Küver on injuries, facilities and respect for women's game

For most young footballers, being officially lauded as a "wonderkid" in the international media would be a welcome accolade, recognizing their talents and singling them out in a crowded scene.

But for Camilla Küver, making the top 10 in Goal.com's "NXGN 2022" list of emerging female talent actually came during the darkest moment of her fledgling career, when a cruciate ligament injury had put the breaks on her rapid progress.

On Sunday, however, a broad smile returned to the 19-year-old's face as she capped her return to Eintracht Frankfurt's starting XI for the first time in 11 months by rising highest to head her team into the lead against SGS Essen after just three minutes.

"It was a tough time being away from the team and the football field," Küver tells DW. "It's what I love doing and going to rehab every day was pretty tough.

"Perhaps the hardest thing for me was when I first returned to training with the team. That was the moment where I realized that things weren't quite the same as they were before.

"It takes time to get used to being on the field and feeling safe again and trusting your knee. I'm pleased I'm passed that now."

'I played football because I was having fun'

Prior to suffering the injury in November 2021, the versatile fullback had already staked her claim in Frankfurt's first team, aged only 17.

Despite enduring a COVID-ravaged, behind-closed-doors first taste of professional football, Küver announced herself in typical "wonderkid" style, scoring 60 seconds into her Bundesliga debut against SV Meppen in October 2020.

Becoming a mainstay of the team, the German under-20 defender played an equally important role in Frankfurt's run to the final of the 2020-21 German Cup, scoring the winning goal in the team's semifinal comeback victory over SC Freiburg.

The acceleration of Küver's importance at the back for Frankfurt took the defender herself by surprise, but made the sacrifices she'd had to make all the more worthwhile.

"I was definitely not expecting that it would go that fast," she recalls. "It took some time for me to realize that I was where I had always dreamt of being.

"I always wanted to be a professional football player, but I never felt like I needed to be one. I played football because I was having fun, and I just kept going.

"Eventually it led to me becoming a professional football player at a really young age, which I didn't realize at first.

"That really helped, because I could just play and not think about it too much. It meant a lot to me that I was given the trust that I could play at such a young age, starting almost every game was really special to me and was a lot of fun."

Coming back stronger

Despite her early success, Küver remained grounded before being dealt a sucker-punch in what should have been her first full season playing for Eintracht, as she twisted her knee out of place against Carl-Zeiss Jena last November.

It put an abrupt halt to the Hesse-born defender's fledging career; but she now reflects on the important lessons her injury taught her about her body.

Praising the rehabilitation center and those tasked with nursing her back to full fitness, Küver is hopeful her body is now better equipped to deal with the robustness of professional football.

"Perhaps the saying 'you come back stronger' might be true after all," she says. "At first I couldn't really imagine it, but having the time in the rehab and rebuilding my body has helped me for the future.

"I've learned to listen more to my body. When I wake up, I try to feel more inside to see if I'm still a little bit tired, if I'm a little bit sore, or if I need to focus on something specific.

"Just to see if I need any specific preparation before training so I feel better and safer. I hope by gaining muscle that I don't get injured that easily anymore."

'Respect is what I want for women's football'

The time away from the pitch also helped further focus Küver's mind on the steps Eintracht Frankfurt need to take to compete with current Bundesliga heavyweights VfL Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich.

Four games into the season, the Eagles are currently matching the league's two powerhouses, unbeaten and only two points behind leaders Wolfsburg. Not bad for a team currently training on a municipal pitch in the city center — a situation Küver says needs to change.

"Training grounds are a big issue in women's football in Germany," she tells DW. "We [Frankfurt] train in the city center on a training ground that belongs to the council.

"Wolfsburg and Bayern are ahead of the other teams, Bayern have extremely professional facilities at a very high level. That's what we want to aim for, that's where we want to be. But we can't be expected to improve if we train on uneven ground.

"Respect is what I want for women's football. We perform at such a high level, we train at such a high level, we give everything we have for what we love, so it's important that we get the respect we deserve."

Edited by: Matt Ford