Lena Oberdorf ahead of comeback: I've learned a lot about myself

After one year on the sidelines, Lena Oberdorf is fired up for her first appearances in FC Bayern colours. The 23-year-old told our club magazine ‘51’ about her long way back during a walk to the Allianz Arena.

Lena, how much are you looking forward to your Bundesliga comeback?
Lena Oberdorf: “Extremely! The last months felt long, but pre-season after my rehab helps me. Every training session reduces the risk of sustaining another injury. It was time and I thought: I finally want to go out on the pitch!” 

How much do you have to restrain yourself after a year on the sidelines?
“A little. I notice in training how impatient I am when my passes aren’t as good as usual, but I try to distance myself as much as possible from the expectations – my own and those of others. I have to give myself time to get back to my old level. That doesn’t happen overnight.”

Isn’t it hard to ignore these expectations? Everyone will be watching you when you make your comeback.
“Of course I want to win, help the team and make the coach proud. My ambition is to always give my best. But I’ve realised football is finite. It can be over all of a sudden, so I’ve vowed to enjoy football as best I can. Otherwise it’s no fun, and you don’t play well either.”

Do you remember the moment you sustained the injury? The 69^th minute in the Euro qualifier against Austria on 16 July 2024.

“I’ll never forget. I heard it crack, bone on bone, it was severe. I think Dunsti [Barbara Dunst] heard it too, she was my opponent at that moment. I have to ask her, she too plays for Bayern now. I knew immediately something bad had happened.”

You had surgery soon after it. How did rehab go?

“It was tough. Really tough. First I had crutches for six weeks. Then I was constantly in the gym, staring in the mirror and watching my knee bend. That time took a lot of strength, mentally too. It took months until I could run outside again. And when you finally start training with the team again, you’re still far from being able to play again.”

Sounds like a real test of patience.

“And I’ve never been patient. It was hell. Fortunately, I had many great people around me who made the time bearable. My family, my best friend Rena, the whole team had my back and supported me. Or Kathi Naschenweng, who was also injured and completed the entire rehab with me. On days when we said, oh no, not again, we motivated one another. We were lucky to have each other, we’ve become real friends.”

The return to team training is always a special moment.
“It was incredibly nice. I had missed being out on the pitch with the girls so much. I vowed I’d always look forward to training, even on bad days, including pre-season, when some sessions are quite exhausting.”

In the years before your injury, you had always been on an upward trend. The injury stopped you for a year, you missed the Olympic Games and the Euro. You could only watch FC Bayern win the double. How did that affect you?

“I quickly told myself maybe it had to be this way – so I could take a breather. I’ve been in the limelight since I was 16. I always dismissed it and joked about it. But if I’m honest, it was quite stressful. The weeks before the injury alone: missing out on the championship title with Wolfsburg, the transfer to Bayern, winning the DFB Cup with Wolfsburg against Bayern, the Olympic Games, the new season – there was no time to relax and everything was already mapped out. But then everything was gone immediately. Suddenly I had no plan.”

How did it feel to have no plan any more?
“I was completely overwhelmed at first. Even on holiday I’ve always found it difficult to deal with free time. Once it was calmer, I realised what had happened to me in the years before. I’d have never had this break without the injury. The work with our team psychologist Martin Walz helped me. Usually we never have time for such things.”

It was also a time for self-reflection. What have you learned about yourself?
“It was very interesting. With Martin, I reflected and analysed all the roles I have in life. I’m a footballer, daughter, sister, friend and so on. And I’m different in each role. As a footballer I’m aggressive on the pitch, I absolutely want to win then – I’m completely different in private, I’m calm, introverted, almost shy around people I don’t know. When we play Monopoly, I don’t really care who wins, the main thing is to have a good time.”

Have you rediscovered yourself over the last year?

“I’ve definitely learned a lot about myself. For example that I neglected many aspects of my personality over the years. I almost exclusively defined myself through football. But I’m not worth any less as a person if I played three bad passes in a match. I was completely fixated on performance. Football was work. Together with Martin, I was able to adjust my perspective – and now I can enjoy football again.”

Considering everything that has happened since your injury – was it a lost year?

“Not at all, as my tattoo here says: ‘good shit happens’. Because so many good things happened this year. But now it’s time to return to the pitch. I really can’t wait.”

Lena Oberdorf is set to make her Bundesliga debut for FC Bayern – in front of at least 40,000 fans!