How beating cancer helps Ann-Katrin Berger ‘live in the moment’
Berger has more than just hard work behind her.
In 2017, and then again in 2022, she had to undergo surgery and subsequently therapy following a diagnosis of thyroid cancer.
Her fight has given the goalkeeper the inspiration to live in the moment, on and off the field. She is no longer worried about making mistakes, nor does she want to overthink when she is between the sticks.
“I try to live, react, and act in the moment,” she explains to us.
“If I think too much, it will ruin my style of play – that’s why I’ve never thought like that before, and I hope that I never will.
“In general, I don’t look so far into the future. No matter what I do, I just look at what’s in front of me. In football, you don’t know what’s going to happen – and due to my illness, I don’t know whether I might be able to continue tomorrow or not.”
As far as Berger is concerned, some things are simply more important than playing with a ball.
Her experiences have helped shift perspective, she continues: “Football is just a game, there are worse things in the world. In the past, football was the be-all, end-all for me. There was nothing better and nothing more important.
“The illness has made me a bit calmer… I still hate losing, but I lose and walk away from the game after doing my best for 90 or 120 minutes, then that’s enough for me now.
“It’s best to leave the pitch as a winner, but as I said, there are bigger things out there that are more important.”