BFW Exclusive: Bayern Munich Frauen captain Lina Magull is just awesome

All Bayern Munich midfielder Lina Magull has done in her career is win, but she has never lost the drive to continue to push to get even better. Still just 27, Magull exudes confidence and leadership every time she steps on the pitch — more, she was an absolute blast and a riot to chat with.

Magull recently sat down with BFW for an interview and left a big impression on us by detailing how she has evolved as a player during her illustrious career.

Bayern Munich Frauen captain Lina Magull is always cool — even when operating out of her comfort zone.

As part of her squad’s trip to Louisville for The Women’s Cup, Magull was asked to throw out the first pitch at a Louisville Bats minor league baseball game. Though she had never played baseball before, Magull approached the endeavor with the best attitude possible — and even had a bit of a laugh when the subject turned to what could wrong in throwing out the first pitch.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll get more followers on Instagram with a funny video,” Magull said with a smile.

It is that kind of mindset that has served her so well over the course of her career. Magull had very successful stints with FSV Gütersloh 2009, Wolfsburg, and SC Freiburg before moving to Bayern Munich. During each stop Magull has seen her game grow and change for the better.

A big motivational tool for Magull was that as a young player she was not considered an important part of one of her teams. That feeling drove her to fight harder and focus on improving her own game.

“I have more confidence, because at a young age, I wasn’t that important in the team like I wished. I think now, as the captain of Bayern Munich, it’s just very cool for myself to see how I’ve grown as a person,” said Magull. “I think that my soccer skills are getting better and better. It’s the same point with my health. You always have some injuries in the season, and that’s what sometimes makes you feel a little bit older. I tried to give a lot of attention of my health. I’m just very proud today. It’s just so cool that I could make my hobby my job. That’s all I dreamed about, so I’m happy.”

Even with that sense of satisfaction and with everything she has achieved in her career (Champions League winner, Bundesliga winner, DFB-Pokal winner, FIFA World Cup U-20 winner), Magull has never slowed down. She has continued to strive for excellence and because she has seen what it takes to win at the highest level, she is able to quickly identify that this Bayern Munich squad could be special.

Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images for DFB

“I think it’s the best mix I’ve ever had in a team — very good young players and also players with a lot of experience. It’s nice to see day-by-day how they are growing up. It’s also, for me as a captain, very easy to be the leader, because everyone feels so responsible for each other,” said Magull. “We have good team spirit, and that’s why I just feel so comfortable in the team. I don’t need to take so much care of everyone, because every single player just has this responsibility. I think we will be good in the league next season and internationally. That’s the most important thing for me that we will have good performances in the international games.”

One thing that will boost Bayern Munich will be the respective returns of Jovana Damnjanovic and Giulia Gwinn. Both players missed the majority of last season due to injuries.

“So, so happy that they have come back, because they are such good people and so powerful. They’re always in a good mood and are just very good players,” Magull said. “It’s hard on the team to have a lot of playing time, but that’s what makes us better — when we have a good quality in the trainings and when the coaches have many opportunities with the starting eleven. In the team, it’s good that you always have a challenge every day in training. It will be very exciting to see who’s playing, but it’s nice to have them back because they are one of my best friends and it’s good to see the ways of them. They had a tough time in the rehab, but it’s just good to see them healthy.”

As a player who has “made it” and accomplished just about everything she can to this point in her career, Magull can see the changing landscape for women’s soccer. But with those changes, Magull knows the inherent pressure that some kids face as they embark on the same journey that she once did. When asked what she would tell young players, Magull gave some of the best advice any young player should heed.

“First of all, you need to enjoy your way to the goal. For me, it was always very important to just have fun. In your sports here in the USA, you have such good facilities. You’re going to school, college, university for scholarships. This is very important that you get a good education. You can follow your dream, and you need to enjoy it,” said Magull.

As for what young players can do to achieve their goals, Magull left no doubts.

“You need to focus on your strengths. You need to figure out what are my weaknesses? How can I improve myself? In which ways do I need to learn? But never forget to have a lot of fun and enjoy the way,” Magull said.

Even with all of the talk about her career, the insane quality of this Bayern Munich squad, and how young players should ensure they’re having fun, one somewhat sore subject did arise: The locker room DJ.

As we covered in our chat with now “former DJ” Vivi Asseyi, Magull said she loves Asseyi as a teammate — even if her DJ skills were not always up to par.

“It’s a big topic in our locker room. I’m happy that Vivi isn’t the DJ, because it was a really bad job for her. I don’t know why. I think she’s always on the phone or texting. I don’t know,” Magull said with a laugh. “She doesn’t have the time to turn on the music. We don’t like it when it’s so silent in the room. It’s good that we have Jovi back, and she’s taking responsibility for the music. I love Vivi, but she is not so responsible with the music.”

That type of ribbing and camaraderie show just how tight-knit this talented squad is. And with Magull leading the way, Bayern Munich could be well on their way to helping make the club’s trophy cabinet a little bit tighter by the end of this campaign.

Tune in for Bayern Munich’s championship match against Racing Louisville in the The Women’s Cup final on Saturday August 21st at 6PM EST on Paramount+.