Ann-Katrin Berger celebrates after helping the German women's team reach the semi-finals of Euro 2025 - Photo: Reuters
The words not only have meaning for Berger, but also mark her journey of recovery from cancer and cover the scars from treatment.
Berger was part of the German women’s team that reached the Euro 2022 final. But during that tournament she was unhappy because she learned that her thyroid cancer had returned for the second time after four years of recovery. And now, after three years of further treatment, Berger has not only fully recovered but is back playing at the highest level for her country.
The 34-year-old was Germany's hero when she saved two penalties to help her team defeat France 6-5 in the penalty shootout in the quarter-finals of Euro 2025.
Before entering this nerve-wracking match, Berger also played excellently with many saves to help the 10-man German team hold France to a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes. Germany lost a man in the 13th minute, after Kathrin Hendrich received a direct red card for pulling Griedge Mbock's hair in the penalty area.
According to statistics, in this match, Berger made 9 saves - the most for a goalkeeper in a Euro knockout match since 2013. After this match, the world press called Berger's performance "the best performance of all time". And her inspirational story continues to spread around the world .
Germany women's midfielder Sjoeke Nusken said she was always confident they would win on penalties because she knew Berger was in goal. Nusken told BBC Sports: "I knew we had Ann-Katrin Berger. She's a fantastic goalkeeper. Very calm, very intelligent and I knew Berger would save penalties."
Berger was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2017 while playing for Birmingham City. But 76 days later she was back and named in the Professional Footballers' Association team of the year.
She then had a successful spell at Chelsea, winning five Women's Super League titles, before moving to American side Gotham FC in 2024.
Asked to reflect on his journey from his cancer diagnosis to the present, Berger said: "I'm not an emotional person. My time here makes me proud. Whatever happens in 2022 is in the past, I'm looking forward to the future. Now I'm living my best life and I'm in the semi-finals of Euro 2025 with Germany."
In the semi-final match taking place in the early morning of July 24, the German women's team will meet the number 1 candidate for the championship, Spain. This will continue to be another challenge for goalkeeper Berger, because the Spanish women's team is superior to the remaining teams in the tournament and has a very scary attack.
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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nguoi-hung-cua-tuyen-nu-duc-20250722084949914.htm
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