There are many types of footballer – the strong, the tactically aware, the technical. But every so often – once in a generation, occasionally more if you are lucky – there are those that come along who are a cut above. They make their craft look effortless, gliding and dancing across the grass. They are the artists of the sport who paint different pictures on the pitch and exist at least three paces ahead of everyone else around them, directing play like a conductor does an orchestra.
Germany’s Dzsenifer Marozsán belongs to this unique set of players. As she entered the field on Tuesday for the 112th and final time in a Germany shirt, there was a real sense we were saying goodbye to one of her country’s best ever. She bowed to the 32,000 fans, each and every one showing their appreciation for a player who many see as the most technically capable to play for the national team. For a girl who “just wanted to play football”, hers has been an international career that has spanned 13 years as her and her nation became European champions for the eighth time and Olympic gold medallists for the first.
