On Wednesday, VfL Women player Tabea Sellner announced her retirement from football in the summer. In this interview, she talks about her decision, her time with the She-Wolves and future plans.
Tabea Sellner, there are just a few weeks left until your career ends at VfL Wolfsburg. How are you feeling? Are you already thinking a lot about it or is the focus more on the here and now?
Tabea Sellner: “It’s a mix. In training you’re fully there, having fun with the team and focusing completely on football. But in between that, there are obviously conversations in which you realise that there are only around 21 sessions left. I’m trying deliberately to enjoy it all and have fun. We’ll see how emotional it gets at the end.”
Was the decision to retire a long process?
Tabea: “Absolutely. I suddenly got this feeling in my gut, which kept resurfacing. Of course, I considered whether I want to go abroad or experience other things with my family and our little one. In the end, though, that gut feeling remained. I’m very proud of my career and never would’ve thought I’d get to experience so much. And I think it’s nice that I was able to make the decision myself. Now I’m looking forward to what life has in store me.”
Do you have any post-football plans that you’d like to share?
Tabea: “First we want to travel a bit and not jump straight from one project into the next. It’s important to me to have time to process everything and let it sink in. After that, we’d like to move closer to home and start a normal working life. I handed in my doctoral thesis a month ago – we’ll see what comes next.”
When you look back over your time with VfL, which moments linger particularly in the memory?
Tabea: “My first season here was pretty awesome – for all of us, I think. No one expected it to go so well. I didn’t think beforehand that I’d play so much. The match against Chelsea that we won 4-0 was a real highlight, and obviously the match againstBarcelona with a crowd of over 91,000. The league titles and cup wins were incredible too. The Fiorentina match, making my comeback after having a baby, was also special. Overall, I’ve seen it all – nice but also difficult periods. Both are part and parcel of football.”
And how about with the national team? Euro 2022 must have been a very special chapter.
Tabea: “Absolutely. That will stay with me forever. It was a special time. What we triggered then is still almost impossible to comprehend. We just played football and suddenly there was this massive hype. But also in general, the goosebumps you get when you hear the national anthem – that was a true privilege and something I’ll remember forever.”
