Freiburg homegrown talent back in the Bundesliga: Rafaela Borggräfe profile

At the age of 13, Borggräfe, after playing for SC Holzhausen and SC March, decided to join SC Freiburg where she played for the U14, U15 and U20 teams. Her twelve years at Freiburg were only interrupted by a one-year loan spell in Switzerland. In 2020/21, she won the championship with second-division club FC Aarau and was promoted to the top flight. Back in Freiburg, she promptly became a regular first choice. Her debut in the DFB Pokal in September 2021 was followed by 65 more appearances.

Borggräfe also appeared on the radar of the German Football Association (DFB) early on. She played a total of twelve youth internationals at U16, U17, U19 and U23 level and became a European champion with the U17 team in the Czechia in 2017. In December 2024, Germany coach Christian Wück picked her for the Germany senior team for the first time, and last summer she was called up to the European Championship squad. After the season, Borggräfe signed for Liverpool to play in the FA Women's Super League. Borggräfe made four appearances there before moving to Leverkusen.

Following suspension in England: "dealt with the incident in detail"

Last September, the English FA launched an investigation into Borggräfe for a comment made in the direction of another player. The Emmendingen-born player was subsequently suspended for six matches. The incident has since been dealt with by all parties involved. The DFB also decided the goalkeeper will remain part of the national squad.

"I accepted the sanction and have dealt with the incident intensively. The accompanying discussions and reappraisal have helped me to better understand my behaviour and, in particular, the effect of language," says Borggräfe: "I am aware that words can hurt and involve responsibility. At no time was it my intention to hurt or marginalise other people. Values such as respect, openness and diversity are important to me."

She added: "Discrimination contradicts my personal values and my understanding of cohesion in sport and in our society. I am sorry. I will learn from this situation and accept responsibility."

"We worked through the incident in detail with Rafaela and she gave us a credible account from her perspective," said Thomas Eichin, director of professional teams, who is also responsible for Bayer 04 Women: "That clarifies the issue for us. We are very happy to sign her."