Kerl kommt aus Deutschland nach Berkshire
Maidenhead United Women are delighted to give a huge ‘Wilkommen’ to Alina Kerl, a young German midfielder who is already well travelled in both a footballing and educational sense!
23 year-old Alina – who describes her preferred position as “winger or central attacking midfielder” has already made quite an impression with the Magpies Development squad in just three competitive matches with the team so far. The weekend before last, Kerl opened the scoring as the Magpies Devs moved into the semi-final of the Berks & Bucks Women’s Sunday Trophy with a 6-2 victory at Holmer Green in only her second game. Alina keenly recalls: “It was quite early on in the game. I think Libs (Dieppe) crossed the ball and I ran to the edge of the box, where I like to be when we’re attacking the goal. I saw the ball bounce in front of me and just took the chance and hit it with my left foot. It turned out to be a pretty decent strike! It felt great to score my first goal for the team. Ryan’s (Robinson, Head Coach) speech in the changing room before the game was about remembering why we played football and my reasons for that were the first thing that came to mind when I scored, so I was just really thankful that I was able to be on the pitch and have moments like those.”
Reflecting on her journey so far, Alina went back to the very start and perhaps her signing with the Magpies was written in the stars: “My home town is Leiferde in Germany. But I was born in Goslar, which is a twin town of Maidenhead!” For such a young person, Alina has already crammed in plenty of life and football experience, as she continues: “I wanted to get to know another culture and had always liked the UK, so I started looking at Unis here. Also, combining football with Uni is a lot easier here, as in Germany there’s no system like BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport). Luckily I moved before Brexit, so Uni in Scotland was free for me. Otherwise I would never have been able to move here! I did my Bachelors Degree in Business Studies and Marketing at the University of Stirling and my Masters in Sports Marketing at Loughborough University, London, which I’m graduating from in December.” Since coming over to the UK, Alina has played her football for University of Stirling, Livingston and Cowdenbeath before coming south.
Alina – a fan of six-time German champions Hamburg, these days languishing in 2. Bundesliga, a fallow period for the club that she described as “depressing sometimes!” – has patiently awaited international clearance for her chance to shine in SL6. She recalls: “I actually heard about the summer trials on social media and already really liked the atmosphere when I came to trial. I was also trialling for a few other clubs at the time, but unfortunately I got injured and was out for basically all of preseason. Ed (Jackson-Norris, team manager) was a lot more understanding of the situation than the coaches at other clubs, which confirmed the positive feeling I had about the club from the beginning. When I came back to trial after pre-season, I felt very welcomed in both the first team and the devs, which made my decision to sign an easy one.” As for her footballing strengths, she modestly admits “my overview of the pitch is definitely one” before cautiously adding that “you’d probably have to ask my coaches for the most accurate answer.” Her reading of the game however certainly demonstrates that this promising German footballer is able to apply the intellect she displays in her studies on the football pitch as well.
Kerl in this instance is not so much a pioneer at Maidenhead United, who have also been fortunate enough to have boasted a German influence with the classy Annika Striepecke in the not-so-distant past. Coming from a nation whose men and women can boast six World Cups to England’s one, the Germans have a proud heritage of stylish footballers. Alina however rightfully wants to just be judged and recognised on her own merits, simply adding with palpable gratitude: “I enjoy playing with the girls a lot and I think we’ve got a team full of talented players, so I’m excited for the rest of the season.”
