On the lawn and in the stands and above all in social media: Giulia Gwinn and her parents are probably the best-known German family at the European Football Championship in England. The number of followers for the FC Bayern Munich right-back has continued to grow during the tournament and has now exceeded 330,000.
While the 23-year-old is in the semifinals with the DFB women, her parents are real eye-catchers in the stands with their black, red and gold wigs.
Gabi and Florian Gwinn from Friedrichshafen live in a camper during the tournament and jet to the games of their increasingly well-known daughter on a Vespa. “They used their annual leave after the tournament again. It’s just super nice,” said Giulia Gwinn in the “Sportschau” interview.
“I always recognize them with the wigs right in the stands and I’m happy. It’s great that they’re always with me, no matter which country I’m drawn to.”
Not only mom and dad can watch the youngest of their four children play a strong EM. Gwinn is always one of the most willing to run in the team of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, strong in one-on-one combat, and usually knows how to find playful solutions, even when under pressure.
Her parents found out about her stubbornness early on: “Giuli used to be a really sweet little girl. I couldn’t imagine at all that she would play football in the club,” said Gabi Gwinn.
At 16, Giulia Gwinn went to the SC Freiburg boarding school, and in 2019 she moved to Bayern Munich. At the World Cup in France, she was voted “Best Young Player”. In 2020, Gwinn suffered a cruciate ligament tear, a major turning point in her career.
“With the three years and the injury, I have taken important steps in my development. I grew from that,” she said. “I can give the team a certain security now, but I had to find my way into this role after the injury.”
Now Gwinn is an integral part of the defense that has not yet conceded a single goal at the European Championship. She has a “really good chain” behind her, praised defensive midfielder Lena Oberdorf after the 2-0 quarter-final win against Austria.
In addition to Gwinn, her former Bayern club colleague Marina Hegering (future VfL Wolfsburg) as well as Kathrin Hendrich and Felicitas Rauch (also from the German champions) are also part of it.
Gwinn has long since routinely answered questions about her popularity on Instagram at the EM. “Social media is a super side thing, the recognition is nice and the World Cup was a can opener for it. But you want to keep your focus on football,” she said. “Nevertheless, the range is nice and you can use it for certain things. I think in women’s football it’s a good thing to earn some extra money, but for me it’s a minor thing.”
Even her partner has now come into focus: Constantin Frommann (last SV Meppen) is a soccer goalkeeper. “Gwinn friend is looking for a new job,” headlined “Bild”.
