Franzi Kett & the experiment that worked

The trophy is in her living room, where Franzi Kett has preserved the small piece of proof that the evening in November 2025 was a special one. She charged up and down the left wing in Paris, winning challenges, picking up the ball and posing a threat in attack. And after FC Bayern Women’s famous 3-1 victory against PSG, she was named ‘Player of the Match’. “Looking back, it was certainly a really cool game,” she says modestly but with a grin. “To then be honoured as Player of the Match made it a perfect night.”

On Tuesday, the Bavarian returns to the Parc des Princes with FCB (kick-off 21:00 CET). PSG again, Champions League again, the big stage again. Kett knows that a lot of hard work lies behind the spotlight. And hard work is something she’s never been afraid of.

Good luck taped up

Kett always wears bracelets on her left wrist. You don’t see them in matches: she covers them with tape. One is from her mother, another from her twin sister Hannah. The others come from Jana Kappes and Laua Gloning, two of her former teammates and still best friends. “I wear them all the time,” explains Kett. “They bring me luck. It’s nice to have the people who they come from with me in this way.”

So, good luck comes in the form of tape. It’s a cute detail, though not one that Kett herself needs to dwell on: she knows that football has less to do with sorcery and more to do with repetition, movement patterns and the next one-on-one duel. Sometimes, there are also long-term injuries along the way. And yet, there is something in those bracelets that cannot be trained – a piece of family, a piece of one’s roots, a piece of an early life in Bavaria.

Kett’s attachment to Bayern didn’t begin when she signed her first contract. Born in Deggendorf, Lower Bavaria, her first visit to the Allianz Arena was as a young child. Her sister, who studies in Munich, is also completing a work experience placement at the club. Hannah was looking for an opportunity, her twin sister helped and enquired at Bayern. There was a need, so Hannah introduced herself – and was hired. “It’s nice that she’s here too. And also kind of funny that we’re both now at FC Bayern, albeit in different roles.”

From Edenstetten to the mighty FC Bayern

Franzi’s journey to FCB started with a phone call. Nathalie Bischof, then coach of the reserve team, got in touch with her family and invited her for a trial. The now 22-year-old was playing for SpVgg GW Deggendorf, having previously represented her home village Edenstetten. She trained twice with the second string, then the matter was essentially decided. “I think I gave a pretty good account of myself.” The offer soon came – and for her too, the decision had already been made. “It had always been my dream to play here at FC Bayern.” The closeness to home was also an advantage – Munich was far enough to start a new chapter, but close enough to not have to leave the familiar behind.

In 2020, she joined FCB Women; starting in the youth team, she quickly rose up the ranks of the reserves and then the first team. In 2022, she penned her first professional contract. She’s been here ever since – and continued to develop.

A father on the sidelines, a new position on the field

At home, she had a coach by her side from an early age who knew her better than any tactics board: her father Uli. When Franzi was between 12 and 15 years old, he also coached her team. “Some would say: That’s not very cool,” she recalls. “But my dad taught me a lot. We did a lot of training together away from the pitch too, and that was always great fun. I think that also helped me to get to where I am now.”

At that time, the drills were mainly focused on attack. Kett played for a long time as a forward: on the left, facing the goal. For the Bayern reserves, too, she was almost exclusively deployed in attack. It was only when she was promoted to the first team and there was a lack of full-backs that a new opportunity arose, as then coach Alexander Straus tried her out in defence.

The experiment was carried out in Unterhaching in summer 2024: in a friendly against Juventus, Kett switched to the left-back position. Germany coach Christian Wück sat in the stands. He saw a player who didn’t lose herself in unfamiliar territory, but rather found her true home. Wück later told her that it was that match in particular that convinced him to call her up for the national team. “From that point on, I was a full-back to him.”

What started as a temporary solution took on a new direction. “It was certainly a bit unusual at first,” she acknowledges. “But I quickly got to grips with it because I interpreted the position in a very attacking way.” An experiment turned into a fixed position, and that position became a calling. Kett played for Germany at the 2025 European Championship in Switzerland. At the end of the tournament, UEFA named her in the Team of the Tournament. Wück’s foresight had proven to be spot on.

🔍 We take a closer look at opponents Paris Saint-Germain: 

By now, the former forward has established herself in her new position. “I wouldn’t play anywhere else now,” she says. “Klara’s always been on the wing, so there’d be no place for me anyway,” she laughs. So the move back didn’t lead Kett away from the goal, but closer to the place where she’s now at home – and to the national team.

José Barcala hailed Kett was one of the best players in her position in 2026, but her rise hasn’t always been dead straight. Kett has had her fair share of injury problems – shoulder, muscle and ankle injuries. Rehab became a season of its own, in which progress arrived more slowly than doubts. “For a few months, I certainly had thoughts of: if this doesn’t go away, I might have to retire,” she says. However, the difficult period still gave her something: more strength, a better feeling for her own body and the experience that a setback doesn’t have to be the end. “The rehab showed me that you should never give up. Even when things aren’t going your way, you can still pursue and achieve your goal.”

Paris waits – and the memories comes with

Last year at Paris’ Parc des Princes, Kett was up against speedy winger – a challenge she likes. “I like it when others take me on,” she says. Bayern fell behind but turned the game around and triumphed 3-1. “It’s hard to win there, we know that from recent years. We’ve played against Paris a lot.” It won’t be any easier on Tuesday. Both teams need the win if they’re to qualify directly for the Champions League quarter-finals. But for Kett, the French capital will also be a return to a night on which she not only conquered the Parc des Princes, but also made a little piece of personal history – with quick legs, a cool head and luck hidden underneath tape. And who knows, maybe she’ll add another one on Tuesday.