A gift for every coach Lara Marti is much more important for the national team than you think

Lara Marti has been an international since 2019, but has only made 16 international appearances so far. That's not particularly many, but the 25-year-old is an important piece of the mosaic in many respects.

After her third season as an undisputed regular for FC Basel, Lara Marti moved to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2020. She has two international caps to her name at this point. She had few teething problems in the Bundesliga and was a regular for three years. In the first half of the previous season, she hardly played at all due to a torn muscle fiber in her thigh. And so, in January 2024, she decided to make a fresh start and moved to league rivals RB Lepzig.

Viola Odebrecht, Head of Women's and Girls' Football, is delighted with the new arrival from Leverkusen and is not holding back on her praise: "Lara is very quick, can play in both outfield positions and can show off her speed, tackling and dribbling skills both offensively and defensively."

Marti is set to play for her new club, but suffers a setback after just four games. At the national team camp in Marbella of all places, the first camp under the new national team coach Pia Sundhage, she had to leave before the first test match due to a muscle injury. Marti is now fit again and back with the national team. In October, she made her first partial appearance under Sundhage in the 2:1 win against France.

Lara Marti is an all-round package

Marti has everything a coach could wish for. At 25, she is in her prime as a footballer, but is still malleable. She is versatile and has actually played in almost every position. However, this is not always an advantage for Marti herself. Because this type of player is made for a role as a joker.

But she can handle it like no other. When asked whether she never draws a penalty when she's on the bench, Marti laughs and clarifies: "No, no, no, really, a tournament like this is a highlight. And you want to be as successful as possible as a team. And then you just have to accept your role. I enjoy it and am extremely grateful to be part of it. And the more harmonious it is, the more successful you can be."

Her biggest goal is to be there, as she was at the 2022 European Championship and the 2023 World Cup. "Every major tournament is a great experience, but a home European Championship is unique," says Marti. "If I'm allowed to take part, it goes without saying that I want to get as many playing minutes as possible. But there are also very clear roles in a tournament. You try to fulfill them as best you can. And if my role is a supplementary player, then I'm a supplementary player."

She proved that these aren't just words that pass your lips because that's how you say them at the major events mentioned above. At both the 2022 European Championship and the 2023 World Cup, she only made one brief appearance each. She never complained. A quality that Pia Sundhage will certainly take into account when putting together the squad. For now, however, she will have to push herself in training in order to recommend herself for appearances against Germany (November 29 at Letzigrund) and England (December 3 in Sheffield).