With 253 Bundesliga appearances to her name, Turid Knaak is one of the most experienced players in German women’s football – but that number will not increase by more than two matches now. The 31-year-old attacker will end her playing career on 30 June 2022 in order to devote herself to new professional challenges. Knaak moved to Lower Saxony from Atletico Madrid at the start of this season and has made 15 appearances in the green and white shirt in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga, as well as featuring three times in the DFB Cup and seven times in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
UEFA Cup winner
Knaak won the UEFA Women’s Cup with FCR 2001 Duisburg in 2009 and made her debut for the senior Germany team in April 2018, going on to collect 16 caps for her country. Before that, she won the U17 European Championship in 2008 and the U20 World Cup in Germany in 2010.
“Explore new avenues”
“After 15 years of professional football, it’s my wish to explore new avenues professionally,” explained Knaak. “I didn’t take this decision lightly as football has been my biggest passion for as long as I can remember, and always will be. Now I want to bring an excellent season with VfL to a successful conclusion and win the two titles that we still can.”
“End with trophies”
Ralf Kellermann, VfL Women sporting director, said: “Turid came to us a few weeks ago with the request to end her career in the summer and focus on new goals in her career going forward. From a sporting point of view, we regret this very much as she was firmly in our plans beyond this season. Turid can look back with pride on a long and successful career. Now we’ll do everything we can together to make sure that Turid’s career ends with trophies to add to the titles she won at the start of it with Duisburg.”
