Melanie Leupolz Explained

Melanie Leupolz
Full Name:Melanie Leupolz[1]
Birth Date:14 April 1994
Birth Place:Wangen im Allgäu, Germany
Height:1.73 m
Position:Midfielder
Currentclub:Real Madrid
Clubnumber:24
Youthclubs1:TSV Ratzenried
Youthyears2:–2010
Youthclubs2:TSV Tettnang
Years1:2010–2014
Clubs1:Freiburg
Caps1:75
Goals1:13
Years2:2014–2020
Clubs2:Bayern Munich
Caps2:99
Goals2:12
Years3:2020–2024
Clubs3:Chelsea
Caps3:44
Goals3:6
Years4:2024–
Clubs4:Real Madrid
Caps4:0
Goals4:0
Nationalyears1:2009
Nationalteam1:Germany U15
Nationalcaps1:5
Nationalgoals1:1
Nationalyears2:2009–2011
Nationalteam2:Germany U17
Nationalcaps2:5
Nationalgoals2:7
Nationalyears3:2011–2013
Nationalteam3:Germany U19
Nationalcaps3:12
Nationalgoals3:4
Nationalyears4:2012
Nationalteam4:Germany U20
Nationalcaps4:8
Nationalgoals4:4
Nationalyears5:2013–2023
Nationalteam5:Germany
Nationalcaps5:79
Nationalgoals5:13
Pcupdate:19:20, 18 May 2024 (UTC)
Ntupdate:12:46, 24 July 2023 (UTC)

Melanie Leupolz (born 14 April 1994) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga F club Real Madrid.[2]

From 2013 until 2023, she also played for the Germany national team.

Club career

Leupolz started her career with TSV Ratzenried and TSV Tettnang, then she joined Freiburg in 2010. In 2010–11 season, Freiburg was promoted to Bundesliga. In the following season, she made her Bundesliga debut on 21 August 2011 and scored a goal in a 2–2 away draw against SC 07 Bad Neuenahr.

In 2014, she joined Bayern Munich. She made her debut on 31 August 2014 for Bayern in a 1–1 draw against 1. FFC Frankfurt, then she scored her first goal in a 4–0 win over Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 2 October 2014. Later on, she managed to win two Bundesliga titles in her first two seasons with Bayern, in 2014–15 and 2015–16. In 2018, she extended her contract until 2020.[3]

On 23 March 2020, Leupolz signed for Chelsea.[4] On 29 August 2020, she won the FA Community Shield, to be her first title with Chelsea.[5] On 13 September, she scored her first goal for Chelsea in a 9–0 win over Bristol City.[6] On 16 May 2021, she featured in the Champions League final, where her team lost 4–0 to Barcelona.[7]

On 7 March 2022, Chelsea announced that she was pregnant, pledged the support of the club's medical team and said she would play no further part in the 2021–22 season.[8] Leupolz returned to play for the club at the start of 2023, after giving birth, and was part of the side that won the Super League and FA Cup competitions that season.[9]

Leupolz transferred to Real Madrid on 3 July 2024.[10]

International career

As an Under-17 international she competed at the 2010 U-17 World Cup, where she scored two goals against South Africa.[11] She was the team's captain in the 2011 U-17 European Championship, where she missed the final shot in the penalty shootout in the semifinals against France.[12]

On 19 June 2013, Leupolz made her senior Germany debut in a 1–0 win over Canada in Paderborn. The following day she was named in the Germans' UEFA Women's Euro 2013 squad.[13]

She was part of the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics, where Germany won the gold medal.[14]

At the 2019 Women's World Cup, she scored a goal in Germany's 4–0 win over South Africa, her first national goal since the 2016 Summer Olympics.[15]

In September 2023, she announced her retirement from the national team.[16]

Career statistics

Club

[17]

Club! rowspan="2"
SeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
SC Freiburg2010–112. Frauen-Bundesliga16600176
2011–12Frauen-Bundesliga20310213
2012–13Frauen-Bundesliga21330243
2013–14Frauen-Bundesliga18141222
Total7513818314
Bayern Munich2014–15Frauen-Bundesliga22421245
2015–16Frauen-Bundesliga1724021233
2016–17Frauen-Bundesliga1001212124
2017–18Frauen-Bundesliga1904120251
2018–19Frauen-Bundesliga1104051201
2019–20Frauen-Bundesliga2061030246
Total991216413412820
Chelsea2020–21FA WSL19510427110328
2021–22WSL70000061131
2022–23WSL70402040170
2023–24WSL111402040211
Total4469082212108310
Real Madrid2024–25Liga F000000000000
Total000000000000
Career total21831335823461029444

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Germany2013101
2014123
2015173
201691
201720
201850
2019102
202051
202152
202340
Total7913

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Leupolz goal.

List of international goals scored by Melanie Leupolz
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 21 September 2013 Cottbus, Germany 6–0 9–0 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
2 5 April 2014 Dublin, Ireland 3–2 3–2 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
3 10 April 2014 Mannheim, Germany 1–0 4–0 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
4 8 May 2014 Osnabrück, Germany 7–0 9–1 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
5 8 April 2015 Fürth, Germany 3–0 4–0 Friendly
6 15 June 2015 Winnipeg, Canada 1–0 4–0 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
7 18 September 2015 Halle, Germany 11–0 12–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying
8 3 August 2016 São Paulo, Brazil 5–0 6–1 2016 Summer Olympics
9 17 June 2019 Montpellier, France 1–0 4–0 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
10 5 October 2019 Aachen, Germany 7–0 8–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
11 22 September 2020 Podgorica, Montenegro 2–0 3–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
12 21 September 2021 Chemnitz, Germany 5–1 5–1 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
13 30 November 2021 3–0 3–1 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Honours

Bayern Munich

2014–15, 2015–16[18]

Chelsea

Germany U-20

2012 runner-up[18]

Germany

2016[18]

2013[18]

2014[19]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 – List of Players: Germany . . 10 . 7 July 2019 . 18 February 2022 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190708190751/https://tournament.fifadata.com/documents/FWWC/2019/pdf/FWWC_2019_SQUADLISTS.PDF . 8 July 2019.
  2. News: Leupolz becomes Real Madrid's third signing ahead of 2024/25 campaign. 3 July 2024 . Real Madrid CF. 3 July 2024.
  3. Web site: Melanie Leupolz verlängert beim FC Bayern München . fcbayern.com . de . 18 December 2018 .
  4. Web site: Full interview: Melanie Leupolz signs for Chelsea . chelseafc.com . 23 March 2020 .
  5. Web site: Chelsea Women 2–0 Manchester City Women . BBC Sport . 29 August 2020 .
  6. Web site: Nine goals - nine different scorers! Chelsea thrash Bristol City . BBC Sport . 13 September 2020 .
  7. Web site: Women's Champions League: Barcelona gewinnt 4:0 gegen Chelsea . UEFA . de . 16 May 2021 .
  8. Web site: Chelsea Women's update on Melanie Leupolz. www.chelseafc.com.
  9. Web site: 'I couldn't really speak about it' - a decision dividing the Women's Super League. BBC Sport Insights. 2024-04-05. 2024.
  10. Web site: Leupolz becomes Real Madrid's third signing ahead of 2024/25 campaign . realmadrid.com . 3 July 2024 .
  11. https://web.archive.org/web/20100914102147/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=325668/index.html Statistics
  12. Web site: Germany 2–2 France (5–6p) . UEFA . 28 July 2011 .
  13. Web site: Neid turns to youth for Germany . 20 June 2013 . 20 June 2013 . uefa.com . UEFA.
  14. Web site: Gold for Germany as Neid finishes in style . https://web.archive.org/web/20160820065521/http://www.fifa.com/womensolympic/news/y=2016/m=8/news=gold-for-germany-as-neid-finishes-in-style-2822872.html . dead . 20 August 2016 . 19 August 2016 . fifa.com.
  15. Web site: Germany beats South Africa 4-0 to win World Cup group . Fox Sports . 17 June 2019.
  16. Web site: Melanie Leupolz beendet Karriere in der Nationalmannschaft. dfb.de. 11 September 2023.
  17. Web site: Germany - M. Leupolz - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway .
  18. Web site: M. Leupolz . Soccerway . 20 January 2021.
  19. News: Algarve Cup 2014: Analysing Final Results and Scores for Women's Soccer . 20 January 2021 . Bleacher Report . 12 March 2014.