Two returnees, lots of powerful emotions: How Gwinn & Oberdorf experienced their comebacks

Giulia Gwinn and Lena Oberdorf were standing together just after the final whistle. For a moment, it seemed as though the football world was holding its breath. The 2–0 win over Mainz was in the bag, and the 2,500 spectators were streaming home. Gwinn and Oberdorf were laughing, delighted with the evening and, above all, with each other’s return. Two players, two injury layoffs, two journeys back. And now they'd played on the pitch together. It was as if they’d arranged to meet there, except that the journey to this reunion had taken quite a few months.

Picking up where she left off

The story of the evening begins with Giulia Gwinn. Head coach José Barcala put the 27-year-old straight back into the starting XI following her shoulder injury.
She’d picked it up on international duty in mid-April and undergone surgery in May. Since then, Gwinn had been forced to watch from the sidelines as her team won the Supercup and kicked off the new Bundesliga season. Now she was right back in the thick of things and, almost as if she wanted to put the finishing touch to her comeback, she also scored. In the 38th minute, Klara Bühl fired in a cross from the right-hand corner of the box towards the far post. Linda Dallmann slid in to meet the cross, played the ball across the face of the goal, and Gwinn came charging in. One foot, one touch, goal.

Gwinn was back in the very place she hadn’t been able to be for so long. “It’s just great to be back on the pitch with the girls,” she said later. After 64 minutes, her evening was over, when Barcala took her off. And seven minutes later, the FC Bayern Campus erupted once more.

The moment everyone had been waiting for

Lena Oberdorf stepped onto the pitch. After 316 days. The applause was not just for the player, but for the journey. Last October, the 24-year-old tore her cruciate ligament for the second time in just 15 months, and once again, she had to start from scratch: rehab, weight training, patience. A trio of elements that rarely makes the headlines in professional football, but underpins every comeback. Now she was back. When she came off the bench, she had tears in her eyes and had to take a moment to compose herself. “It’s absolutely wonderful to be back with the team and to be playing in a match where there’s something at stake. I’ve really missed it.” For most people, a football match begins with the kick-off. For Oberdorf, it had begun months earlier. In the gym, on the rehab bike, during those times when there’s no crowd to applaud.

The first few passes, the first few steps

When Oberdorf took to the pitch, it wasn’t about instantly becoming the old Lena again. It was about feeling confident. About the feeling that her body was cooperating again and wasn’t constantly blowing the whistle as an internal referee. “I just wanted to play a few passes without too much pressure to start with,” she explained. A pass. Then another. A tackle. “As the match went on, I gradually became a bit bolder.” Later, she made her first sliding tackle and had a go from distance. Small moments, certainly. But after such a long break, these moments can feel incredibly significant.

The other side of the bench

Gwinn watched it all from the touchline. She'd already made her own comeback and scored her goal. Now she sat on the bench and watched her teammate take the next step. Gwinn knows how long an injury lay-off can feel. She knows all about the rehab, the impatience. And those days when progress mainly consists of not falling behind. That’s why, after the match, she didn’t start by talking about her own goal, but about Oberdorf. About the hard work that nobody saw. “I’ve watched her day in, day out, seen how meticulous she was,” said the 27-year-old. “I really take my hat off to her. The utmost respect.” It doesn’t sound like a compliment between teammates. Rather, it sounds like the testimony of someone who has been through the same long tunnel and knows how few rays of light sometimes filter through.

Two matchdays in, the team have picked up the maximum six points. Perhaps even more important than this flawless record, however, is the fact that Barcala will once again be able to count on Gwinn and Oberdorf in the coming weeks. Their return is not just a story of overcoming injuries and personal struggles; it also changes the outlook on what lies ahead for the Munich side. The season has only just begun, the Champions League awaits, and the battle for the title will be long and gruelling. To tackle these challenges, the head coach now has two players at his disposal whose return means far more than just a boost in quality. It means experience, energy and the comforting realisation that even long absences do eventually come to an end.

The match report on the clash against Mainz: