Rottenberg ends Germany career
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
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Silke Rottenberg has announced her retirement from international football after winning three UEFA European Women's Championships with Germany
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Final cap
The 36-year-old goalkeeper will claim her 126th cap in Thursday's UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ qualifier against Wales in Kassel but has decided to make herself unavailable both for next summer's finals in Finland, for which holders Germany have booked a place, and for August's Olympic tournament in China. "This is not an easy step for me," said Rottenberg, who holds a coaching licence. "It hurts to say goodbye."
Honours
Rottenberg made her national-team debut in 1993. She kept goal when Germany won the 1997, 2001 and 2005 European titles as well as the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, and the 2000 and 2004 Olympic bronze medals. However, a knee ligament tear suffered in January 2007 proved costly as, although she returned for that September's World Cup in China, it was Nadine Angerer who was first choice for Germany's successful title defence. Rottenberg has remained her understudy ever since.
Club career
However, Rottenberg's club career is far from over. The 1994 and 1996 German champion with TSF Siegen, who went on to play for Sportfreunde Siegen, FFC Brauweiler Pulheim and FCR 2001 Duisburg, joined 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2006. After a league title last season, on Saturday she emerged triumphant in the UEFA Women's Cup for the first time, even if a toe injury forced her to sit out the second half of the 3-2 victory over Umeå IK that clinched a 4-3 aggregate win. Frankfurt are also duelling with Duisburg for the Frauen-Bundesliga crown and Rottenberg will continue to play for the club next season. Rottenberg said: "After tearing cruciate ligaments, I wanted to prove to myself that I could come back and did not want to end my career with an injury."
