Looking back on Ali Krieger’s history-making European career

MIAMI, Florida – Legends are born to change the game everywhere they go, which fully describes United States defender Ali Krieger, who after more than a decade of success on and off the pitch, announced that she is hanging the boots from professional football after this season.

Krieger’s name is associated with two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles (Canada 2015, France 2019); however, she also made a name for herself overseas at club level. In 2007, she flew to Germany to become a key player for FFC Frankfurt, now known as Eintracht Frankfurt, playing there until 2013.

Playing in Germany, Krieger collected a lot of silverware, including becoming Frauen Bundesliga champion and lifting the Frauen DFB–Pokal. She also wrote some history while in Frankfurt, as she became the first U.S. player, alongside teammate Gina Lewandowski, to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League, formerly known as UEFA Women's Cup.

She kept learning and developing her game in one of the most physical and competitive leagues around the world, elevating her defensive skills that helped her compete in her future clubs and with the USWNT to reach excellence in any scenario.

Krieger had a second run in European football in 2013. After leaving Frankfurt and joining the newly-formed NWSL, she joined Sweden’s Tyreso FF after the regular season, putting into action her talent once again in the Swedish league and the UWCL. She left the club at the end of the year to play once again in the U.S.

With one of the most decorated international careers, Krieger is now playing her last professional season in the NWSL with NJ/NY Gotham, a team in which she keeps writing new chapters, as she has led them to win their first ever NWSL playoffs, and will belooking to win her first NWSL Championship later this year.