On Sunday, England's Georgia Stanway will recommence her first season playing in Germany's Frauen Bundesliga for FC Bayern Munich with a match away to former European Champions, Turbine Potsdam where she could go head-to-head with her former u20 World Cup team-mate Mollie Rouse.
In that tournament, played five years ago in France, Stanway starred as her country's top scorer with six goals as England finished third to win the bronze medal. Last summer, Stanway, alongside other members of that team - Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp - graduated to be integral members of the Lionesses squad who won the senior European Championship on home soil.
For Rouse however, who played alongside Stanway in England's games at the u20 World Cup in 2018, the path has not been so linear. After studying in the United States, she played in the English second tier before applying to appear in a televised talent show for women looking to kick-start their soccer careers. Last summer as Stanway became a European champion, Rouse made a surprise move to Turbine Potsdam, winners of the first edition of the re-branded UEFA Women's Champions League in 2010.
Speaking to me from Munich, Stanway told me she is looking forward to reacquainting herself with Rouse. "To be honest, I've not seen her in a long time because she obviously took the leap and played in America. I think she's doing well. In Germany, it's such a competitive league so hopefully she's enjoying it and finding her feet and getting comfortable. We spent a lot of time together in the youth age groups, playing against each other and obviously at the u20 World Cup in France when we were able to celebrate with each other after winning the third-place match. I'm looking forward to seeing her and maybe having a little German catch-up."
During 2022, Stanway was the top scoring midfield player in the world, finding the net on 26 occasions, as many times as her much-vaunted international team-mate Beth Mead, the top goalscorer and Player of the Tournament at the UEFA Women's Euro Finals. "It's a pretty cool stat, obviously," she tells me, "but winning is the most important thing. I'll do whatever I can to help the team out and give my best as an individual. I give my all towards the team, both on and off the ball, to put ourselves in the best possible position to win."
The tenacious Stanway has earned herself a reputation among rival fans as someone who picks up as many yellow cards as goals, with six bookings for FC Bayern already this season. She denies she is ever malicious but accepts it is part of her game she can work on. "I think it's just part of my competitive nature, I've always been used to playing with the boys - I've got brothers - I've been used to standing up for myself. In terms of the way that I play, that's part of my game. Sometimes I need to be a little bit smarter at times on tackles or the timing of things but that will come with more experience, more exposure."
Last month, Stanway traveled with FC Bayern to play a one-off friendly in Monterrey to seal a multi-year strategic partnership with their opponents on the night, Mexican champions, Tigres Feminil. In the same Estadio Universitario where England goalscoring legend Gary Lineker launched his career with a hat-trick in the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals, Stanway was named player of the match in a game witnessed by an attendance of 34,964, the largest crowd to ever watch a FC Bayern Frauen match and over 10,000 above the number who saw Lineker make his name there.
Despite initial misgivings among the team about flying so far for a friendly game in the middle of their winter break, Stanway told me the players loved the experience. "Going to Mexico was very cool. The Mexican culture, the football culture, is absolutely unbelievable."
"It's nice to be able to interact with different players that are experiencing different football. We spent some time with the Tigres girls, we played some golf together, we did some media together and they were opportunities where we could share stories and just be able to engage with them on more of a personal level. When it came to the game itself, the atmosphere was very special and both teams really enjoyed the experience."
Six months into her time in Bavaria, Stanway is also enjoying the experience of living in a new country. FC Bayern's Norwegian coach Alexander Straus is new to the club as well and the pair share a common language which has eased any linguistic barriers. "Our coach, coaches in English", explains Stanway. "We're more of an English-speaking based club, at the moment. We've got many different internationals who also speak English."
"The Germans are also really good at speaking English as well. We're kind of English-speaking at the moment which is making it a little more difficult when I'm trying to the learn in the language. When I speak in German, everyone laughs. Hopefully we'll get to a point where everybody's speaking German."
After signing a three-year contract with FC Bayern, the 24-year-old Stanway admits she does not know if she will one day return to play for in the Women's Super League where she made her name with Manchester City. "It's probably too early to tell, I really enjoyed my time at City, and England's my home, so never say never. So far, these six months at Bayern have been unbelievable. I'm here to play for Bayern and I want to lift trophies with them. This is a team of special people, special staff. It's a special place and we've got the right people here to be able to get some silverware."
