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Nia Künzer (born January 18, 1980) is a German women's soccer player. — She was born in Mochudi, Botswana as Nia Tsholofelo Künzer (her first and second name being Kiswahili for "bliss" and "hope"), where her parents were on a two year's tour with a development aid organization. She grew up in the Albert-Schweitzer-Kinderdorf (children's village) in Wetzlar-Garbenheim, alongside her brother and eight foster-children. After the Abitur she did a year of practical training in social work in a kindergarten for handicapped children. Presently (2004) she is a student in the field of educational theory in Gießen.
Having a history as a high jumper, and after being a member of soccer clubs Eintracht Wetzlar and VfB Gießen she has been with 1. FFC Frankfurt (1st Frankfurt Women's Soccer Club) since 1997. She's playing defense and midfield in the national league.
Her Golden Goal in the final match against Sweden made Germany the winner of the 2003 World Cup and was to become the first ever women's "Goal of the Year" in the history of German soccer. When together with her team-mates she stood on the balcony of the Frankfurter Römer, to be welcomed by thousands of fans, it also marked the end of German women's soccer long sleep of 30 years, with the news media taking more than marginal interest and the first major sponsors (e.g. Katjes Fassin) appearing on the scene.
She actively promotes the idea of women's soccer and helps in recruiting from the next generation of enthusiastic young girls.
During the winter of 2003/2004 she had to pause for several weeks due to one more cruciate ligament injury, which means she will not be available for the Olympic Games 2004 in Athens, Greece. After her successful operation on January 24, 2004 she is now biding her time while on several occasions freelancing as a TV sports commentator.
(Pictures of Ms Künzer courtesy SIDI-Sportmanagement, Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
External links
- Nia Künzer (http://www.nia-kuenzer.de/) (personal homepage)
- Deutscher Fußball-Bund (German Soccer Assn) (http://www.dfb.de/dfb-team/frauenmannschaft/team/e_kuenzer.html) (portrait Nia Künzer)
- FIFA Women's World Cup (http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/03/de/t/pl/191374.html) (portrait Nia Künzer, in German)
- The San Diego Union-Tribune (http://sandiegocitysearch.com/sports/soccer/20031013-9999_1s13wwcup.html) ("Heads-up Germany stuns Sweden" – October 13, 2003)
- Westdeutscher Rundfunk (http://www.wdr.de/cgi-bin/mkram?pnm://ras02.wdr.de/online/2003/sport/fussball/frauenfussball/ankunft_wm_fussballerinnen.rm) (audio in German: "Arrival in Frankfurt" – October 14, 2003)de:Nia Künzer