Kerstin Garefrekes


Kerstin Garefrekes is a German footballer. She plays as a midfielder or striker for 1. FFC Frankfurt.

Career

Club

Garefrekes began her career in 1986 at her local football club Grün-Weiß Steinbeck, before joining DJK Arminia Ibbenbüren. In 1998, she moved to the newly founded Bundesliga side FFC Heike Rheine. Garefrekes was relegated to the second division with Heike Rheine in 1999, but achieved immediate promotion back to the Bundesliga the following season. With 26 goals, she won the 2003–04 Bundesliga top-scorer award.
In 2004, Garefrekes transferred to 1. FFC Frankfurt, where she claimed several major titles. She won the Bundesliga trophy and the German Cup title three times each. During the 2005–06 and 2007–08 seasons, Garefrekes also won the UEFA Women's Cup at Frankfurt.
Following the departure of Nadine Angerer from Frankfurt, Garefrekes became the new captain of her squad.

International

Garefrekes made her debut for German national team in November 2001 in against the Netherlands. Two years later, she won her first major international title at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. She was an important player for the team, starting in five of the team's six matches and scoring four goals. Garefrekes scored Germany's first and ultimately decisive goal in the semi-final win over the United States. She went on to win the bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the title at the 2005 European Championship. In qualifying for the UEFA Women's Euro 2009, she scored a number of goals, including a hat-trick in Germany's 7–0 defeat of Switzerland.
During Germany's successful title defence at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, Garefrekes was part of the team's starting line-up in all of the six matches. She scored twice, including the opener in the quarter-final victory against North Korea. Garefrekes again claimed bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won the European Championship for a second time in 2009. She has been called up for Germany's 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup squad. A few months before the start of the World Cup, she scored a hat trick in a friendly match against Nigeria. Following the tournament she retired from international play.

Honours

Club

;1. FFC Frankfurt