Retiring Popp signs off as Germany's first female football superstar

BeSoccer 9 months ago |

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Alexandra Popp retired from international football on Monday. AFP

Retiring Germany striker Alexandra Popp signed off with tears in her eyes in Duisburg on Monday, saying goodbye as the country's first true women's football superstar.

Germany's 2-1 loss to Australia in the friendly was only of secondary importance as 26,263 fans packed the MSV Arena to bid Popp an emotional farewell.

The crowd rose to their feet after 15 minutes as Popp was substituted before handing the captain's armband to Giulia Gwinn, the player most likely to take over as the face of the women's game in Germany.

The early substitution, while disappointing for some, was pre-planned. New manager Christian Wueck, coaching on home soil for the first time after Friday's 4-3 win over England at Wembley, emphasised the importance of the Matildas fixture with Euro 2025 in Switzerland just eight months away.

In her 145th international game, the 33-year-old Germany captain was unable to add to her tally of 67 goals. She was on the pitch as Selina Cerci headed in the opener five minutes in to put Germany in front, but had already said her goodbyes when Australia's Kyra Cooney-Cross equalised with a long-range stunner from 40 metres out just before half-time.

Clare Hunt scored with 13 minutes remaining to put Australia on track for victory. Speaking in the pre-match press conference on Sunday, Popp recognised the "romance" of the occasion, saying "there's nothing more beautiful than finishing where it all began."

She played her first professional match on the same pitch with MSV Duisburg in 2008, with whom she won the Champions League. Her Germany debut came here in February 2010.

After 14 years, two Champions League titles, seven Bundesliga titles and 13 German Cups, Popp became the first female player to enjoy fame on a level approaching the men in football-mad Germany.

An Olympic gold medallist in 2016, Popp's reign coincided with the growth of the women's game worldwide. Popp was however unable to add to Germany's two World Cups or eight European Championship titles, a sign of how much the rest of the world have since caught up with the Germans.

In 2023, days before Wolfsburg's 3-2 Champions League final loss to Barcelona, she said she was "learning to deal with" her higher profile towards the end of her career than at the start.

"I could previously walk around Berlin without being recognised," Popp told reporters, adding she "can't do that so easily anymore."