The left foot that defined an era: How Carolin Simon shaped FCB Women

If you look at FC Bayern Women’s line-ups over the last seven years, one constant sticks out on the left side: the number 30, Carolin Simon. She’s much more than just a shirt number, though. Simon made over 160 competitive appearances in the red and white – always reliable, resilient and high-quality. Her influence wasn’t restricted to the white lines, though. With her experience and her personality, she also shaped what grew off the pitch: a team who drew closer together, who matured – and helped make the club what it is today.

When she came to Munich in 2019, a lot of things were still in progress: the Campus was only a few years old, the stands often half-empty, the team on the search for a clear identity. Simon would’ve had her pick as a Champions League winner with high-flying Lyon – and yet she chose the project in Munich.

📸 A selection of the best moments from Caro Simon’s stint at FC Bayern:

Become a Bavarian

What followed the move was no unremarkable career in the background, but one with a clear impact. Her left foot became notorious in the league: for deft crosses, textbook free kicks and long balls that arched over the pitch, almost defying physics. But Simon was never just her left foot. It was the attitude that she drew out of others. A good mood that never seemed forced. A presence that carried the team without pushing itself into the spotlight.

She was not a leader in the classic sense, who speaks up incessantly and loudly. She was one who led by example, by her actions. “I lived and felt the ‘Mia san mia’,” she says herself. You don’t doubt her for one second.

As well as Simon, Georgia Stanway & Mala Grohs are leaving FCB Women at the end of the season: 

She was part of the Munich side for seven years, a time that’s longer in football than elsewhere. A period in which she played an instrumental role in the evolution from a team who had the ambition but still needed to take the next steps, to one that plays highlight fixtures at the Allianz Arena and attracts hundreds of fans to away games. Simon was always there. In the moments that smell like confetti, and in the ones that demand character.

“It’s always easy to stick together in the good times, but we also did that in the challenging times,” she describes. The track record backs that up: five Bundesliga titles, two cup wins, two Supercup successes – and the foundation for a new era. Things like that don’t just happen by accident.

A lasting contribution

The left-back contributed to the success in a way that quickly commanded respect in the league – and instilled fear in her opponents. The left side belonged to her, she made that unmistakeably clear. There can’t have been many players during this time who weren’t frustrated by Simon. Yet her qualities extended far beyond defensive duels. She also affected the attacking play, opening up spaces before others even recognised them, and sending crosses into the penalty area that were so precise they made the goalscorers’ job easy.

Now she’s leaving, but it’s only a departure on paper. Because what Caro leaves behind to this club, this team and this city will remain. Her name will be missing from the line-ups, but a piece of her will live on in this team now – on and off the pitch. “The journey isn’t over yet,” she says in closing. She’s right. Not for the club, and certainly not for her.

FC Bayern Women were honoured at Munich Town Hall on Wednesday afternoon: