Ann-Katrin Berger interview: Hear the drummer, get extra – The tune-up of Gotham’s great, gloved crusader

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Photo: Elsa/NWSL via Getty Images

UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 arrives with Ann-Katrin Berger’s club and international recognition now in deserved harmony. A long-awaited breakthrough with Germany was already transformative, but the Gotham FC star’s new life in America also seems to have brought out a little something…’extra’?

As Germany bid to win back a competition that once had eyes only for them, the first name on their team sheet is a player previously in the shadows for so long that she may even have ended up in goal for a rival. The eight-time UEFA Women’s EURO winners (six in succession from 1995 to 2013) will call upon Ann-Katrin Berger when they kick off in Switzerland shortly.

Among the game’s premier goalkeeping talents, the 34-year-old had been so consistently regarded as elite at club level that her country’s continued decision to look elsewhere ranked among the sport’s more curious cases. While a first call-up came with Birmingham City at 28, just over two more years passed before the then-Chelsea player was capped (v Republic of Ireland in December 2020).

After a supporting gig to Merle Frohms at EURO 2022 and the 2023 World Cup, a role reversal at last summer’s Paris Olympics thrust her into the tournament spotlight at 33, with some virtuoso performances en route to a bronze medal. The idea that she could have been lost altogether to another country now seems wildly implausible, but that discussion point was very real, among those in England who knew her capabilities best.

“There were a lot of talks, because a lot of teammates obviously didn’t understand why I didn’t get invited (by Germany) in the first place,” she recalls. “Then I got invited but really never played, and just the odd occasions.”

“Then it started to be, ‘You still haven’t played for Germany – what’s the deal?’ I was like, ‘Look, obviously I would be really honoured to play for a different country, that’s for sure, especially for England,’ because everyone knows they started to have a really-good team and were growing every year.

“I don’t know, at the end of the day, if I could have done it, because deep down, I’m still a German person and still have my roots for Germany, even though I loved the time in England.”

She would settle instead for status as one of the Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL)’s most resoundingly-successful signings from overseas, headlined by four league titles among nine major trophies at Chelsea. Her acclimation was such that the Göppingen-born goalie now sounds decidedly more of a Londoner than a native of southern Germany when speaking English.

“A lot of people actually forget that I’m German because my accent is that strong. Yeah, a lot of people forget that.”

It now has the everyday potential to deceive on the other side of the Atlantic. An April 2024 move to Gotham FC signalled a first crack at the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), and she has gone down a storm in the US.

The league’s reigning Goalkeeper of the Year had continental glory to enjoy in May, as Juan Carlos Amorós’ team triumphed 1-0 at Mexican side Tigres UANL to lift the inaugural W Champions Cup. As her presence has been strengthening Gotham and the NWSL’s goalkeeping class, the exposure to a fresh setting has provided something of a personal pep-up.

“The Americans are always extra, I think everyone knows that! But it is actually really nice to be a little bit extra, even though I’m not that type of person.

“So, I definitely had to adjust. I’m starting to like it now anyway.”

Even if many a goal-celebration photo down the years has captured her fire-breathing alter ego being momentarily let loose, her reputation is that of a highly-serene character. As her fiancée, Gotham’s England defender Jess Carter, put it when disputing the club’s decision to choose her for a social-media segment: “Why have you mic’d her up? She doesn’t say nothing!”

Arriving at the stadium with a quirky, colourful sock selection each time is all the proof required of her integration – in an authentic Ann-Katrin Berger way – into the showtime spectacle that is the league’s pre-game outfits. The NWSL’s own spin on that now-staple element of other sports has snowballed in recent years.

From little to none in the early seasons, the crossover opportunities for clubs – be it sport or the wider entertainment industry – have gone through the roof of late, with Gotham’s position as a New Jersey/New York organisation patently advantageous. The link to the area’s closest Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) franchise, New York Liberty, recently saw Ann, Jess Carter and teammate Mandy Freeman appear on the court at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for their match-up with Atlanta Dream.

For Ann, getting to absorb the overall exuberance that comes with being in the NWSL today has been a novel experience.

“You have the fans, you have everything around, you have sometimes drums behind your goal, and it’s just the energy you get from all the people around you; it’s really cool, and infectious as well. At the beginning, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a little bit too much for me right now!’

“But when you’re in there and you get a little bit used to it, you appreciate it even more. I really hope for the future, England and Germany, and the rest of Europe in general, will have that experience, especially sometimes off the pitch.

“My mum, for example, loved the FA Cup (final in England), because everything around the stadium, with merchandise, with fan fest and everything like that, she just loved that atmosphere. If you can have that for every single game, I think it’s a day out for family, and the Americans saw that opportunity.

“And I think that’s what, in the future, will attract more people.”

The German team gave a reminder last week that Europe also knows how to revel in the moment. With players expecting a karaoke night with staff, they watched on as legendary schlager singer Wolfgang Petry – same flannel-shirted style as decades before, hair still flowing, and microphone in hand – was filmed arriving in a team van for a surprise appearance.

He would be joined by giddy players and staff in a raucous conga line for a sing-along of his ‘90s hit ‘Verlieben, verloren, vergessen, verzeih’n’ (Fall in love, lose, forget, forgive). Germany’s current Women’s Footballer of the Year – the first goalkeeping recipient since Silke Rottenberg in 1998 – Ann recently spoke of her overwhelming pride at being named in a tournament squad again.

Her patriotism, however, can usually be found running for the nearest exit when songs are involved.

“I’m not the biggest fan of German music, even though my teammates try to say, ‘Okay, you have to be a little bit more German!’”

Although Giulia Gwinn and Janina Minge are officially captain and vice-captain, what really ranks as the most pivotal role in the team – chief vibes officer, obviously – is an executive position that cannot be fulfilled by one person alone.

“I think Linda Dallmann sometimes plays music, and Sara Doorsoun (now confirmed as retired from the national team) plays music sometimes, and Laura Freigang as well.”

Even if a hyper-charged personality on the field can be counted upon to whip up the crowd, it is often considered a detrimental trait for a goalkeeper. That is also a further reason why Ann probably won’t be in the running for team DJ before her career is over.

“I think the chances are very, very slim,” she laughs. “Because my music is a little bit more relaxed, and before a game, nobody needs that besides me!”

“Most of the time, I actually have really-slow music, because my belief is that when I listen to music, it calms me down, because nobody needs me to be 100 miles per hour during the game. I think that’s why I put my headphones on and then listen to my music.

“Ed Sheeran I really like, Dean Lewis. I really like the old Chris Brown, the really-slow, r&b type of music.

“Lewis Capaldi I really like, and right now, I actually started to like country music as well.”

Wearing number 30 at club level as a dedication to the birth year of her late grandmother (a sceptic of women’s football who then became her greatest supporter), Ann is asked about connection with songs or artists through any particular junctures of her life.

“When I started listening to music, it was more that I liked the songs, I liked the beat, the instruments, because when I was younger, I was in an orchestra, so I just liked the melody. But then at some point when my English got better – because my English was horrible at the beginning at school, but then it got better and better – I started to listen a little bit more to the lyrics.

“But I wouldn’t say if I’m sad, I’m listening to sad songs, or if I’m happy, I’m listening to happy songs. It’s more, for me, the melody and the sound of it, instead of the meanings.”

A former clarinet player – “I think I played for five years, six years,” – a spot in the audience for live music is now greatly preferred.

“I was actually going to Justin Bieber, but obviously, he cancelled his concerts (in 2023 for the remainder of the Justice World Tour). Adele at Hyde Park, I absolutely loved it; it’s one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.

“Her voice is incredible, it’s just pure as well, so that was definitely one of my best ones.”

Frauen-Bundesliga champion with Germany’s Turbine Potsdam in 2012, she has, somewhat impressively, managed to avoid an initiation song at all but one of her career’s six clubs. And the memories of that have been kept mostly locked away.

“I actually just had to sing for Chelsea. I got away with it in France (at PSG).

“In Birmingham, I think we didn’t really have it, because we had a really young team and everything was so new. Here, I didn’t have to do it either; maybe it’s good because I joined in the middle of the season, but even now, our new players coming in, they didn’t have to do it.

“I actually can’t remember (the song at Chelsea) because I hated every single moment! I know it was in a restaurant, because we went for a team night out, and I think I was singing it with someone, but I even can’t remember that.”

Asked about any career teammates to record a cover song with, she eventually lands on an effervescent U.S. Women’s National Team favourite who featured on this site as a University of Wisconsin–Madison player, and is no more restrained today at 30.

“I actually must say Rose Lavelle has actually not a bad voice. I told her that and she was really flattered, and I was like, ‘Sometimes you also miss a note, so…don’t get over your head!’

“But she was actually quite decent, so I think Rose is up there.”

The generational divide now typically present in locker rooms makes mentioning a CD seem as much of a nod to a bygone era as Germany’s new retro-sleek Adidas kits. The first entry in Ann’s music collection came in the same year as two bitter musical rivals playing out their feud in front of the world – Eamon and Frankie, of course.

She opted instead for one of 2004’s less-abrasive offerings.

“I was on a school trip and it was the first CD I bought: it was from Mario, ‘Let Me Love You.’ I remember it because it was two classmates and all three of us bought the same CD!”

Bringing back the good times was central to joining Gotham, having seen her playing opportunities greatly decrease at Chelsea, and the move has proved a masterstroke. Last September brought a contract extension to the end of the 2026 season (said to have been signed largely due to her love of Philly cheesesteaks…and because there isn’t a Pennsylvania team in the NWSL yet).

“Life is pretty good here,” she smiles. “It is actually quite nice to see different sights, outside of Europe, that’s for sure.”

“It’s a pretty big, big country, so the travels are almost like in Europe when you go for the Champions League. Most of the time, the weather is nicer than in England, for sure!”

Summer back in Europe this year is, nevertheless, an extremely-welcome privilege, after the uplifting French sojourn of 2024. As Germany rebounded from a group-stage exit at the 2023 World Cup to win Olympic bronze, their tournament debutante between the posts spectacularly seized her moment, stopping two Canada penalties in the quarter-final shootout – before scoring the winner herself.

“I didn’t expect that I was fifth (in the list of takers). When the coach (interim boss Horst Hrubesch) was saying, ‘You take one as well,’ and nobody actually stepped up, I didn’t realise it was the fifth one.

“So, that was the first thing, ‘Oh, I think that’s me then,’ because nobody was walking up. It was literally no stress, because I know if I miss it, I can redeem myself by saving a penalty again.”

Three days on from a 1-0 extra-time loss to the US in the semi-final, the winning feeling returned. Ann thwarted Spain star and two-time Ballon d’Or recipient Alexia Putellas from the spot in the final seconds of the bronze-medal game to clinch a 1-0 victory and a podium place.

In those years before her elevation to first choice, had she always held on to the belief that such experiences were possible?

“I would say I was hoping for that day to come. I never expect anything, because Germany – unfortunately, but also, really luckily – have always had really-good goalkeepers, and I think that’s where it’s harder and it actually fulfils you even more when you get the opportunity to play, because you know you have a lot of good goalkeepers in front of you, behind you.

“I would definitely say it was more hoping to play for Germany at some point, instead of ‘yeah, I will.’”

After the faith invested in her by interim coach Horst Hrubesch, post-Olympic arrival Christian Wück has followed suit. Ahead of EURO 2025’s big kick-off on Wednesday (2nd July), the 2022 runners-up are looking a predatory proposition; could a Germany team that doesn’t start out as a tournament favourite be even more dangerous?

Their form has been imperious this year, winning the last five, with 4-0 and 6-0 thrashings of the Netherlands and Austria to reach October’s UEFA Nations League semi-final (to be played v France). Ann will face new Gotham teammate Josefine Hasbo’s Denmark in the group, either side of games with Poland and Sweden.

Our conversation turns to the increased competition level at the top of international football during the past decade or so, and whether that means it would be simplistic to suggest that anything less than a Germany triumph should be considered failure. She answers with characteristic calm when asked what she believes the expectation from observers back home is.

“To be really neutral, I really don’t care what the media is saying, because at the end of the day, it’s me and my team that are on the pitch, and we know what we can achieve. Yes, I’m sure we have the team to win the Euros, because we saw in the Olympics no one was actually expecting anything from us, especially because a lot of players got injured and everything.

“So, I really don’t care about the media and what they say, and it’s a good thing, because I’m in America, so I don’t read any German newspapers. And if I get asked the question, I’m like, ‘Well, I know what my team can do, and then we will see where we land.’”

A career’s list of noteworthy penalty scalps should ensure that few will relish the possibility of facing an unnervingly-still, five-foot-11 figure standing with hands behind her back, waiting for the moment to pounce. Plus, she is pretty formidable in open play.

Now that’s extra.

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Published by Christian Brookes