Inka's trail to glory

By Federico Rocha and Pete Sanderson in Preston

With all the talk surrounding her fellow forward Birgit Prinz during the build-up to UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™, Inka Grings was happy to take a back seat as Germany prepared for another tilt at the UEFA European Women's Championship.

Injury prone
Since the tournament began, however, it has been Grings who has hogged the headlines, hitting three goals to top the scoring charts and producing the kind of displays she would have dreamt of while battling to save her career. The attention has been a refreshing change for the talented striker, who has not had the greatest luck during a career in which she has spent almost as much time on the treatment table as on the pitch.

'Extra confidence'
"It is my first tournament for ages because I have had countless injuries in the past," Grings told uefa.com. "It is fantastic to have made such an impact in the last two games and that has provided me with extra motivation and confidence. Hopefully I can continue where I left off in the final."

Thigh injury
The 26-year-old, who seems to have finally shed her injury curse, has accumulated more than 50 caps, boasting an impressive strike rate since making her debut against Finland in 1996. After being left out of the party for the 1997 European Championship, a thigh problem forced her to miss the FIFA Women's World Cup triumph six years later. But Grings showed she has become an invaluable part of the Germany set-up, scoring twice and earning the player of the match accolade in the 4-1 semi-final victory over Finland.

Attacking football
"We put our hearts into the game against Finland," she said. "We always want to reach the final of every tournament we play and once we are in the final we obviously want to lift the trophy. We never expected to be in total command of the match so soon and therefore you can definitely say the first 15 minutes decided the match. We played excellent attacking football early on and got the goals to show for it."

'Motivation to win'
As well as racking up goals, the FCR 2001 Duisburg attacker is also looking to add more silverware to her trophy cabinet when Germany take on Norway at Ewood Park. "It would mean everything to me if we won," said Grings. "You simply can't win enough titles and that desire provides each and every one of us with the drive and motivation to add another title to our collection." On Sunday, she will learn if that motivation ïs enough to catapult Germany to glory.