Lynn Rahel Gismann: "We can play a very good football"

In her first year with the Venezia FC jersey, German defender Lynn Rahel Gismann has already become one of the protagonists of Venezia FC Femminile's excellent start to the season, having also scored the decisive goal in the derby won 1-0 against Venezia 1985.

"As a child I started playing football with other boys and girls on a small field near my home in my hometown of Münster. When we grew up then we loved to watch the games all together, especially when there were Euro Cup or the World Cup. I always played many sports such as horseback riding, swimming and karate but soccer then became my priority.

I played with the boys until the age of 17 and I always liked it because the speed of the game is very high. Later I had to make a choice and landed at SV Meppen 1912, which was then playing in the German women's second division. I stayed there for six years, we won two promotions to the first division, and certainly when we won the championship it was a great thrill. In 2015, for half a season, I went to play in Argentina, it was a very enriching experience for me on a personal level. When you move to another country you discover new cultures, new ways of living and interpreting soccer and that is also why I decided to come here to Venice, a beautiful city that I had already had the opportunity to visit in the past.

Ca' Venezia is a sports center with state-of-the-art facilities and it is great to be able to train here, it is a very professional environment. I am a defender, I like one-on-one, I played a lot on the right flank in the past but this year I am playing more as a central defender. I am doing well in this role because it allows me to have a full view of the whole field in front of me and give instructions to my teammates. Despite playing in defense I like to be able to score goals, as happened in the derby. The team ambition is to have a very good season by staying in the top positions, we still need to figure out how to work best together but we have showed that we can play a very good football and, on a personal level, I’d like to improve more and more. At the beginning it was not easy, I did not speak Italian and I had to find my role within the team however the staff and my teammates helped me a lot and now I am really comfortable. The fans are great, both at practice and at the games there are always a lot of people supporting us and we are definitely very happy to see this affection.“