Viktoria Schnaderbeck – Professional footballer for Arsenal WFC, Captain of the Austrian Women’s National Football Team, Speaker

“Success requires an entire team, not only one player. An entire team that is not just good for 89 minutes – they have to do their best for the whole 90 minutes.”

Sometimes, the name of a person says it all, and in the case of Viktoria Schnaderbeck – professional footballer for the Arsenal Women’s Team and Captain of the Austrian Women’s National Team -, this actually seems to be the case. Viktoria, the conqueror. Viktoria, the victorious. Not only with her football clubs Bayern Munich (2007-2018) and Arsenal (since 2018), with which she was able to celebrate championship titles; Viktoria has the impressive capacity to win fights against herself seemingly effortlessly. Fighting back from an injury, fights against doubts, fights against clichés, fights against odds. Her weapons? Absolute honesty towards herself, a healthy balance between heart and head, carefully executed management of her energy and an unbeatable positive mindset.

Never shying away from the difficult path, she was often confronted with obstacles – whether the hurdle was to play alone in a group of boys or to overcome one of her numerous knee surgeries. However, to Viktoria, it had been clear since she was seven years old that she wanted to compete with the best – in Austria and beyond.

Viktoria, your time with Arsenal WFC represents yet another peak of your football career. What made you decide to switch to one of the iconic UK football clubs after 11 years of success with FC Bayern Munich?

It was a very informed and conscious decision to take on a new challenge. In terms of sport, yet also personally. Munich had been my second home, the city I became an adult in. However, 11 years is a long time, and a change seemed right after all these years.

With Arsenal, I instantly had a good feeling. Everything was just right: the communication style within the club, the environment, the training area, in fact the big picture as well as the details. In short: my head and heart both shouted: ‘That’s it!’

On a personal level, it enabled me to discover a great new city for me. Having grown up in a small village in Austria, I had already been impressed with the size and the way of life in Munich. London brought my understanding of ‘big city’ to a completely new, exciting level. I love the rhythm of London – there is always something going on -, I love the culture mix and the fact that there is place for everything and everyone, that people respect each other – and let them be the way they are.

You are also Captain of the Austrian National Football Team. How can we imagine Viktoria Schnaderbeck as team captain? How would you describe your leadership style?

I would describe myself as someone who is leading by example. I only ask of the team members what I deliver myself – as a player and as a professional: 100% commitment and effort in training, walking the extra mile, working hard myself, accepting criticism. It is important to me to be a role model on the field as well as off he field, being approachable, supporting team members when they need it and helping the younger ones to grow. I see it as my job and responsibility to include all players and to make them feel welcome. And I have to say, the moment I was elected Captain on my team was certainly a moment filled with pride and honour.

Who is your role model? Which person influenced you most in your life?

Despite having had posters of Lothar Matthäus, Stefan Effenberg and Roy Makaay on my bedroom walls – there was no such thing as famous female football players at that time -, the people who most influenced and coined me were the members of my closest family: my parents and my brother. They are the ones having instilled my values in me, having shaped my views and beliefs, and they are the ones I call for their opinion whenever there is an important decision to make. I grew up with this mutual respect, appreciation and love we have for each other, and the bond we all have has even grown during the years I have lived abroad.

In your talks and interviews, you frequently speak about the importance of the ‘right mindset’. What does it mean to you personally?

For me, a person’s mindset can make or break their success. Mental strength is not just a buzzword. I have experienced first-hand how it can impact the outcome of every situation, how doubts can drag you down – and self-belief can tide you over the most difficult circumstances.

I consider myself a person with quite a strong mindset. I am very positive by nature. However, I did not always have an attitude as strong as I do today. You could say that I have learned and acquired it over time, partly formed by injuries or setbacks.

When those happened, my personal strategy to keep my health and sanity was to give myself promises that I would live by in order to manoeuvre through these challenging times. It helped me to keep my energy, not to lose it on things I was absolutely not able to control in the given situation. One of them was for instance to stay in the here and now. After all, a very natural and automatic reaction in the event of an injury is to look into the past and ask yourself: ‘Why did this happen?’ ‘Could I have prevented it?’ ‘How?’ Or, on the other hand, wander off into the future and think about all the things that you already know you are going to miss. Also, to plan too far ahead – both not very beneficial for the healing process. So, I took each day as it came, observing what was good for me and only planning the immediate next step.

Another promise was to allow myself negative emotions, though without losing myself in them. Sometimes, it is ok not to be ok, to feel frustration, anger, sadness. At the same time, it is important not to let these emotions influence your actions. So, whilst I might have felt low, I still made decisions rationally and arranged the necessary steps meticulously. Once an emotion arose, I tried to get awareness of it, to accept it – and to let it go. I then was able to have a conversation with the doctor about a diagnosis, make an appointment with the physiotherapist or take a decision whether to have surgery or not.

It was especially in times when I was feeling low, be it in sports or in my private life, that I sensed a very strong emotion of gratitude. I developed an appreciation for all the things that we normally take for granted: friends who are there for me, a family that always has my back, a club that stands behind me and gives me support. Also, gratitude for all my successes that put me in this situation in the first place.

How do you ‘cultivate’ your awareness?

At some point, I started to keep a journal and write things down: three things that gave me pleasure throughout the day and three things that I was grateful for. The beauty lies in the fact that I developed an even stronger focus for these things and started to see more and more of them. Having experienced the benefits of this ‘intentional mind-setting’ personally has made it a natural habit that has become my second nature.

In the current situation of Covid_19, what helps you to manoeuvre through all the changes, the premature ending of the season, all the uncertainness as to how things will pick up again? How do you deal with drastic changes like the ones we currently face and stay operational, positive and successful?

My motto has always been not to waste my energy on circumstances I cannot change, to accept situations as they are and make the best out of them. I rather look for the solutions in a problem, not at the problem itself. I think that we have to learn to find peace even in the most difficult situations and not lose energy by focussing on things we cannot control. Not investing – and wasting – energy on things we cannot influence means we have more of it for those events that we can actually have an impact on. In the case of a lost match for instance, it does not help dwelling on the defeat. You have to accept it, analyse it and then move on with your findings to focus on the next, hopefully better, match.

As to the current Covid_19 situation, I consider myself really privileged: everyone around me is healthy and safe, I’ve had no financial losings – things which are by no means a given. I do realise that a lot of people are dealing with a series of really severe problems. Looking at the situation with a certain equanimity, I was able to see the positive aspects that it has created for me. With the season being ended prematurely, with cancelled trips, revoked meetings and social events – my whole clocked schedule basically being erased -, I found myself in a quite ‘cleansing’ situation. I had the possibility to spend quality time with my girlfriend in Norway and spontaneously enjoy a lot of activities that we normally simply don’t have the time for.

It was only a few months ago that you made the relationship with your girlfriend official. What was your intention behind it?

I really took my time in making my relationship public, mostly because I personally am not a supporter of the concept of ‘outing’. I did not see why I had to do that. And I certainly did not want to create a ‘hype’ by making my relationship official, so I decided to post a simple picture on my Instagram account. The level of attention that ultimately resulted from my post, however, has shown me that every other than the ‘traditional’ form of relationship is, to this day, still not a social reality – especially in Austria. Topics like sexual orientation, homosexuality etc. are still not a self-evident part of our society, they are stigmatised ‘not normal’, tabooed and not fully accepted. My aim with making my relationship official was therefore to contribute to an open communication of the topic. I sense a higher acceptance here in the UK, where I live – and also in my girlfriend’s home country Norway. And while I personally have not been confronted with negative reactions or rejection, I would like to raise awareness and help those whose sexual orientation unsettles or scares them.

Which of your character traits is the one that has contributed most to your success/es? Is there one that stands out?

If I have to pick one specific characteristic or strength, it is probably determination. Having said that: it is determination when it comes to my professional achievements. In my private life, I often get the feedback that I am a very empathetic person, being able to put myself in other people’s shoes and then being able to understand and help without judgement.

Was it your empathy that led you to your social and societal engagements, in particular your activity as Ambassador for Jambo Bukoba (editor’s note: NGO aiming for education, good health and gender equality for children in Tanzania)?

Partly, yes. However, whenever I take on an activity, I don’t only look at the fun side of things; I want to experience fulfilment. Football absolutely does that for me. Another requirement for myself is to help other people. Nothing compares to the fulfilment I feel when someone tells me after one of my talks that what I said has helped them in their current situation or given them a new helpful perspective.

With regards to Jambo Bukoba, I know that due to my public persona, I am in the position to be a role model and to really make a difference for girls in Tanzania – by supporting the organisation to change their lives in a sustainable manner. I started my support when I was living in Munich, with donations and provisions of jerseys to sell for the good cause at auctions. In 2018, I personally went to Tanzania to visit the organisation on the ground and get an even better impression. We went into schools, attended meetings in governmental departments and with decision-makers and organised an improvised football training with girls. A great opportunity to discuss matters such as assertiveness for girls or women’s empowerment, confidence and strength.

Do you have a favourite quote that has accompanied, maybe even shaped and supported you throughout your life – or over a large period of time?

One of my very first football coaches used to say: ‘Give your best every day, and your best day will come.’ I try to live by this motto to this day, seeing it as a metaphor to never stop and never falling into the trap of considering myself ‘done’. This is true in sports, yet also for the economy – and even in private life.

(published 03rd June 2020)