She lifted ten trophies with VfL Wolfsburg as a player and is regarded as one of Europe’s most successful female footballers of all time. Now, Lara Dickenmann is returning to Elsterweg to become the She-Wolves’ youth director, a position she will assume on 1 August. A 135-time Switzerland international who won the Champions League twice with Olympique Lyon before moving to VfL, Dickenmann will be in charge of training and development in her new role.
Born in Zurich, the now 39-year-old won the Swiss Footballer of the Year award on eight occasions and made 123 appearances for the Green-and-Whites between 2015 and 2021. After retiring in 2021, Dickenmann worked as general manager of the Grasshopper Club Zurich women’s team up until 2024.
“Targeted development and sustainable improvement of youth work”
“I’m really pleased to be returning to my former club in a new capacity and would like to thank the VfL management for the trust they have placed in me,” said Dickenmann, whose first job will be getting to know the team and the structures in place at the club. “The great time I had here as a player shaped me as a person, which is why it feels like I’m coming home. I know the values and ambitions of the club and, in my new role, I want to contribute to the targeted development and sustainable improvement of our youth work in the women’s department. Together, we want to focus in particular on priming more talented youngsters for the professional game and introducing them to the first team one step at a time. It’s important to me that as a youth department, we not only promote talented players but also assume responsibility – for forging a path to the top of the game and beyond. VfL Wolfsburg is the right place for me because there are people working here with clear conviction and a clear vision on how to improve women’s football in the long term. I’m really looking forward to the new role, meeting lots of new people and seeing some familiar faces again.”
“Perfect appointment”
“Lara is not only an outstanding former player but one of the biggest figures in women’s football in Europe,” said Ralf Kellermann, director of women’s football at VfL Wolfsburg. “We’re incredibly pleased that we’ve been able to secure her services as youth director. With her experience as a player and general manager, her identity with VfL and her way of galvanising people for a particular cause, she’s the perfect appointment for this new leadership role. We’re convinced she’ll take our youth work at VfL Wolfsburg to a new level in the long run.”
