‘Kind of lucky’: From Germany to Columbia, Missouri Soccer’s Milena Fisher Carving Out Her Collegiate Career
Four thousand, six hundred and thirteen miles. Germany to America.
Born in Saarbrücken, Germany, Missouri Tigers junior midfielder Milena Fischer traveled across an ocean to play soccer for the University of Missouri.
Rather than hanging out with other girls her age when she was younger, Fischer gravitated towards playing soccer. And more specifically, soccer with boys.
Growing up in a country where soccer was — and still is — considered more of a men's sport, Fischer received better opportunities playing for her local boys’ club team rather than a girls’ team.
“Since there's not as many women's teams as there are men's teams, I started [playing soccer] with little boys when I was 4,” Fischer said.
Starting out on her town’s club team for boys, Fischer worked her way up through the ascending age groups until she made it to high school. However, she didn't attend a traditional school.
A common struggle among athletes is figuring out how to balance school and sports. In Germany, there is a solution for this. Fischer went to the Gymnasium am Rotenbühl, which is considered “a sports school.”
“For [the Gymnasium am Rotenbühl], the sports are a big part,” Fischer said. “So, all the teachers take care of you, they support you with the sport, they know that you are doing a sport and they know that you don't have as much time.”
A school in the sports sector gives students an extra year academically, allowing for more time to do their work and practice their sport. The teachers double as their coaches, so they understand and expect that their students and players will be spending a lot of time on their sport alongside school work.
“From eighth grade on, I [had] six practices a week and one game a week,” Fischer said.
Outside of her club team, Fischer was also able to play for another team, where she was given the opportunity of a lifetime.
In the German Football Association, each of the 16 states have their own state team. The state’s coaches want their players to be the very best, so they help out at the practices for the schools in the sports sector. These teams are more competitive than the club teams, causing players to work much harder for a chance to be on the state teams.
“Through the practices I had organized by the school, I trained with better athletes,” Fischer said. “It was guys and girls mixed and then different age groups. But it was also select athletes, because not everybody can enter that program. You have to meet certain standards to get into the class.”
The competitive state teams meet once a year to play the other states, making it a very important event for both players and coaches. It gives players the chance to be recruited by scouts from the national team, which is a highly coveted opportunity.
Fischer was one of those players that was recruited. In 2019, she had the opportunity to play for the U17 German National Team.
Playing for her country was a very big deal for Fischer, and she didn't take it lightly.
During her time on the National Team, Fischer was able to travel to many countries playing the sport she loves. But it wasn’t always fun and easy. She had to put her all into those few games, trying to represent her country to the best of her ability.
“It was kind of stressful because it's really competitive,” Fischer said. “You get there like once a year or twice a year and you have to perform within those few practices and that's kind of stressful. But it pays off and it's fun as long as you're doing well.”
Safe to say, the U17 German National team did do well. After five games, Fischer and company walked away with the 2019 Euro National Championship.
“[Winning the European Championships] was kind of crazy to realize ‘Oh, we actually won and I’m a part of that,’” Fischer said.
Since she was playing with other elite players, Fischer got the opportunity to hear from other athletes who had left Germany to play in the United States.
That’s when she decided she wanted it for herself.
“I saw friends doing the same thing and I thought, ‘Oh, that would be cool and interesting and a pretty nice opportunity,’” Fischer said.
The only problem was finding a way to get noticed and receive an offer while in a different country.
The typical pathway for this in Germany starts by hiring an agency. The agency compiles data and footage of the players and sends it out to the schools in the U.S. The players and schools are then put in contact with each other.
“The schools or coaches react better because it’s not an individual person reaching out, but it’s a legit[amate] agency,” Fischer said.
Fischer didn’t know anything about Missouri before she accepted its offer to play soccer for the school. She couldn't tour the campus, and had to go with what she could find online.
And her only requirement? Her future school needed a good architecture program.
“My major was a big part of it,” Fischer said. “I knew what I wanted to do, and not a lot of schools offer that, and then a lot of times it's hard to combine soccer with that, since it's really time-consuming.”
Thus, she chose Missouri over Harvard and Colorado.
“I didn’t really know much about Mizzou, to be honest,” Fischer said. “I couldn’t do a visit and it was kind of a late decision. But, I’m glad how it turned out. I feel like I was kind of lucky.”
While Fischer had experience going to different countries from her time with the U17 German National team, this was different. This was bigger.
Moving to a new place isn't easy, but moving across the ocean to play for Missouri was definitely a big change. Fischer was moving to a country with an entirely different culture, having to adjust to a new life without any familiar family or friends.
“At first it was hard adapting, because you come here and you don't have any real connections yet,” Fischer said. “Finding friends and having people close to you, making those connections is hard and stressful at times.”
Despite having a larger transition than others when she went to college, Fischer knew that her fellow Missouri teammates were in the same boat. They would have to try to make connections with others and would be moving to a new place, too.
In a sense, they were going through the same things as she was.
“I was no different than any of them leaving their families and coming to campus,” Fischer said. “Of course, I wasn't used to the culture and the country. But like them, I just left my family and my home to live somewhere else by myself.”
Realizing that members of her team would be experiencing the same thing really helped with Fisher's transition. She was able to form connections with her teammates, allowing herself to not be so alone in a new environment.
“I think that team really helped with [the transition] because soccer kept me occupied and kept me around people and then in that environment, I naturally became friends with those people,” Fischer said.
Having soccer and her teammates gave Fischer something to focus on during this hard time in her life. It gave her a purpose. She made a conscious effort to build relationships with her teammates and those around her.
“I like my sport so much because there's a team involved and the people make it fun,” Fischer said. “Winning is fun, but it's not as fun if you can't share it with people you like.”
Outside of her teammates, Fischer was able to find players from her country in different sports, such as Emelie Schwarte on the tennis team and Mara Häusler on the track and field squad. She found people who not only understood her culture, but also what it was like to relocate from Germany to Missouri.
“I think we all have the same struggles,” Fischer said. “People introduced me to them and then we became friends.”
Even though she is playing the same sport, the environment and the gameplay isn’t quite the same as it was back home in Germany. Fischer went from experiencing crowds that were just there for the sport or the players to experiencing the Missouri crowds that largely gather just to support the school, which was a weird change for Fischer.
“The whole school is involved in our team doing well,” Fischer said. “I would say the [Missouri] fans are not unnecessarily interested in the sport but rather in school spirit.”
In Germany, the players on the teams are usually locals from the community, so there is a more familiar club community. The players have familiarity with the people coming to the games because they live near them or are family members. In the U.S., fans will show up that have no relation to a player and little interest in soccer. They’ll go just to support the team, school or city.
“[Here], you don't necessarily know the fans that are coming,” Fischer said. “At home, there will be more people from your town or friends.”
While the junior’s time playing in front of Missouri’s fans is nearing its end, she has many hopes for her last years at MU.
“I really want to get [to the SEC Championship and the NCAA Tournament] and see what's possible,” Fischer said. “I think we can be really good.”
As for her future with soccer after college, Fischer is undecided. She remains open to her options, whether that means going home or staying in the U.S.
“After Mizzou, I don't even know yet if I'm gonna keep playing or not,” Fischer said. “One option of course is going pro, but I'm also not sure if I want to do that in the U.S. or in Europe. But, if there are some options coming up, I will definitely consider those.”
She may be in a different country now, but Fischer hasn’t left her old home behind. She still makes German food in her kitchen, video chats with her friends and family and talks with other players from Germany.
And if nothing else, in the corner of her computer screen remains a permanent reminder of her home in the form of wrong numbers.
“I didn't change the time on my computer,” Fischer said, “So, I always know what time it is back home.”
