Carina Wenninger joins Austria Wien

Austria Wien signs 127-time national team player Carina Wenninger. The 33-year-old played for FC Bayern for 15 years and ended her career after a year at AS Roma in 2023, which she is now continuing with the Violets in the ADMIRAL Women's Bundesliga.

"I had the feeling that I wanted to play at the highest level in the Bundesliga again. Austria Wien simply convinced me with their path, they work well here in sporting terms and you can see a clear idea. So I'm really looking forward to being part of the team and using my experience to lead the way", says Carina Wenninger.

Born in Graz, she started playing football at the age of nine at SV Thal and later moved to FC Gratkorn. In the 2006/07 season, Wenninger then recommended herself for bigger roles at LUV Graz and moved to FC Bayern in Munich. After initially playing in the second team there, the defender made her debut in the German Bundesliga in October 2008.

By the summer of 2022, Wenninger had played a total of 303 matches for Bayern, including 222 in the Bundesliga, 40 in the DFB Cup and 35 in the UEFA Women's Champions League. In 2011/12 she won the German Cup, and in 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2020/21 Wenninger won the championship with Bayern. In the 2022/23 season, she made 35 appearances for AS Roma, with whom she won both the Suppercoppa and the Scudetto - the first championship title for Roma in the club's history.

Wenninger made 127 appearances for the Austrian national team and is only surpassed by Sarah Puntigam (146). She made her debut in an ÖFB jersey on 5 May 2007; the last time Wenninger, who has been captain of the national team since 2022, played for the Red-White-Red was on 7 April 2023 in a 3-2 win over Belgium.

Wenninger will not continue in her job as manager of the ADMIRAL Women's Bundesliga, which she has held since July 2023.

Lisa Makas, Sporting Director: "Carina is one of the most influential footballers in Austria in recent years. We are delighted that we were able to convince her of our path and bring her back to professional football. With her incredible experience and footballing qualities, Carina makes us even more professional and is someone our many young players will look up to."