At the age of just 23, Maria Grohs has become one of the best goalkeepers in women’s football. Shutouts, flashy penalty saves and back-to-back league championships are some of the defining highlights of her young yet impressive career so far.

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Nicknamed “Mala” by her childhood friends and teammates, that’s the name FC Bayern’s no.22 now goes by on and off the pitch. Born and raised in Münster right on the Dutch border, Groh’s younger brother spent every weekend on the football pitch playing for 1. FC Gievenbeck. With their parents unable to make every match, it was Mala who became his shadow, making the weekly trip, watching closely and developing her own passion for the game.

“I started playing next to the field and really enjoyed it and started playing football in school as well,” Grohs told SHE Scores Bangers. “It was actually my teacher in primary school who told my parents, ‘it would be a good idea to let her play.’”

Though many ‘keepers start kicking the ball in an out-field position, Grohs got familiar standing between the sticks from the early stages.

In addition to football, Grohs balanced ballet dancing and violin classes. Finding her true passion on the pitch, ballet eventually fell by the wayside, while her violin lessons continued up until she finished school. The music? It still makes an appearance sometimes.

“I still have my violin and play when I have time or feel like it,” she laughs.

The German goalie was active in the regional scene playing with different players and showcasing her talent to various coaches who would be visiting from across the country. When she was 14, Mala went on an Airbus Defence and Space school internship 700 kilometres away from home in Munich. The space enthusiast could not go out for a run due to the harsh winter, but her coaches back in Münster made sure she stayed active.

“My coach asked Bayern if I could train with them and they said, ‘yeah, of course, no problem, but our under 17 girls team is not training right now. So you can join with the senior squad,’ that was cool to me so I went,” Grohs told SHE Scores Bangers.

“I got to know the goalkeeper coach back then and trained a few times with the first and second teams. It was an outstanding experience for me to meet the numerous role models I admired. The goalkeeper coach told me, ‘I could really imagine having you with us in the club,’ but I said I wanted to finish school first. He responded, ‘No problem. You can always call us, and I’ll call you.’ As the years went by, he actually did call me. That’s why I came back to Bayern for another trial, and then I decided I wanted to stay.”

Indeed, school was always a priority for the German talent. Though many of her friends went to boarding school and moved across the country to pursue a professional career, Grohs opted to stay close to family until she was 18. After almost 10 years with Gievenbeck, Mala joined VfL Bochum. With the addition of youth international call-ups, balancing things out was key.

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“I talked to my teachers and staff members of the school that I really wanted to stay, but I also wanted to play football. I got all the support I needed from them,” says Grohs. “I could go on a training camp and take schoolwork with me. I could skip a lesson if necessary to go to training, it was really no problem.”

Once graduated, the promised call from FC Bayern came, and the Münster native signed with the second team in 2019, making her debut in a 4-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt II. Grohs enjoyed the culture of the club, was training regularly with the first team and had a quick rise with all coaches taken aback by her abilities.

“From the beginning, I was allowed to train once or twice a week with the first team goalkeeping group, so that’s was where I got the first contact with them,” says Grohs

After just 10 appearances, Mala signed with the first team in April. This meant she would join the first team squad for the upcoming 2020/21 season.

“At that time, a lot of people told me to go to a smaller club where I could play for the first team and play the games I needed because it's so important to get match practice. But I knew I wanted to end up in a big club,” recalls Grohs. “I wanted to make my way through, that was my plan and it turned out so good. I didn't want to go somewhere else.”

FC Bayern has put great emphasis on developing talent in the second team to prepare them for the next step. Sydney Lohmann and Franziska Kett who play in the current squad, both spent some time with Bayern Munich II before signing with the first team.

Mala regularly trained with Peter Kargus when she first joined the Munich club, a coach who has worked with almost all Bayern ‘keepers for over 16 years. This approach has provided a stable environment for youngsters to properly develop into players who can play in the Frauen Bundesliga and UWCL.

Trusting her skill set and ready to pounce on the opportunity when it came Grohs had her league debut in April of 2021, an eventual 3-2 defeat to Hoffenheim. She was still 19 at the time.

“I knew I was going to get my league debut a week or two before it happened because the other goalkeeper was injured. Nobody told me, but of course, I could see that she's not going to be fit,” Says Grohs.

“There was a lot on the line because we were in a good position in the league and didn't want to lose it. But then, of course, we did lose that game. Still, I was very proud and it was probably one of the best games I could have played with what skills I had. It was nice but we lost so afterwards I was, of course, very sad.”

What has set the German ‘keeper apart from others among many things, is her ability to bounce back after an out-of-character performance, or a blunder during the game. That is no coincidence given this is something she has continually worked towards.

Across 21 games last season, Grohs only conceded seven goals in the league, securing a clean sheet in 15 of those fixtures. Not only did this award her the Bundesliga Golden Glove at the end of the season, but it was the best ratio across Europe’s top five leagues.

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The secret? Nailing down mental focus and the right arousal levels.

“I work very hard on my routines before the match in terms of how I approach the game. For example, I learned that I do better when I focus on one, two or three things. I don't go into a match thinking I want to do everything perfectly today, then I can’t focus on something specific. When I do my analysis of the game before, I take out two things I want to do better next time.

The second thing I learned is monitoring my body’s activity level. There's a specific activity stage where I have my best performances. It’s a perfect in-between where I’m not too stressed or super calm, and I’ve tried to learn how to reach that level of activity during all 90 minutes in a match. During a game, I expect one or two actions that are important and I’ve learnt to put myself, even if I expect an easy match, to be at the peak level so that I don’t miss these few important moments.”

Grohs had many stand-out saves last season, but nothing shines more than her three saves in the DFB Pokal semi-final penalty shootout against Frankfurt. The victory took Bayern to the cup final after a six-year absence, eventually losing to Wolfsburg and turning focus on the league. Lohmann had commented that Grohs did not save any penalties in training the day before.

“I was quite easy about it because the penalty shooting we did was for our players to have a good feeling about their shot. It's even harder for me to save penalties from players I know because I overthink it and then it doesn't work at all," she says with a laugh.

Just a year prior to that in her first UWCL season, the German ‘keeper was huge in saving what was a game-deciding penalty in the 89th minute against Benfica in the group stages. Minutes after keeping the scoreline tied, Georgia Stanway scored a rocket securing the 3-2 win.

“Over the years, I’ve scanned how players look and move before they shoot in a certain direction, my IQ has grown, and I might not be aware of it but my brain knows, it has this advantage and I just let it all flow,” explains Grohs.

“For the Frankfurt game, I had a table on my bottle with some information, but still for one of them, I was wrong. One of the players that took a shot wasn't even on my table and I got a little stressed that I couldn't find her. But it was a good moment where everything came together and I had the trust in myself.”

Speaking of UWCL, the German side exited the group stages in the 23/24 season, a disappointing result given the manner they dropped points versus Rome, PSG and Ajax. Injuries to star players and losing focus in vital moments cost the team plenty.

“We are caring for each other and that’s what brings the best out of us. We know we are trusted by our teammates, and we trust each other. I'm so happy to have all those players around me that’s why we are good at handling difficult situations quite well,” she explains.

Looking to push for a deeper run and a third consecutive league title, there is a lot to be excited for.

“I’m really looking forward to the Champions League and those bigger games. I want to see if what I do in training is making me a better goalkeeper or not, or at least know how it's going,” Grohs explains. “I’m excited to play again every week and get into that rhythm that we are used to, I miss it.

“I like the matches we have against Barcelona. It's fun facing them because they're playing the football we want to play as well. So it's always interesting to see how close we’ve come.”

With training hard, playing every week, and taking care of the mental aspect of the game, Mala’s celebration guilty pleasure includes, “I love to eat fries, and I like everything sweet. Cake and ice cream usually.”

Off the pitch, Grohs is currently studying mechanical engineering at a local university, completing her degree online as this is the career path she considers once she hangs up her gloves. And when it’s summertime, Mala enjoys spending a few weeks on a rented boat with family exploring different seas and oceans.

A piece of advice Grohs wants to leave fans and youth with is, “A lot of people were giving me advice, but I always knew what I wanted to do. That can also go wrong, but you can change direction again. If you know what you want to do, ignore what's outside and stay focused on your goal.”

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

When Temwa Chawinga signed for Kansas City Current at the start of the year, she made history as the first Malawian player to join the National Women’s Super League. Since then, the forward has been rewriting the record books with her historic achievements.

Arriving as the 2023 world’s leading goalscorer with 63 goals, it was only a matter of time until Chawinga opened a superb scoring tally in the US. And indeed, the Malawian striker sits atop of the Golden Boot race half way through the season, with her first goal coming only three games in, during a 4-2 home victory over Angel City.

The secret breakfast? “I like some eggs and maybe some fruits. But it's not because of the food, it's because of hard work and my teammates,” Temwa Chawinga told SHE Scores Bangers. “It is my duty to score the goals because I cannot leave it for the goalkeeper or defender to do it. I’m a striker and that’s my job.”

Not only does the hot Kansas City climate provide a familiar feel for Chawinga, allowing her to hit the ground running, but her teammates’ efforts to ensure a smooth transition have been monumental.

“It's not been very difficult for me to settle in because of the way people have treated me. We have a good coach, good players, and nice staff that made it easy to settle in the league,” Chawinga says. “I’m very grateful. They have helped a lot in training and I am able to be who I am.”

Chawinga is not just about scoring goals and recording high-speed numbers. In addition to a 12-goal tally, she has produced six assists across 16 games so far. Still, Chawinga is impressing with far more than that.

Her intelligent hold-up play, unmatched work rate, physical strength, unselfishness, and ability to leave it on the pitch are some of the many golden qualities that have helped the Malawian player thrive at this level.

Yet to every question surrounding her diverse ability to be great at many things, Chawinga is full of humility crediting her teammates. Being a humble character is another feature to add to her long list of assets.

Proud of the attention she is bringing to Malawian women’s football, Chawinga hopes her historic achievements “open the door” for many young girls in Africa. She views her goalscoring highlight reels as an incentive for scouts in Europe and the NWSL to turn their heads to players from Southern Africa.

“I hope when clubs see me performing, they say, ‘she is from Malawi, maybe we need to look at players from there,’ and we start to see more names go to Europe.”

Becoming a professional soccer player was not something Chawinga, or her sister, current Lyon player, Tabitha, ever thought was possible. The two stars are the only current Malawian players, men or women, playing professionally outside of Africa, but it was far from easy for them to get here.

“When we [Tabitha & I ] started playing…my mom told us not to play and that soccer was not for girls,” Chawinga recalls.

As a youngster, Temwa’s days consisted of “going to school, going to work, and washing plates” for months, leaving little time for soccer. “My mum stopped Tabitha from playing, but she continued and I followed in her footsteps. When she would go out to play, I’d go with her. My mum just had to accept that.” Chawinga tells SHE Scores Bangers.

Only able to play with the boys in their village, the Chawinga sisters would travel over 400 kilometers from their home in the Rumphi district to Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, to play with a girls team. National team scouts would do most of their work in Lilongwe, and it was the try-out destination. Like many, NT representatives were taken aback by the sheer brilliance displayed by the Chawingas.

“They thought it was not possible for a family to have two good players,” laughs Chawinga. “We were so scared to play around the people that make up the national team. We then started believing in ourselves.”

Iconically, the Chawinga sisters would receive national team call-ups together in 2011, go on to share the pitch in Sweden playing for Kvarnsvedens IK, and later, become opponents in China.

In fact, when Temwa landed in Sweden, all she could think of was the reality of her name being featured in a league that nurtured the historical era of Marta. It was Tabitha who told her sister all about the Brazilian’s records in the Damallsvenskan. Tabitha led, Temwa followed, and she is forever grateful to have had her sister along the way.

“If I took the decision of what my parents said, I wouldn’t be playing soccer. But I left behind what they had to say and just continued playing, and now I’m here,” Chawinga says. “I’m happy to know my mum is very happy to see the way my sister and I are performing, and what we are doing outside of Malawi.”

Yet, in order to encourage more girls to get involved in sports in Malawi, Chawinga recognizes the importance of a change in mindset.

“Back home, a lot of people think that soccer is only for boys,” Chawinga says. “In Malawi, we need to start treating boys and girls the same way. Here in the USA, we see lots of boys and girls in the stadium, and that can be the same in Africa.

“Parents should allow their children to play soccer, explore themselves, and play in another country. Back home, we don’t give our children the chance to choose between school and soccer. I want to say to parents, let your children have the choice to play.”

Whilst the majority of Chawinga’s advice was directed to parents urging them to challenge societal values on girls playing soccer, she highlights two key skills that have made her successful despite the noise.

“Working hard and listening to coaches,”

Without her hard work, Chawinga does not think she would’ve left Malawi. And without listening to her coaching, the player leading the Golden Boot race wouldn’t have been able to perform this well with the Current so far.

“If we change mindsets… a lot of players will start to come out from Africa and go to other countries, like me and my sister.” Chawinga passionately expresses.

Barba Banda, Rachel Kundanji, Asisat Oshoala, and Temwa Chawinga’s arrivals to the NWSL have sparked more critical conversations about talent across Africa and the efforts required to showcase it.

These one-of-a-kind players, each with a unique journey to the top of the game, serve as role models for many. Despite their different paths, they all faced and overcame the obstacle of being pushed away from playing a sport due to the climate of mindsets that said so.

Today, Temwa Chawinga is changing how women’s football is received in Malawi with her work on the pitch, one touch after another.