Ramona Bachmann

Ramona Bachmann (born 25 December 1990) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a forward for French Division 1 Féminine club Paris Saint-Germain and the Switzerland national team.

Ramona Bachmann
Bachmann in April 2013
Personal information
Full name Ramona Bachmann
Date of birth (1990-12-25) 25 December 1990
Place of birth Malters, Switzerland
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Paris Saint-Germain
Number 7
Youth career
1997–2006 FC Malters
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 LUwin.ch
2007–2009 Umeå 50 (27)
2010 Atlanta Beat 10 (1)
2011 Umeå 21 (13)
2012–2015 Rosengård 74 (45)
2015–2016 Wolfsburg 24 (5)
2017–2020 Chelsea 48 (7)
2020– Paris Saint-Germain 1 (0)
National team‡
2007– Switzerland 111 (50)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 September 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 December 2020

Bachmann, who is from Malters, moved to Sweden aged 16 and played for Umeå IK for four seasons from 2007 until 2011. She spent the 2010 season playing in the United States for Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) club Atlanta Beat. Ahead of the 2012 season she left Umeå and signed a contract with LdB FC Malmö. She went to German Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg in the summer of 2015.

Since making her debut for the Switzerland women's national football team in June 2007, Bachmann has won over 50 caps. She made her reputation with Switzerland's youth national teams, playing at the 2006 and 2010 editions of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and being named UEFA's Golden Player at the 2009 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. At senior level Bachmann helped Switzerland qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time in 2015. A persistent back injury hampered Bachmann's progress during the early part of her career.

Club career

Starting her career in FC Malters before moving to SC Luwin, she then rejected offers from both Germany and USA to sign for Swedish club Umeå IK in Damallsvenskan at the age of 16 in 2007.[1] Following Marta's departure from the club in 2009, Bachmann became a key player at Umeå. She was voted Swiss female Player of the Year in 2009.[2]

In 2010, Bachmann joined new Women's Professional Soccer expansion team Atlanta Beat as their No. 1 pick in the 2009 WPS International Draft.[3] After an injury-hit season in the professional WPS, and after her contract with the Atlanta Beat was not renewed, Bachmann rejected offers from Germany, England and the United States to return to Umeå for the 2011 season.[4]

She was named the best player of the 2011 season, and subsequently moved to defending champion LdB Malmö.[5] Playing alongside Marta, Mittag and others, she slowly turned into one of the best footballers in the world. She won the Damallsvenskan in her last season with LdB Malmö.

On 26 August 2015 it was announced that Bachmann had joined German side VfL Wolfsburg for a contract that will last until 2018.[6] She was chosen Swiss Player of the Year for a second time in 2015. In December 2016, London-based FA WSL club Chelsea announced that Bachmann had agreed to join them when the transfer window opened the following month.[7]

In 2018, on 5 May, Bachmann scored twice, including the winning goal, in the Women's FA Cup final against Arsenal, a game which ended 3–1 to Bachmann's team, Chelsea.[8] She was named the Player of the Match by commentator Sue Smith.

On 3 July 2020, French club Paris Saint-Germain announced the signing of Bachmann on a two-year deal.[9]

International career
Ramona Bachmann playing for Switzerland, October 2012

Bachmann played for Switzerland in the 2006 and 2010 editions of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[10] During the latter tournament she was hampered by a back injury.[10] At the 2009 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship in Belarus, Bachmann won the UEFA.com Golden Player award.[11]

Bachmann made her debut for the Swiss senior team against Sweden in June 2007, while only being 16 years of age .[12] In September 2010 Bachmann scored in Switzerland's 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying defeat against England, but was criticised for her play acting that led to the dismissal of England goalkeeper Rachel Brown.[13] Bachmann admitted there was no foul and apologised for her actions,[14] while Brown's red card was rescinded on appeal.[15]

Bachmann was ruled out of the following play-offs against Denmark due to her persistent back pain.[16]

Bachmann's biggest achievement so far was the qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, in Canada. Switzerland had never before qualified for a World Cup. After winning their home game against Malta, the team was sitting in front of the TV watching the game between Denmark and Iceland. If it ended in a draw, the Swiss would secure the group's victory. As said by herself: "When it ended in a draw and it was certain we had won the group, we started dancing on the tables."[17]

During the World cup, Switzerland reached the round of 16, with Bachmann scoring three times, all in a 10–1 victory over hapless Ecuador. The Swiss were edged out by hosts Canada, due to one goal by Josée Bélanger, just after the half-time break. After the World Cup, there were multiple clubs interested in the 24-year-old Bachmann, and she chose VfL Wolfsburg.[18]

Honours

Umeå IK

FC Rosengård

VfL Wolfsburg

Chelsea

Personal life

Bachmann came out as lesbian during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada.[19] She has been in a relationship with fellow Swiss national team footballer Alisha Lehmann, who moved to London to play for West Ham United.[20] Their national team coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg explained: "The situation is not exceptional in women's football".[21]

References
  1. "Ramona Bachmann väljer UIK!" (in Swedish). UIK.se. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  2. "Diego and Ramona: Switzerland's Best Footballers". Credit-suisse.com. 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  3. "Ramona Bachmann". Women's Professional Soccer. Archived from the original on 12 August 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  4. "Bachmann tillbaka i UIK" (in Swedish). SVT.se. 29 November 2010. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  5. "Schweizerischer Fussballverband - SFV".
  6. "Wolfsburg verpflichtet Ramona Bachmann" (in German). 26 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  7. "Ladies sign Swiss star". Chelsea F.C. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  8. "Dream Come True for Ramona Bachmann". 5 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  9. "Ramona Bachmann s'engage avec le Paris Saint-Germain". Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  10. "Back problem a curse for Bachmann". FIFA.com. 19 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  11. "2009: Ramona Bachmann". UEFA. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  12. "Portrait". Football.ch. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  13. Tony Leighton (17 September 2010). "England coach Hope Powell criticises Swiss 'diving'". BBC. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  14. "Sorry Rachel. Sorry England". RamonaBachmann.ch. 18 September 2010. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  15. "Rachel Brown wins appeal over England red card". BBC. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  16. "Frauennati ohne Ramona Bachmann" (in German). Zisch. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  17. "Ramona Bachmann: "Like Living in a Dream World"". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  18. FIFA.com. "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ - Matches - Canada-Switzerland - FIFA.com". FIFA.com.
  19. "Swiss football star comes out as gay". Gay Star News. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  20. Santschi, Stephan (9 October 2018). "Alisha Lehmann and Ramona Bachmann: inspired by love". Aargauer Zeitung. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  21. "Bachmann und Lehmann im Sturm der Liebe" (in German). Schweizer Illustrierte. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.