legend Marta’s penalty in the finals as Germany claimed the World Cup with a 2-0 win.
Her reputation as a shot-stopper began to grow and like all the best goalkeepers in the world, she is fearless and doesn’t mind lunging into where the boots are flying.
After German legend, Birgit Prinz’s retirement, Angerer was made the captain of the national team and she, in the times to come would vindicate that decision. The Lohr a. Main born went on to make two vital penalty saves against Sweden to help Germany to the 2013 European crown.
Angerer has played for Frauen-Bundesliga clubs Bayern Munich, Turbine Potsdam and FFC Frankfurt. She won the UEFA Women’s Cup in 2005, the Bundesliga in the 2003-04 and 2005-06 seasons and the German Cup in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons with Turbine Potsdam.
The now 38-year-old has also played for Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Damallsvenskan and Brisbane Roar of the Australian W-League in 2013 and 2014 before ultimately calling it quits on her career with Portland Thorns FC of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angerer has won the World Cup’s Best Goalkeeper award in the 2007 edition of the Women’s World Cup. She has also won the UEFA Women’s Euro best player of the tournament award in 2013.
And she will go down in history as one of the best goalkeepers to grace the football pitch.
You can check out Nadine Angerer’s match winning saves in the penalty shootout in this video: