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Doris Fitschen
*25 October 1968, Zeven
† 15 March 2025
Clubs as a player:
1988–1992 VfR Eintracht Wolfsburg
1992–1996 TSV Siegen
1996–2001 1. FFC Frankfurt
2001 Philadelphia Charge
Club:
German Champion: 1994, 1996, 1999
; DFB Cup winner: 1993, 1999, 2000
National team:
144 appearances (16 goals)
European champion: 1989, 1991, 1997, 2001
Olympic bronze medallist: 2000
Most comparisons with men’s football do not do women justice. However, in order to pay tribute to Doris Fitschen’s achievements, many observers felt they had no choice but to seek analogies. And in doing so, they reached for the very best: the player, who made 144 appearances for her country, was dubbed the ‘female Beckenbauer’ right at the start of her hugely successful career. There are worse comparisons. And more inaccurate ones. Fitschen and her male counterpart not only shared the libero position, but in many respects also the way in which they interpreted it – with a strikingly strong presence, outstanding positioning and a great attacking spirit. And both made their debuts for the national team at a young age.
Fitschen had not yet reached adulthood when she played her first international match and immediately made her mark as a goalscorer. From then on, she became an indispensable part of the elite women’s footballing circle. At the age of 20, wearing the number 5 shirt, she was one of the most prominent players at the 1989 European Championship, when the German national team won its first major title on home soil. Doris Fitschen thus became one of the great role models of German women’s football and played a key role in establishing the sport among the world’s best, with four further European Championship successes and the Olympic bronze medal in 2000.
Hall of Fame
The German Football Hall of Fame was established on the initiative of the German Football Museum. In November 2018 and January 2019, leading sports journalists voted to select the inaugural men’s and women’s teams. The jury members were asked to nominate their choice of players and managers from German men’s and women’s football. Players who were eligible to play for German national teams and whose playing careers had ended at least five years previously were eligible for nomination. The HALL OF FAME honours the greatest legends of German football in one central location for the first time. It forms part of the permanent exhibition at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. Opened on 1 April 2019, it has become a permanent place of pilgrimage for all football fans. The jury decides annually on further inductees from men’s and women’s football.
