Meet the Prague Raptors Ladies Captain & fast car lover

An Interview with Prague Raptors Football Club's Ladies Captain, Anna Osterthun - By Simona Lebánková

She is the captain of the Prague Raptors Ladies team, but also a fan of fast cars and traveling. Before moving to Prague she lived three years in Singapore. "I liked Asia a lot and did not plan to go back so early, but I always knew that I want to go back to Europe." What was Anna doing before starting with football and what is a car of her dreams? Read more in the new interview with Anna Osterthun.

Did you think you would become the Raptors captain?

No, I had no idea. We met initially in the restaurant, it was our very first meeting and they were still not sure if they are even going to start the women's team. I really wanted to play tournaments, not only for fun, but also because I like competitive games.

How did it feel when they announced you as the captain?

It was great, I was surprised and thankful. I do like to be organized, maybe that was the reason behind it and I am also one of the older players. I can also be loud on the field and say to people what we should focus on. I am not afraid to talk to people, which I think is an important part when you are a captain of any team. But I definitely didn’t expect that I will be the captain.

Everyone sees you have great team spirit. How come you go along so well?

I think we all love the game and almost everyone was looking for being a member of some team. We all really want to make it work. Personally, I was looking for something ‘out of work’. Not to just work and go home, but also have some fun and be part of something meaningful. Everyone is so determined. We have so many not only different nationalities, but also personalities and that’s what makes it so great. From young crazy ones, to older more settled ones. When it comes to games, it’s just more difficult for us, because if you look at the men’s team in general they have more experience on 11 aside and a lot of people in ladies team didn’t play before. But I believe that once we play more games it will click as well, because the rest works fine. We also do a lot out of the pitch - meet for karaoke, going for festivals. We always have fun together.

How do you feel about the season so far?

I am enjoying it. I missed two games because I went for holidays, but you can definitely feel that we are getting better and better. The start has a lot of obstacles that we had to overcome. We are still getting used to each other and learning how to play together. We need to work more on midfield and attacking to take the pressure away from our defence. It’s frustrating when we lose, but we shouldn’t forget to have fun and working on ourselves. I think in the second half of the season you won’t see the same team, because we will be much stronger.

What’s your background when it comes to football?

I never planned to play football, I didn’t really want to because I’ve done a lot of other sports. I did gymnastics on the horse and loved it, it was really good, but I quit when I was 17, because the team fell apart. My mum didn’t want me to play football and drive to other village for trainings. But then I tried to come for training and it was fun. I asked my mum and she told me that as long as I can get there on my own, I can go. I got my driving license for scooter and started attending trainings. When I finished school I went to USA and I played there just for fun. It was mixed league. But I stopped, which made my mum happy, because before I left I was so many times in hospital with my ankle, knee and eye.

Eye?

There was one woman and her shot was very strong. I got it straight in to my eye. All I remember is that I was on the floor. It felt like when somebody is putting sand in your eyes and it was painful. After that I went to the hospital because it started looking blue. They said my eyeball was splintered and my retina was cut and bleeding. It’s all good now, but I am not allowed to do skydiving or bungee jumping anymore.

How long have you been in Prague?

I came in May 2016. I moved because of work. Before I moved to Prague I lived and worked in Singapore for three years, which is amazing city, but so expensive. I didn’t want to share a place for the rest of my life, but I did not planned to leave so early.

What do you like to do besides football?

I travel quite a lot. I‘ve lived in 7 countries more than six months. Germany, Netherlands, USA, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Singapore and now Czech Republic. I traveled to places that I could reach from my home base. To Australia from New Zealand, South America from Costa Rica and so on. I do the normal things like other people. Meet my friends and colleagues for dinner, going to food festivals, because I love eating. Cleaning my apartment. I put my headphones on and do my thing. You know, the regular stuff.

We all know you are into cars. Which car was the fastest you ever drove?

It was a car of my boss 911 GTS and I drove 305km/h. It was in Germany and I wanted to get home soon. I can only do this in Germany thought. Otherwise I am a responsible driver.

Which car is your "dream" one?

I always wanted a yellow boxster (Porsche). First of all this car is fun to drive and second it’s yellow so it smiles at you already in the garage. 😊