She Kicks Back: Anja Mittag

An instalment of She Kicks Back with the Germany forward, part of the 2007 World Cup-winning squad, a three-time European champion and an Olympic gold medallist at Rio 2016, now second assistant coach at second-tier RB Leipzig. Asked to go back 25 years, Mittag remembers being 11, playing football in the back yard against her brother and turning out for VfB Chemnitz. She describes Leipzig’s ambition and the advantage of sharing the men’s facilities, and says coaching was not always the plan but grew from individual sessions at Rosengard. The Olympic gold means most to her and produced the best party, celebrated over two nights alongside other athletes. Missing the 2011 home World Cup was her hardest moment. She still records a podcast with Josy Henning and insists her playing comeback is over.