Nia Künzer
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
women's football player.
Early life
She was born in MochudiMochudi
Mochudi is one of the larger villages in Botswana with a population of around 40,000. It is situated in the Bakgatla tribal region, in Kgatleng District, about northeast of Gaborone...
, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
as Nia Tsholofelo Künzer (her first name being Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
for "aim" or "intention"), where her parents were on a two year's tour with a development aid organization. She grew up in the Albert-Schweitzer-Kinderdorf (children's village) in Wetzlar
Wetzlar
Wetzlar is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. Located at 8° 30′ E, 50° 34′ N, Wetzlar straddles the river Lahn and is on the German Timber-Framework Road which passes mile upon mile of half-timbered houses. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis on the north edge of...
-Garbenheim, alongside her brother and seven foster-children. After the Abitur she did a year of practical training in social work in a Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
for handicapped children. In 2008 she completed a degree in education science (German title Diplompädagogin) at the Justus Liebig University Giessen.
Career
Having a history as a high jumpHigh jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
er, and after being a member of football clubs Eintracht Wetzlar
Wetzlar
Wetzlar is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. Located at 8° 30′ E, 50° 34′ N, Wetzlar straddles the river Lahn and is on the German Timber-Framework Road which passes mile upon mile of half-timbered houses. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis on the north edge of...
and VfB Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
she was with 1. FFC Frankfurt
1. FFC Frankfurt
1. FFC Frankfurt is a German women's association football club based in Frankfurt, Hesse and has a membership of about 430. The team currently plays in the German first division women's Bundesliga.- History :...
(1st Frankfurt Women's Football Club) starting 1997. She was playing as a defender or midfielder. Künzer retired in July 2008 from professional football after an injury.
International career
Her Golden Goal in the final match against Sweden made Germany the winner of the 2003 World Cup and was to become the first ever women's "Goal of the YearGoal of the Year (Germany)
The Goal of the Year in Germany is, like the Goal of the Month , the Goal of the Decade and Goal of the Century, an individual soccer award selected by spectators of the Sportschau , among spectacular or important soccer goals scored in or for Germany.Klaus Fischer won it three times; his 1977 ...
" in the history of German football. When together with her team-mates she stood on the balcony of the Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
er Römer, to be welcomed by thousands of fans, it also marked the end of German women's football long sleep of 30 years, with the news media taking more than marginal interest and the first major sponsors (e.g. Katjes Fassin) appearing on the scene.
She actively promotes the idea of women's soccer and helps in recruiting from the next generation of enthusiastic young girls.
During the winter of 2003/2004 she had to pause for several weeks due to one more cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligaments are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee...
injury, which meant she was not available for the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
2004 in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. A fourth cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligaments are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee...
injury forced Künzer to resign from the national team in 2006.
External links
- Nia Künzer (personal homepage)
- Deutscher Fußball-Bund (German Soccer Assn) (portrait Nia Künzer)
- FIFA Women's World Cup (portrait Nia Künzer, in German)
- The San Diego Union-Tribune ("Heads-up Germany stuns Sweden" – October 13, 2003)
- Westdeutscher Rundfunk (audio in German: "Arrival in Frankfurt" – October 14, 2003)