German great Janne Müller-Wieland will remain a Die Danas ‘super fan’ after she ended her superb career on a high with the national indoor team.
Müller-Wieland, 36, finished her international career after Germany beat the Netherlands in a thrilling 5-4 match to win the EuroHockey indoor title.
“It was a rollercoaster but that is the kind of final you want to play, right?” said Müller-Wieland in her final 343rd combined international.
“In any other year this would’ve been a ‘we are European Champions’ post! But this time it’s also a bye bye post,” she wrote on LinkedIn recently.
“Just over a week ago I had the privilege to play one last tournament with my girls in my home town. We called it a week holiday with friends and topped it off with winning the trophy.
“To play my last game, in front of family and friends with a group of friends and to win the final in an unreal atmosphere was extra special and something I will never forget.”
“I always just enjoyed the journey, enjoyed finding the next one per cent, enjoyed chasing the goals we had as a team each year. To me it was never just about my game on the pitch, but also about doing more for (especially women’s) hockey in Germany, about finding ways for our team to play up to our full potential, about leaving the shirt in a better place.
“I will be forever grateful for all the unbelievable experiences (highs & lows), the wonderful people I met and the privilege to have lived ‘this life’ for so long. I enjoyed every second of it.
Müller-Wieland won Olympic bronze at Rio 2016, EuroHockey silver in 2019 and was part of Germany’s gold-medal winning team at the Indoor World Cup in 2018.
In 2021, captain Müller-Wieland, then Germany’s most experienced current player, was surprisingly been left out of the Die Danas hockey squad for both the EuroHockey and the Tokyo Olympics.
She was set to compete in her fourth Olympics after being the youngest squad member at the Beijing 2008 Games.
For all that disappointment, the German remains one of the women’s games finest ever players.
She said: “It’s time to hang up my shirt for good now, but I know the current team will take it to an even better place and I’m excited to cheer them on as their super fan from the sidelines.”
