Celia Sasic: Three highlights from 2015 - FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
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When Celia Sasic decided to end her playing career at the age of 27, just days after the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™, there was no doubt that she had saved the best for last. She won the adidas Golden Boot at last summer’s spectacular finals in Canada despite only finishing fourth with Germany, just a few weeks after leading 1. FFC Frankfurt to UEFA Women’s Champions League glory and finishing the competition as top scorer – a feat she also managed in last season’s Bundesliga.
“I’ve decided to begin a new chapter in my life and call time on my professional football career,” said the daughter of a Cameroonian father and French mother, who began her glittering career under her maiden name of Celia Okoyino da Mbabi, in an announcement on her Facebook page on 16 July that left the world of football stunned. “I’m now looking forward to a range of new things in my life. I want to finish my studies, sort out my career path, start a family and much more.”
Nevertheless, the former striker has one final sporting appointment to keep. Having already been named the best player in both European and German women’s football this year, Sasic is now among the three shortlisted candidates for the title of FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2015. As she prepares to attend the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala at Zurich’s Kongresshaus on 11 January 2016 to discover whether she will take to the global footballing stage once again, FIFA.com looks back on her three biggest highlights from the past twelve months.
1. FFC Frankfurt – Paris Saint-Germain: On the road to victory
14 May 2015
Having already scored 13 UEFA Women’s Champions League goals to help guide one of Germany’s leading clubs to the European final, Sasic netted a masterful header against their ambitious French rivals to give her team the lead in front of a sell-out crowd of 17,147 at Berlin’s Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn Sportpark. “None of us at Frankfurt will ever forget that,” former team-mate Dzsenifer Marozsan told FIFA.com in an interview a few days ago. While FFC ultimately defeated PSG 2-1 thanks to a last-gasp strike from substitute Mandy Islacker, Sasic’s impressive performances throughout the competition made her the figurehead for Frankfurt’s fourth victory in Europe’s biggest club competition.
Germany – Côte d’Ivoire: Making an immediate impression
7 June 2015
In inimitable style, Sasic wasted no time in proving she could be relied upon in the first half of Germany’s opening match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada. The formidable striker took exactly 28 minutes to score a hat-trick against the Côte d’Ivoire between the third and 31st minutes, paving the way for the two-time world champions to record a resounding 10-0 victory. Sasic demonstrated the full extent of her talent by scoring first with her foot and then with her head, netting her country’s first two goals at the tournament to once again reinforce her crucial role within the team. The performance also left Germany’s rivals in no doubt that Frankfurt’s star player had arrived in North America in top form, ready to take her place among the very best in the world.
Germany – France: Match-winner in an unforgettable duel
26 June 2015
Sasic left her mark once again during the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter-final between Germany and France in Montreal, undoubtedly one of the most exciting and skilful matches of last summer’s finals. First the world-class striker held her nerve to cancel out Louisa Necib’s opener with a coolly converted spot-kick six minutes from the end of normal time. During the resulting penalty shoot-out – and with the clocks in Germany already striking midnight to mark the start of her 27th birthday – Sasic was flawless from the spot once more, firing the ball past France goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi and striking exactly the same part of the net as she had around 45 minutes earlier.
Germany coach Silvia Neid must have been thinking of this performance as she reacted to Sasic’s retirement announcement, noting: “We won important games because of her; she took on responsibility and fulfilled her role as a leader perfectly.”
“It’s a remarkable decision by a remarkable woman,” Frankfurt general manager Siegfried Dietrich added in tribute to a player who has always maintained that she would have happily swapped her individual awards for team success with Germany at the Women’s World Cup in Canada. Typical Celia!