Germany are trailing Australia 2-0 as the clock ticks down to halftime, their 2016 Rio Olympics campaign on the ropes — until a 21-year-old midfielder named Sara Däbritz drifts into the box.
Timed to perfection, she meets Alex Popp’s pass and somehow manipulates her left foot to caress the ball over the keeper with the outside of her boot.
It’s technically outrageous, it’s instinctively brilliant, and it kickstarts Germany’s comeback in the match and reignites their Olympic dream. Two weeks later, Däbritz has a gold medal around her neck following a breakout tournament in Brazil.
“It was unbelievable, an incredible, unforgettable experience,” she tells DW. “That was an absolute highlight of my career.”
Now 28, Däbritz is Germany’s most experienced player outside captain Popp, with her 100th cap almost certainly due to arrive at the 2023 World Cup.
It’s her third attempt to win the trophy in a career that’s already decorated with accolades, and she’s intent on finding the right flow to bring about more success.
Emulating a Germany legend’s style
The 2016 Olympics in Brazil also witnessed an early sign of Däbritz’s most unique quality. Against Canada in the semifinals, she cut onto her right foot and comfortably smacked the ball into the bottom corner.
Left foot, right foot, the up-and-comer was already ambidextrous — much like the Germany legend who she based her game on.
“My role model was always [Michael] Ballack growing up. That’s why I really like wearing the No.13,” she says.
“I loved watching his games and video clips of him playing football. [I admired] his overall playing style. He was a very dangerous goal-scoring midfielder, physically good, technically strong. He put so many elements together.”
Däbritz certainly embodies that box-to-box style whenever she pulls on the famed No.13 jersey for Germany. Her anticipation, physicality and reading of the game allows her to excel in breaking up opposition attacks, and she also offers a goalscoring threat when bombing forward.
But her ability to use both feet is the most obvious comparison to Ballack, one of the most adept two-footed footballers to ever grace a football pitch.
“I was lucky that my coaches always reminded me to train with my right foot because when I was really young I only had a strong left foot,” Däbritz says.
“It’s a big advantage when you can use both, when you can pass with both and play long balls — especially in midfield, when I have to get out of tight situations.”
‘It’s down to instinct’
When firing at her best, it feels like Däbritz is often one or two steps ahead of her opponents. She can spot a defense-splitting pass, turn into space or time late runs into the box to convert opportune goals.
“A lot of it is down to instinct,” Däbritz says. “In midfield, there’s a lot of pre-orientation, so you know what’s going on around you.
“When the ball comes, I’m already thinking about what I want to do. When I have time, I try to turn, when there’s pressure you try to find a way out. For me, I have to say, a lot of it comes automatically.”
And while laid back and relaxed off the pitch, she’s also one of Germany’s most vocal leaders on it, which speaks to her vast experience at the highest level of international and club football.
Däbritz learned her trade at Freiburg and won the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich before turning her sights overseas. In France, she helped PSG break Lyon’s 14-year winning streak in the D1 Feminine in 2021, convincing the European powerhouse to recruit her.
Now at Lyon, Däbritz plays alongside the likes of Wendie Renard, Ada Hegerberg, Lindsey Horan and Ellie Carpenter. That experience at the very top level of club football makes her indispensable for this Germany squad.
Germany finding their flow at World Cup
Early success, too, means Däbritz has cultivated a winning mentality for more than a decade now.
She lifted the 2013 Euros when she was still a “little chicklet” at 18 years old, despite the team only just scraping out of the group stage on goal difference.
“That [Euros tournament] shows that things don’t always go great,” she explains. “We had difficulties finding our flow. But you have to overcome difficulties and we managed that together as a team back then.”
Flow is a big buzz word for Däbritz, and a 6-0 win over Morocco in Germany’s 2023 World Cup opener has the team purring while other favorites like England and the USA stuttered into their campaign.
It was a similar story for Germany at the 2022 Euros, when they smacked Denmark 4-0 in their opening match.
“Last year was the perfect example,” Däbritz says. “We had an outstanding first game, we got in the flow and we were able to take a lot of self-confidence into the next games. It shows the importance of that first game.”
Germany’s poor form leading up to the World Cup has quickly been vanquished and the team’s trajectory appears to be traveling just the way Däbritz likes it. With a Euros title and Olympic gold already on her resume, all she needs now is that World Cup trophy to complete the international set.
The focus is there, though any thought of future opponents and challenges isn’t yet entering her mind.
“It really is just about getting in the flow, producing good games and developing further,” she says. “We’ll discuss everything else when the time comes.”
Edited by: Davis VanOpdorp
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