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Stefanie van der Gragt is ending her professional football career after the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The 101 times international will then bid farewell to Orange and her club Internazionale to make way for new challenges. She becomes technical manager at AZ Women.
The Alkmaar club report that the 101-time Orange international will soon sign a three-year contract with the club which will return to the Premier League after twelve years. Van der Gragt (30) herself announced on Tuesday that she would end her football career after the World Cup next summer.
Van der Gragt, from Heerhugowaard, thus returns to the club with which she became national champion in the 2009-2010 season and won the cup a year later. After AZ, she played for Telstar, FC Twente, Ajax, Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona. With the latter club, she reached the Champions League final four years ago.
AZ will replace VV Alkmaar in the Eredivisie next season. ,,We made a very important move with the recruitment of Stefanie. Stefanie knows the world of football inside and out and has a global network. With her at the helm of AZ Women, we will build a successful period in our own way,” said Robert Eenhoorn, Managing Director of AZ. Earlier it was announced that Mark de Vries will become the manager and Veerle van der Most was the first player to be contracted for the next season.
Proud of her career
Van der Gragt made his debut for the Orange team on March 8, 2013 in the match between the Netherlands and Switzerland, which ended in a draw. She was a regular in the team that became European champion in her country in 2017 and second in the world in 2019 during the World Cup in France. Van der Gragt played his 100th international match in the match between the Netherlands and Germany on April 7 this year. She has scored 12 goals for Orange so far.
The defender is proud of her career: ,,After the summer, I can look back on a successful career in which I experienced everything I wanted to experience as a professional footballer. A fantastic trip! I will give everything to end the season well at Inter, but also to achieve a top performance with the Orange Lionesses. After the World Cup, it’s time for new challenges.
National Coach Andries Jonker: ,,Stefanie told us about her plans some time ago. This announcement is therefore not a surprise. Just over a week ago, at the milestone of her 100th international match, I congratulated her on her intransigence. This characterized her throughout her career. I am therefore convinced that she will give everything for her team until the very last minute of her active career.
World Cup schedule
At the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this year, the Orange Lionesses will meet defending champions USA in the group stage, which the Netherlands will play in New Zealand. Check out the full schedule for the Women’s World Cup, which runs from July 20 to August 20, here.
Columns Vivianne Miedema
Every month Vivianne Miedema writes a column for this site on what affects her in (inter)national women’s football. Read all of his columns here. The top scorer of the Orange Lionesses will not be present this summer at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand due to a serious knee injury.
Watch all of our Orange Lionesses videos here
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