After 15 years, three Bundesliga titles, one DFB Cup win and 303 appearances, FC Bayern is saying goodbye to Carina Wenninger. The central defender was loaned to AS Roma in the summer of 2022 at her own request and will not return to Munich after the season.
Successful and intense time
Wenninger completed a trial at FC Bayern at the age of 16 and then left her hometown of Graz for Munich. In her early days, the Austria international played alongside current FC Bayern Women's sporting director Bianca Rech at Sportpark Aschheim. For more than a decade, Wenninger helped shape her own development as well as the development of women's football at FC Bayern. Now 32, she can look back on 213 victories in her 303 competitive matches as well as four titles.
The Austrian recorded her first major success with FCB Women in 2012 as they beat the favoured 1. FFC Frankfurt in the final of the DFB Cup. Three years later, she won the Bundesliga, with Wenninger and Co. defending the title in 2016. In 2021, the defender again won the league with Bayern, her fourth title in Munich. Wenninger also made a significant contribution to Bayern's further development and success in the UEFA Women's Champions League. She has fond memories of the semi-final in Barcelona in 2019 despite the narrow 1-0 defeat, and the Austrian was also involved in FC Bayern Women's first appearance at the Allianz Arena in the UWCL match against Paris Saint-Germain in 2022. After 15 years in the Reds' jersey, FC Bayern complied with Wenninger's request to go on loan to AS Roma. Now the defender will continue on this new path and will not return to Munich in the summer.
Special relationship full of appreciation and gratitude
Karin Danner, head FC Bayern Women: "Carina is not only a long-standing and highly respected player with FCB Women, but also a great person with great character, who has always spoken out for FC Bayern and lived the values of the club. She has been a team player both on and off the pitch over all these years and is a great role model for young up-and-coming players. Carina Wenninger and FC Bayern - that was an intense and successful time that will never be forgotten."
Wenninger's farewell
Carina Wenninger: "Munich has become my second home and will always remain so. It's hard for me to put into words what a special role FC Bayern plays for me. But anyone who looks at the numbers will be able to understand that after 15 years in one city and in one club, you have built up a very special relationship. After spending half my life in Munich and with FC Bayern, it was my wish last summer to play for a top club abroad once again. The fact that FC Bayern allowed me to take this step despite my current contract is proof for me of our great relationship. In AS Roma, I've found a club where, despite maximum ambition for success, family values play a similarly important role as they do at FC Bayern. That's why I feel very much at home in Italy at the moment. And as is often the case when you take a step away from familiar surroundings, new horizons open up. In recent weeks, I've realised that I want to remember FC Bayern the way I did when I left. With all these thoughts in mind, I came to the decision not to return in the summer - as originally planned - but to continue on the path I've now taken and to be open to all the opportunities that are now opening up for me. One thing is clear: Without FC Bayern, all these opportunities would not have existed. That's another reason why I feel such great gratitude and appreciation for the people there and for the club as a whole. Without question, you will all see me again in Munich, as a former player who can say with great pride that she was part of this wonderful club."
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