Bend it like a girl

“Girls can't play soccer” – how often have they heard that phrase? Pauline, Chayenne, Eriona, Liv and their teammates prove the opposite during training and in tournaments against boys' teams. They play in the U15 team at SGS Essen, where women's soccer is a big deal. Passionate, committed, and with great team spirit, they are following their dream of becoming professional soccer players. The documentary series “Bend it like a girl” follows the SGS Essen U15 team through the highs and lows of a season. It is a decisive year for the team – because for the girls who don't make it to the next level - the U16 team - at the end of the season, their professional career aspirations could be over. As a team, they are united by their ambition to take SGS Essen to the top of women's soccer in their region. They are set on winning the Lower Rhine Cup. Some players even stand the chance of getting selected for the U15 German national team by the German Football Association (DFB). Regardless of their success in soccer achieve at the end of their time together, the players definitely learn key life lessons: they can overcome obstacles, develop their potential, and punch way above their weight — in soccer as in life. "Football is in my blood!" Chayenne from Gelsenkirchen plays for the sheer joy of it. Scoring goals, having fun. And a healthy dose of ambition to boot. It was like that even in nursery, she recalls, when she loved nothing more than playing football with the boys. Her big role model: Ronaldo. Her dream: to become a professional footballer. Chayenne has great talent, her coaches reckon. And who knows, perhaps she’ll soon become a role model for younger players herself.