"The TSG way was perfect for us"

Fabienne and Martina, you have played your last game for TSG. How did you find the match against Jena?

Dongus: "A lot of things came together, it was like an emotional rollercoaster ride. I feel deeply grateful and very appreciative of TSG and am very sad that my time here is coming to an end. I was happy, but of course also wistful because there are a lot of things I will miss. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my last game, and my birthday was the icing on the cake. Both of my grandfathers were at the stadium together for the first time in many years, and everything just fell into place. For me, it feels like I've come full circle."

Tufekovic: "When I ran onto the pitch, I couldn't believe that I was playing my last game for TSG. The fact that I had to leave the pitch earlier than expected due to injury really hit me emotionally. I was very tense in the days leading up to the game and knew that I would be very emotional, because I can still remember my early days here very well. I once cried on the pitch after a 7-0 defeat to Frankfurt; that was one of my first games for the Bundesliga team. Moments like that have helped me grow. We have mixed feelings. I'm looking forward to the change, but I'm also sad to be leaving TSG, the club that I've called home."

Dongus: "But in that game, the eyes were just crying and not laughing."

Tufekovic: "Absolutely. (laughs) I enjoyed every minute I played. It had been agreed that I would definitely play. It was a shame, of course, that I had to come off early because my muscle wasn't cooperating."

Dongus: "If I could have imagined it, I would have wanted my time at TSG to end exactly like this: leaving the club after many years together with you, plus a few others who have shaped my time here. I've grown so fond of so many people here, but now is exactly the right moment. If everyone else stayed and only I left, it wouldn't be the same somehow."

Tufekovic: "Well, I imagined it differently."

How did you imagine your departure?

Tufekovic: "I actually thought that I would still be the starting goalkeeper this year, fulfil my contract and then hand over the position to Laura Dick. That would have been nice. I was injured in the last few weeks of the season and couldn't spend as much time with the team. But now things have turned out differently, and that's not a bad thing. I was very happy to hand over the goalkeeper's gloves to Laura; she's a very good keeper. It's been really nice to watch her develop and maybe have played a small part in that."

Dongus: "In general, it's great to see how many young players have developed here, even if it meant that we've had to take on different roles. That's one of the nice things about our age."

You've already talked about your final moments, but can you remember your early days?

Tufekovic: "My first day at TSG was my trial training session. At that time, we were still training at VfB St. Leon, as there weren't any facilities for us women yet. We goalkeepers only had a small pitch for our training sessions."

Dongus: "Did you make a good impression?"

Tufekovic: "Of course, what do you think? (laughs) I was very young at the time and was already training with the goalkeepers from the first team. I then went to the U17s as I was a youth player. How was it for you?"

Dongus: "My twin sister Tamar and I were sitting in Ralf Zwanziger's old office at the time, everything was much smaller. We talked about various things, such as the career prospects for my sister and me. Then came the first training session and I gave an interview. I still had a strong Swabian accent at the time, which I find a bit embarrassing today." (laughs)

Tufekovic: "Oh, that was the case for me too, but it's much better now."

"In the past few days and weeks I've been thinking a lot about everything we've experienced over the years "

Are there any other moments that stand out for you?

Tufekovic: "There are so many. We played against the best teams in the world in the Champions League, including Arsenal and Barcelona. But our first stops were also very special: our first game in Munich followed by a party on the team bus. In the past fews days and weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about everything we’ve experienced over the years."

Dongus: "Me too. My sister and I were once left behind at a motorway service station after an away game because we were in the toilet, but we were picked up a few minutes later. We lost one of our first Bundesliga games 4-1 against MSV Duisburg. The next day, we thought there would be a substitute training session, but instead we had to do line running with the fitness trainer."

Tufekovic: "Oh yes, that was really punishing training."

"It's nice that we've come this far together."

Do you get emotional when you think back to that time?

Tufekovic: "Totally. When you see how far we've come and how we've developed, it makes it even more emotional. We started at the very bottom and now most of us are full-time professionals. Hardly any of the players have full-time jobs on the side, and training starts in the morning rather than at 6 p.m. like it used to. There are also many more facilities at the training centre now; it's nothing like it was back then. We used to have our weight room at the local secondary school."

Dongus: "We used to meet there at 6 a.m. to train before work because we wouldn't have had time otherwise, and after work we would sometimes stay on the training ground until 9 p.m. Now we get our laundry done, and almost every away game involves an overnight stay. I used to quickly grab a roll from the bakery and eat a chocolate bar at lunchtime because I had so little time. Now we have chefs who cook us suitable sports nutrition meals. To have experienced that and then, years later, to be playing in the Champions League with the same club is really cool. Probably very few people can say that. It's great that we've come this far together."

Tufekovic: "Not many people have experienced that. No one can take that away from us; it was indescribable."

Have you grown as individuals during this time in the same way as the club has?

Tufekovic: "I think you grow up very quickly in sport. You're on your own from an early age, you don't live at home and you're often in unfamiliar surroundings. I completed my training as an office clerk during my sporting career and wanted to follow that up with a bachelor's degree. At that point, however, I realised that I couldn't have it all and that football, work and studying were becoming too much. For a long time, my plan was to go into healthcare after my active career, but now I've developed a real passion for football. Now I can imagine becoming a goalkeeping coach or intensifying my work at the goalkeeping school I have founded. These opportunities all came up over time, and it's been interesting to observe this as it was all unimaginable at the beginning. I think it's a privilege to grow in this way and to follow the club's development."

Dongus: "On a personal level, we have also developed a lot at TSG. We have both always been very ambitious and didn't stay here out of a sense of comfort. The club's sporting development has matched our own, because it has been consistently upward. The move towards professionalism also has its downsides, but at TSG we always had great conditions. We were able to work in peace and still had a lot of fun. It was perfect."

Were there ever any moments when you considered leaving TSG prior to now?

Tufekovic: "There were several moments for me. The first was three years ago, when I could have moved to England. I struggled with the decision. I was in the national team squad at the time and wanted to prove myself for the upcoming EURO. If I had made the move, I would have been a substitute goalkeeper at my English club, which is why I decided against it. It was more important to me to play regularly for TSG and earn a place in the Germany squad. A year later, the opportunity arose again, but at that time I wanted to remain loyal to TSG. Last year, I finally decided to move to England. However, when the offer came in shortly before the transfer deadline, TSG were unable to find a suitable replacement for me."

Did you have moments like that too, Fabi?

Dongus: "My sister left TSG back in 2017 and raved about her experiences abroad. When I received an offer, I did consider whether I wanted to try something new. But I've always appreciated what I have at TSG and, after many discussions, I decided to stay. I haven't regretted that decision. I didn't play much this season, but I always had fun because there's so much going on off the pitch. I'll miss the funny conversations in the dressing room, for example. No one can take away the great people I've got to know here. That's something very special."

Tufekovic: "Speaking of the dressing room, do you remember what our first dressing room here looked like?"

Dongus: "Oh, yes. It looked like a school changing room, but we didn't care. It was a fun time. Now we've come full circle, it was the perfect journey."

How long did it take you to decide to leave TSG? Martina, did you perhaps already make your decision last summer?

Tufekovic: "It was relatively clear to me quite quickly because I knew I needed to take a new step. I wanted to join an ambitious club, and I found that at VfL Wolfsburg. At TSG, I experienced how fascinating it is to travel internationally in the Champions League. I'm looking forward to that."

Dongus: "I never had a reason to leave TSG. But now I've felt the urge to play more. At VfB Stuttgart, I can support a young team in the Bundesliga 2 and play with my sister, which feels very good and right. As little girls, we always said how nice it would be to play for VfB one day. The timing feels perfect."

Tufekovic: "Imagine if I had gone to Stuttgart too..."

Dongus: "That would be cool, then we'd still be together. But you prefer playing in the Champions League, even though real football is still played in the second tier." (laughs)

How will it feel when you play against TSG for the first time?

Tufekovic: "I imagine it will be very strange, it will definitely feel weird. Starting with the fact that I'll be travelling to the Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion in the team bus and not in my own car. It's still unimaginable and will probably only feel real when the time comes."

Dongus: "For me, it will probably take a while because of the difference in leagues. But maybe we'll have a friendly match against each other, which would be nice and very special for me. TSG means home to me, I'll always love coming back."