(Edit, 22-Feb-2012: At least a few of the players, e.g. Alexandra Popp and Luisa Wensing, on the rosters have recently switched clubs. Those changes are not reflected below.)
Germany’s roster for the Algarve Cup was announced on Monday. Notably, goalkeeper Nadine Angerer, who has/had bursitis and and an inflamed tendon in her left knee, and midfielder Lira Bajramaj, who had a minor concussion, return to the squad.
The roster includes two U-20 eligible players who would be likely starters for Germany’s U-20 WNT in Japan this August: midfielder Dszenifer Marozsán and defender Luisa Wensing. Both are profiled below, along with five other players who have less than ten senior caps.
Germany’s WNT Algarve Cup Roster (2011 WWC Team Members are bolded):
Goalkeepers (3):
- Nadine Angerer (FFC Frankfurt)
- Kathrin Längert (FC Bayern München)
- Almuth Schult (SC 07 Bad Neuenahr)
Defenders: (7):
- Saskia Bartusiak (FFC Frankfurt)
- Verena Faißt (VfL Wolfsburg)
- Josephine Henning (VfL Wolfsburg)
- Annike Krahn (FCR 2001 Duisburg)
- Babett Peter (FFC Turbine Potsdam)
- Bianca Schmidt (FFC Turbine Potsdam)
- Luisa Wensing (FCR 2001 Duisburg)
Midfielders (8):
- Fatmire Bajramaj (FFC Frankfurt)
- Melanie Behringer (FFC Frankfurt)
- Linda Bresonik (FCR 2001 Duisburg)
- Lena Goeßling (VfL Wolfsburg)
- Svenja Huth (FFC Frankfurt)
- Dzsenifer Marozsán (FFC Frankfurt)
- Viola Odebrecht (FFC Turbine Potsdam)
- Celia Okoyino da Mbabi (SC 07 Bad Neuenahr)
Forwards (3):
- Anja Mittag (LdB FC Malmö, Sweden)
- Martina Müller (VfL Wolfsburg)
- Alexandra Popp (FCR 2001 Duisburg)
Germany is in Group A with Sweden (roster profiled here), Iceland, and China. The USA could face Germany in the second stage of the Cup, the placement matches, depending on how each team finishes in their group. (See this USSoccer.com article for a full explanation of the Cup’s set-up.)
Further reading: DFB.de’s write-up about the roster (in German) and the roster in table format (player names link to profiles).
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The roster includes two U-20 players, midfielder Dszenifer Marozsán and defender Luisa Wensing. Both are age eligible for the 2012 U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan (Players must be born “on or after 1 January 1992”).
Dszenifer Marozsán (b. 18-Feb-1992). Position: Midfielder. Club: FFC Frankfurt. Marozsán is the youngest player to debut in the Women’s Bundesliga (14 years, 7 months) and the youngest to score a goal (15 years, 4 months). She is a veteran of the 2008 U-17 Women’s World Cup and the 2010 U-20 Women’s World Cup. For the 2008 U-17 WWC, she led all scorers (Golden Boot) with 6 goals and was selected as the second best player (Silver Ball), behind only Mana Iwabuchi of Japan. Marozsán recently got her first senior international goal in a Women’s Euro qualifier versus Turkey (15-Feb-2012). Marozsán has four senior international caps.
Marozsán was born in Budapest, Hungary, but to moved to Germany early in her childhood.
Note: Marozsán was not on Germany’s roster for the 2011 UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship (which served as Europe’s qualifiers for the 2012 U-20 WWC), as she suffered a medial ligament tear in her knee while training with Germany’s senior WNT as they prepared for the Women’s World Cup (DFB.de).The injury ruled her out of both the U-19 tournament and the WWC. Though, it is possible that Marozsán would have stayed with the senior squad in their camp, rather than being released to the U-19 team.
Additional reading: Wikipedia (English, German), Interview (in German)
Luisa Wensing (b. 8-Feb-1993). Position: Defender (right back, primarily). Club: FCR 2001 Duisburg. Wensing is uncapped at the senior level. After the 2011 UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship, Wensing was listed as one of ten players to watch by UEFA.com:
An ever-present for Germany, Wensing provided an intimidating presence in an impressive back line. She displayed great awareness and athleticism throughout, memorably denying the Netherlands a clear goal with a goal-line block, while at the other end her running on the flanks and powerful headers from set pieces were a constant threat – as Norway discovered in the final when she scored the opener.
Wensing has two goals at the U-19 level, including the first goal, a diving header off a corner kick, in the final of the 2011 UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship.(Youtube video).
Further reading: Dfb.de article, Wikipedia (English, German).
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Other young players include:
Svenja Huth (b. 25-Jan-1991). Position: Midfielder/Forward. Club: FFC Frankfurt. Huth has 2 senior caps. In the 2010 U-20 Women’s World Cup, which Germany won, she started all six matches while scoring two goals. Further reading: DFB.de article on Huth (14-Nov-2011).
Almuth Schult (b. 2-January 1991). Position: Goalkeeper. Club: SC 07 Bad Neuenahr. Schult got her first senior cap in Germany’s last match, versus Turkey (15-Feb-2012), as she started in place of the injured Nadine Angerer. Schult was the starting goalkeeper for Germany’s U-20 WWC squad, starting in all but the team’s opening match during that tournament. Schult was also a back-up goalkeeper on Germany’s 2011 WWC squad and had two starts in the 2008 U-17 WWC in Chile. Further reading: DFB.de interview (12-Feb-2012).
Josephine Henning (8-Sep-1989). Position: Defender. Club: VfL Wolfsburg. Henning has 2 senior caps. In the 2008 U-20 WWC, she played every minute for Germany (6 matches, 540 minutes).
Verena Faißt (b. 22-May-1989). Position: Defender. Club: VfL Wolfsburg. Faißt (or Faisst) has 8 senior caps and was named to the 2011 WWC roster, but did not see any minutes on-field. Also, in the 2008 U-20 WWC, she started five matches.
The only other uncapped player is goalkeeper Kathrin Längert (born in 1987), who plays for FC Bayern München.
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