Doris Fitschen (25 October 1968 – 15 March 2025) was a German

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Together with Martina Voss and Silvia Neid, she is considered the most successful German women's footballer, having won seven national titles and six DFB trophies. Fitschen competed for Germany at the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Club career

Fitschen was born in Zeven. She signed for the

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Uni ...

(WUSA) ahead of the inaugural season in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. She was allocated to Philadelphia Charge and scored the team's first ever goal in a 2–0 win at San Diego Spirit on 22 April 2001. Despite missing the final part of the season with a career-ending wrist injury, Fitschen was named WUSA Defensive Player of the Year.

International career

Fitschen's senior debut for the West Germany national team came on 4 October 1986; in a 2–0 win over

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. She scored her first international goal in the same game after entering play as a substitute. Milbrett34

At the

1989 European Competition for Women's Football The 1989 European Competition for Women's Football took place in West Germany. It was won by Germany women's national football team, the hosts in a final against defending champions Norway women's national football team, Norway. Again, the compet ...

, Fitschen was an important part of the team who claimed West Germany's first major trophy. UEFA named her the tournament's Golden Player. Following her retirement Fitschen received a special achievement award from UEFA, for her outstanding contribution to women's football.

Personal life and death

Fitschen lived together with her partner and had with her one child. On 16 March 2025, Fitschen died after a long and serious illness. She was 56.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list West Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fitschen goal.''

Honours

TSV Siegen *

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

: 1993–94, 1995–96 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

: 1992–93 1. FFC Frankfurt * Bundesliga: 1998–99, 2000–01 * DFB-Pokal: 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01 * DFB-Hallenpokal: 1997, 1998, 1999 Germany * UEFA Women's Championship:

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Football at the Summer Olympics Association football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA World Cup tournament). Women's football was added to the offic ...

: Bronze medal

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Individual * UEFA Women's Championship: Golden Player

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

: All-Star Team

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

References

External links

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Profile
at

1968 births 2025 deaths People from Rotenburg (district) Footballers from Lower Saxony German women's footballers Germany women's international footballers Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Frauen-Bundesliga players FIFA Women's Century Club Olympic medalists in football 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Eintracht Frankfurt (women) players TSV Siegen players Philadelphia Charge players Women's United Soccer Association players German expatriate women's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Olympic footballers for Germany UEFA Women's Championship–winning players Women's association football defenders West German women's footballers German lesbian sportswomen 20th-century German LGBTQ people 21st-century German LGBTQ people German LGBTQ footballers {{Germany-women-footy-bio-stub