Youngster is first Malaysian to play for FC Bayern Munich's U-17 women's team

 

National women’s under-15 footballer Celine Chuang has proven that no barrier is bigger than her will power to make history as the country’s first person to play with Germany’s FC Bayern Munich's U-17 women's team.

The 15-year-old winger, who has been playing with the U-17 FC Bayern Women second squad since July, said her passion in football was sparked by her siblings’ keen interest in the sport.

After starting serious training four years ago at the Persatuan Sukan Bintang Biru (PSBB), Penang, Celine’s strong desire to improve made her sign up for training at the British International School Phuket (BISP) in Thailand for two years before moving to Munich.

“What I truly love about the sport is the challenging new tricks and techniques that I learn during training. Playing football helps me maintain a great mindset and is a stress reliever.

“The training I received in Malaysia was the foundation; I learnt all the basics there. In Thailand, the intensity of training was certainly higher, as I trained seven times a week under the Cruzeiro Academy’s programme,” Celine said in a statement issued by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

Celine’s life has changed since her family moved to Germany after her brother went there for further studies, bringing it upon herself to improve her German language skills as she goes in search of a brighter future.

Aspiring to become a professional footballer in the Bundesliga and World Cup, Celine took another brave step forward and attended a selection at the Bavarian club last February.

“All of my efforts over the years paid off when I was selected as one of the 10 players to join the second squad of the U-17 FC Bayern Women. I am also grateful for the opportunity to play and train with the U-15 Wacker Munchen e.V. Boys Team; it gave me more confidence and allowed me to improve my football techniques,” she added.

Sharing her experience of the over four months of training in Germany, Celine said it took some time to get used to training in the cold weather and to overcome the initial language barrier.

“Despite the challenges, the community here is very friendly and has been extremely welcoming to me since the very beginning. Thanks to this, I have been able to adapt and settle in since arriving in Germany in June. I am currently undergoing training online due to the cancellation of competitions and leagues as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.

Celine started to gain attention among the German football community after scoring a goal for the U-15 FC Wacker Munchen e.V. Boys’ Team and another goal for the second squad of the U-17 FC Bayern Women in two official German leagues.

Earlier, she netted her first international goal for the Malaysian U-15 National Women’s Team at the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship in 2019 to secure a 2-1 victory against Cambodia in Chonburi, Thailand.

- Bernama