Giulia Gwinn records and stats: How brilliant is the Bayern München and Germany defender?
Thursday, July 2, 2026
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We profile Germany captain and Bayern München defender Giulia Gwinn, who has won multiple domestic trophies and reached the latter stages of UEFA competitions with both club and country.
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Renowned for her inspirational leadership skills and technical ability, Giulia Gwinn has become a key player for both Bayern München and Germany.
The versatile right-back, who also excels in midfield, is accomplished at taking high-pressure penalties, providing precise crosses into the box, making defensive interventions and using her pace to support attacks from wide areas.
Giulia Gwinn's key moments
• Scored in final penalty shoot-out to win 2016 Women's Under-17 EURO (Germany)
• Named Young Player of the Tournament at 2019 Women's World Cup (Germany)
• Women's EURO 2022 runner-up, part of Team of the Tournament (Germany)
• Scored decisive goal from penalty spot to win Olympic bronze medal at Paris 2024 (Germany)
• 2025 Women's Nations League runner-up (Germany)
• 2025/26 Women's Champions League semi-finalist (Bayern)
Giulia Gwinn's significant stats
• Made her German Women's Bundesliga debut aged 16
• Part of Bayern squad that won five German Women's Bundesliga in six seasons between 2020/21 and 2025/26
• Contributed to 44-game unbeaten domestic league streak between 2022 and 2024
• Won successive German Women's Cups with Bayern in 2024/25 and 2025/26
• Led Germany to 2025 Women's Nations League final as captain
What they say about Giulia Gwinn
Christian Wück, Germany coach: "Giulia is an exemplary player who demonstrates great mentality and personality both on and off the pitch."
Sjoeke Nüsken, Germany midfielder: "She's a great personality but she can also be loud and lead the way when things aren't going well on the pitch."
Jan-Christian Dreesen, Chief Executive Officer at Bayern München: "Giulia has been a key player at Bayern and in the German national team for years, on the pitch and as a person. Not only does she follow her own path, she also paves the way for others."
Bianca Rech, Director of Women’s Football at Bayern München: "She doesn’t let setbacks deter her. Giulia leads the way with many virtues on and off the pitch – she’s very ambitious, professional and absolutely authentic."
Career path: Overcoming injury and growing into leadership
After taking up football aged eight and playing in mixed gender youth teams, Gwinn joined Freiburg ahead of the 2015/16 season and made her German Women's Bundesliga debut at 16.
The resilience she has shown to bounce back from two anterior cruciate knee ligament injuries, sustained in 2020 and 2022, has formed a key part of her career narrative, and she has become an inspirational leader both on and off the pitch.
Club career with Bayern
Having grown up attending Bayern matches and training in Bayern kits, Gwinn joined the Munich side from Freiburg in 2019. She has since been part of five domestic league title-winning Bayern squads and won two German Women's Cups.
Gwinn made her first UEFA Women's Champions League appearances with Bayern in 2019/2020, reaching the quarter-finals. Her team sustained a record-breaking 44-match unbeaten streak in the German Women's Bundesliga between October 2022 and October 2024, including an unbeaten title-winning 2023/24 campaign.
In 2025/26, she was influential in Bayern's run to the Women's Champions League semi-finals, where they drew the first leg 1-1 with eventual champions Barcelona before losing the second leg 4-2.
Making a global impact with Germany
Gwinn won the 2016 Women's Under-17 EURO with Germany, converting a spot kick in the final's decisive penalty shoot-out at the end of a 0-0 draw with Spain.
She made her senior international debut in 2017 and scored her first goal the following year, in a 5-2 friendly victory over Italy.
2019 Women's World Cup
Gwinn attracted widespread praise for her performances, aged 20, during Germany's run to the 2019 Women's World Cup quarter-finals. She scored her side's first goal of the tournament against China PR and received the FIFA Young Player Award at the end of the competition.
Women's EURO 2022
Gwinn played a key role in Germany's run to the final at Wembley, which they lost 2-1 to hosts England after extra time. She played in all six of Germany's matches, provided one assist and was included in UEFA's Team of the Tournament.
Paris 2024 Olympics
Gwinn's 65th-minute penalty secured a 1-0 win over Spain and a bronze medal for Germany at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Women's EURO 2025
After missing the 2023 Women's World Cup through injury, Gwinn travelled to her second Women's EURO having been appointed Germany captain five months earlier.
Injury struck again during Germany's opening victory over Poland, forcing Gwinn to cheer her team on from the sidelines for the remainder of their run to the semi-finals, where they lost to Spain after extra time.
Gwinn was jointly voted 2025 Germany Women's Footballer of the Year with goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger.
2025 Women's Nations League
After beating France 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals, Gwinn's Germany faced Spain in the final. She started both games and Germany drew the first leg 0-0 before losing the second leg 3-0 to finish as runners-up.
What you might not know about Giulia Gwinn
She routinely kisses her tattoo and looks up when she walks out onto a football pitch.
She has identified her football idol as retired midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who won 20 club trophies – including the 2012/13 Champions League – with Bayern and also lifted the 2014 World Cup with Germany.
If Gwinn hadn't become a professional footballer, she says she would have been a primary school teacher. Outside of football she enjoys playing beach volleyball, tennis, padel and basketball.
What Giulia Gwinn says
"When you play for Germany and Bayern, there's always pressure; you want to win games and collect titles. That's the expectation. I've developed good strategies for how to keep my cool in pressure situations and maintain my inner core, such as when taking penalties."
"I'm incredibly happy about everyone I see walking around in my jersey – that's something very special for me. It's important to me to be authentic and approachable."
“Regardless of what I've achieved, I always want to remain grounded and keep it real. At the end of the day, I'm a completely normal young woman, who plays professional football."
On becoming Germany captain: "I feel a great honour and a great deal of pride. It's a different level of responsibility, but I think I have adjusted to it well. I try to listen to what's going on in the team and spread positivity."
On her injury setbacks: "Such a serious injury changes you because it makes you grow. You have time to work much more on physical and mental aspects. You can focus on issues that you don't have time for in your everyday football life."
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