Bernadette Amani 'living her dream' at Bayern and WAFCON
Bernadette Amani joined Bayern Munich in January and is now captaining Ivory Coast in their first WAFCON in 12 years. Getting to the top hasn't
Bernadette Amani joined Bayern Munich in January and is now captaining Ivory Coast in their first WAFCON in 12 years. Getting to the top hasn't been a straight path for the newly crowned German double winner. Seven months after moving to Germany, Bernadette Amani is clearly where she wants to be, having won both the Bundesliga and the German Cup in her first half-season since joining Bayern Munich. "It's a dream come true for me to be here, and I'm living my dream to the full," the 28-year-old midfielder told DW in an exclusive interview shortly before the Women's Africa Cup of Nations kicked off in Morocco this month. "Munich is a very, very big club. Beyond just making me happy, it's a real achievement, a dream come true to be here, to play for such a prestigious club." Amani added that playing for Bayern's women has been a major step up from what she had come to know playing for CD Tenerife Femenino of Liga F, Spain's topflight. "I was already professional when I was in Spain, but let's just say it wasn't quite the same level of professionalism," she explained. "In Spain or the Ivory Coast, the coaching staff might have consisted of no more than five or six people. But here there are eight or 10 people. And that enables them (the players) to perform at that high level for a long time." This structure, and the experience of the players around her, she said, make it virtually impossible for a new player not to improve on their own game.
"I've learned a great deal about aspects I wasn't already aware of; how to position myself, how to position my body, how to interact with the ball and how to think. Really understanding the game is something I'm gradually learning alongside (the players) and the coaching staff." At Bayern for less than a year Bernadette Amani says the professional environment has helped make her a better player Image: Jenni Maul/Eibner-Pressefoto/picture alliance Moving to the capital to further education Getting to the Bundesliga champions was anything but a straight, plotted path for Amani, who, when she began kicking a ball with the boys in her local village as a youngster, had no idea that football could be a career option. Her parents were anything but encouraging of her passion. They just wanted their daughter to get a good education. To this end, she wound up moving from the village of Dougbafla, where she grew up, to the capital, Abidjan — a move that turned out to be pivotal to her career as a footballer. "I discovered the women's football league. I went to a match and, as luck would have it, it was the top team against the second-placed team," she recalled. "I saw the intensity, I saw the technique, and then I heard that so-and-so isn't here today because she's playing in Serbia, another isn't here today because she's playing in Turkey.
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