 Oberdorf withGermany in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lena Sophie Oberdorf[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2001-12-19)19 December 2001 (age 24)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Gevelsberg, Germany | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bayern Munich | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| TuS Ennepetal | |||
| TSG Sprockhövel | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2020 | SGS Essen | 36 | (12) |
| 2020–2024 | VfL Wolfsburg | 71 | (17) |
| 2024– | Bayern Munich | 5 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2016 | Germany U15 | 12 | (6) |
| 2016 | Germany U16 | 4 | (3) |
| 2016–2017 | Germany U17 | 13 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Germany U19 | 6 | (3) |
| 2018 | Germany U20 | 4 | (1) |
| 2019– | Germany | 51 | (4) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:40, 27 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:29, 16 July 2024 (UTC) | |||
Lena Sophie Oberdorf (born 19 December 2001) is a German professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forBundesliga clubBayern Munich and theGermany national team.[2] A versatile player who can play in various positions ranging from centre-back, left-back, defensive midfielder, and central midfielder, Oberdorf is considered one of the most promising young talents inwomen's football.[3][4]
Oberdorf played on, and captained, boys' football teams in her youth. Oberdorf started football at TuS Ennepetal. As aD youth, she switched to TSG Sprockhövel, where she was on boys' teams until 2018.[5] She was the only girl in the German youth league she played in, as the captain ofTSG Sprockhövel.[6]
In November 2017, Oberdorf signed a three-year contract with Bundesliga clubSGS Essen, agreeing to join in the summer of 2018.[7]
She made her SGS debut on 9 September 2018 inDfB-Pokal second round againstSV Henstedt-Ulzburg, where she immediately scored two goals in a 14–0 win. Almost a week later, on 15 September 2018 (matchday 1), Oberdorf scored two more goals in a 4–0 away victory againstMSV Duisburg in theFrauen-Bundesliga.
Ahead of the 2020–21 season, Oberdorf moved toVfL Wolfsburg. She signed an initial three-year contract, which was extended in the summer of 2022 to 2025.[8][9]
Her first appearances came at the end of the COVID-delayed2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League, in which Wolfsburg lost 3–1 toLyon in the final. Oberdorf replacedSvenja Huth as a 61st minute substitute.
In Oberdorf's first full season with Wolfsburg, she won theDfB-Pokal, a trophy that Die Wölfinnen remarkably won on four consecutive occasions during her time at the club.
The following year, Lena featured in 17 of Wolfsburg's 22 league matches as they won the2021–22 Frauen-Bundesliga title. She also helped her side reach theChampions League semi-finals, where they were defeated byBarcelona.
Individually, Oberdorf's top performances for both club and country saw her place fourth in the2022 Ballon d'Or Féminin award and third in the2021–22UEFA Women's Player of the Year ranking.[10] Wolfsburg finished as runners-up in the2022–23 UEFA Women's Champions League, with Oberdorf playing the whole final as her side lost 3–2 to Barcelona.
During her four-year spell with Wolfsburg, Oberdorf made over 100 appearances for the club in all competitions before a release clause in her contract was triggered.[11]
On 15 February 2024,Bayern Munich announced the signing of Oberdorf, starting from summer that year until 2028.[12] The reported transfer fee made Oberdorf the most expensive female German footballer in history.[13] Due to a severe cruciate and medial collateral ligament injury suffered whilst on international duty, Oberdorf was unable to make any appearances during the 2024–25 season.[14]
In August 2025, she played her first games with Bayern Munich in a series of friendly matches. Oberdorf made her official debut on 30 August 2025 in the 2025 DFB-Supercup Frauen against her former team,VfL Wolfsburg. The Bavarians won 4–2 and Oberdorf clinched her first title with Bayern.[15] On 6 September 2025, Oberdorf played her very first Bundesliga game for Bayern Munich, replacingGeorgia Stanway in the 81st minute of the 2–0 home win againstBayer Leverkusen.[16] She made her starting debut for Bayern a week later in the 3–0 win againstRB Leipzig, scoring two goals.[17] A month later, on 19 October, she sustained another cruciate ligament tear in her right knee in a match againstFC Köln, sidelining her for several months.[18]
Oberdorf made her national team debut on 28 October 2014 at the age of twelve. She came on forVerena Wieder in the 41st minute of the U-15 national team's 13–0 win against Scotland. Two days later, she scored her first goal in an 8–0 win over Scotland in another friendly.
In July 2016, she took part in the Nordic Cup with the U-16 national team and finished second behind Norway with the team.
Also in 2016, Oberdorf was the youngest player in the 21-player squad of theU17 national team for theWorld Cup in Jordan. She featured in two group games againstVenezuela andCameroon and againstSpain in the quarter-finals, scoring against Cameroon to make it 2–0 and against Spain to make it 2–1. In 2017 shequalified with the team for theEuropean Championship in the Czech Republic and won it after beating Spain 3–1 in the final on penalties. After the tournament, she was voted "Golden Player" byUEFA.
For theU19 national team, she played six games from September 2017 to April 2018 as part ofqualifying for the 2018 European Championship, but was already part of the squad in the summer of 2018 for the U20 national team and took part with this – again as the youngest German player – at theWorld Cup in France.
In December 2018, national coachMartina Voss-Tecklenburg called her up to the squad for thesenior national team for the winter training camp from 14 to 21 January 2019 in Marbella.[19] She made her debut on 6 April 2019 in Solna in a 2–1 win in a friendly againstSweden, replacingTurid Knaak in the 61st minute. At 17 years and 109 days she is the eighth youngest player to make her debut for the national team. She established herself as a starter for the national team.[20]
Voss-Tecklenburg called her back to the German team for the2019 World Cup. When she came on as a substitute in the first round match againstChina, she became the youngestGerman World Cup player at age 17 years, five months, and 20 days – a record thatBirgit Prinz had previously held.
She scored her first international goal on 3 September 2019 inLviv in the 8–0 victory overUkraine in the secondEuropean Championship qualifier in group I, with her goal making it 4–0 in the 54th minute.[21]
She played for Germany atEuro 2022, including the final on 31 July, in whichEngland won 2-1after extra-time. Oberdorf played in five of the team's six games, unable to play in the other game due to suspension because of a second yellow card.
Oberdorf was one of the stars of the Euros, producing strong, controlling displays and one assist from a defensive midfield role. After her fantastic showing, the 20-year-old was recognised as the Young Player of the Tournament and voted into the "Eleven of the Tournament" by the UEFA coaching staff.[22]
On 16 July 2024, she sustained a knee injury during a 4–0 victory overAustria in the last match of theUEFA Euro 2025 qualifying, which forced her to miss the2024 Summer Olympics.[23] She later missed theUEFA Women's Euro 2025 as a result of the same injury.[24]
Oberdorf's brotherTim Oberdorf, who is five years older, is also a footballer.[25] Her sister Julia Oberdorf, three years older, plays American football.[26] She was in a relationship with Kimberly Simmler until December 2023 and had spoken about the greater acceptance of same-sex couples in women's football compared to the men's game.[27][28][29] She is currently in a relationship with Bayern Munich teammate Natalia Padilla.[30]
| Club | Season | League | DFB Pokal | Continental[a] | Other[b] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| SGS Essen | 2018–19 | Frauen-Bundesliga | 16 | 9 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 18 | 11 | ||
| 2019–20 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 24 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 12 | 6 | 2 | – | – | 42 | 14 | ||||
| VfL Wolfsburg | 2019–20 | Frauen-Bundesliga | – | – | 3[c] | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | 28 | 12 | |||
| 2021–22 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 0 | – | 30 | 3 | |||
| 2022–23 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 29 | 3 | |||
| 2023–24 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 22 | 6 | |||
| Total | 71 | 17 | 16 | 6 | 25 | 1 | – | 112 | 24 | |||
| Bayern Munich | 2024–25 | Frauen-Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025–26 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | ||
| Total | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 112 | 32 | 23 | 8 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 162 | 41 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 2019 | 12 | 2 |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 6 | 1 | |
| Total | 51 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 September 2019 | Arena Lviv,Lviv, Ukraine |  Ukraine | 4–0 | 8–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying |
| 2 | 8 October 2019 | Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium,Thessaloniki, Greece |  Greece | 5–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying |
| 3 | 9 April 2022 | Bielefelder Alm,Bielefeld, Germany |  Portugal | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 9 April 2024 | Tivoli,Aachen, Germany |  Iceland | 3–1 | 3–1 | UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying |
VfL Wolfsburg
Bayern Munich
Germany U17
Germany
Individual
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