Sandra Starke
Namibian-German professional footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sandra Starke (born 31 July 1993) is a Namibian-born German footballer who plays as a forward for Frauen-Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Germany national team.
|
Starke training with Freiburg in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sandra Starke[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 31 July 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Windhoek, Namibia | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | RB Leipzig | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2013 | Turbine Potsdam II | 81 | (36) |
| 2012 | Turbine Potsdam | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2021 | Freiburg | 152 | (41) |
| 2017–2018 | Freiburg II | 4 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | VfL Wolfsburg | 19 | (3) |
| 2021–2023 | VfL Wolfsburg II | 5 | (1) |
| 2023 | → Chicago Red Stars (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2023– | RB Leipzig | 42 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009 | Germany U16 | 4 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Germany U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019– | Germany | 6 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:04, 9 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 05:12, 16 June 2021 (UTC) | |||
She was born in Windhoek, Namibia to a Namibian-born German father and a Dutch mother.[2]
Career
Club
Sandra Starke was born and raised in Namibia and came to Germany at age twelve. On the recommendation of a friend, she went to the "Sportschule Friedrich-Ludwig Jahn", the sports boarding school of the Turbine Potsdam.[3] From 2006 to 2010 she played in the youth teams and won the German B junior championship in 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2010 she got promoted to the professional squad, but she was mainly used for the second team in the 2nd Bundesliga North.
Her first-team debut came on 23 November 2012.[4] In the summer of 2013, Starke signed a contract with SC Freiburg. On 14 September 2013 (2nd matchday) she scored her first Bundesliga goal in the 1–2 defeat in the away game against Bayern Munich with the goal in the 51st minute.[5] In 2017–18 season, Starke was injured[6] but was able to play again in the 2018–19 season and extended her contract with SC Freiburg in February 2019.[7]
In February 2021, Starke signed a 3-year contract with VfL Wolfsburg until mid-2024.[8] In April 2023, she joined Chicago Red Stars on loan until 30 June 2023.[9]
In July 2023, Starke signed a contract with RB Leipzig until summer 2025.[10]
National team
For the U16 national team, she played four international matches in the Nordic Cup tournament, for the first time on 29 June 2009 in Hagfors / Sweden in a 3–0 victory over the selection of the Netherlands, when she came on in the 67th minute for Sofia Nati, most recently on July 4, 2009 in the 2–1 defeat by the Swedes. Her only international goal came on 30 June 2009 in Forshaga, 1–0 after 15 minutes in a 6–0 win over the Icelandic team. Starke was in the squad for the U17 national team for the 2010 World Cup, but did not play. Most recently, from 2011 to 2012, she made five appearances for the U19 national team. She made her debut for the senior team in a 5–0 win over Greece on 8 October 2019, scoring her first senior international goal with a 3–0 goal in the 65th minute. She had come on for Linda Dallmann in the second half.[11]
Personal life
On the occasion of World Diabetes Day on 14 November 2020, Starke made her type 1 diabetes public, which was first diagnosed a few years earlier.[12] She is the sister of Namibian international footballer Manfred Starke.[13]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 26 March 2023[14]
| Club | Division | Season | League | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Turbine Potsdam II | 2. Frauen-Bundesliga | 2009–10 | 20 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11 | 18 | 9 | — | — | 18 | 9 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 22 | 14 | — | — | 22 | 14 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 21 | 12 | — | — | 21 | 12 | ||||
| Total | 81 | 36 | — | — | 81 | 36 | ||||
| Turbine Potsdam | Frauen-Bundesliga | 2010–11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2012–13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Freiburg | Frauen-Bundesliga | 2013–14 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | 21 | 8 | |
| 2014–15 | 21 | 11 | 4 | 2 | — | 25 | 13 | |||
| 2015–16 | 21 | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | 24 | 6 | |||
| 2016–17 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | 25 | 4 | |||
| 2017–18 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 5 | — | 26 | 11 | |||
| 2019–20 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 2 | — | 24 | 7 | |||
| 2020–21 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | 25 | 6 | |||
| Total | 152 | 41 | 28 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 56 | ||
| Freiburg II | 2. Frauen-Bundesliga | 2017–18 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Wolfsburg | Frauen-Bundesliga | 2021–22 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 3 |
| 2022–23 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 19 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 3 | ||
| Wolfsburg II | 2. Frauen-Bundesliga | 2021–22 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 262 | 81 | 34 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 298 | 96 | ||
International
- As of 18 September 2021[15]
| Germany | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2019 | 2 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 6 | 1 |
International goal
- Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Starke goal.
| No. | Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 October 2019 | Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece |  Greece | 3–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying |
Achievements
- German Cup: Finalist 2019, Winner 2022
- German Champion: 2022
- German B Junior Champion: 2008, 2009, 2010
