FC Bayern is mourning the loss of its championship-winning player Monika Schmidt. The prolific scorer, who netted 378 times in 520 appearances for FC Bayern, died last Sunday at the age of 71.
FC Bayern president Herbert Hainer: "FC Bayern is mourning the loss of Monika Schmidt and our thoughts are with her relatives. Characters like Monika Schmidt paved the way for women's football, and FC Bayern owes her a great debt of gratitude. She will always have a place in the history of our club."
Former teammate and long-serving department head Karin Danner: "Monika Schmidt was one of FC Bayern's defining players who will always remain in our hearts. 378 goals in 520 games speak for themselves - and yet by no means say everything about how important she was to women's football in Germany. I'm proud to have spent many years at her side."
Schmidt was a driving force when the FC Bayern Women's football department was established in 1970. She quickly became the tireless motor of the women's team and was the first woman to score 100 goals in an FCB jersey.
The midfielder's greatest success was winning the German championship in 1976, scoring in the final against Tennis Borussia Berlin (4-2 a.e.t.) to give FC Bayern a 2-1 lead. She reached the championship final four more times with Bayern (1975, 1979, 1982, 1985), and celebrated the Bavarian championship 15 times. After her playing career ended in 1986, Schmidt helped out a few more times as a player, was briefly coach of the reserves (1991) and continued to support the women's football department in an organisational capacity until 2019.