Ana-Maria Crnogorčević can’t quite believe what she has witnessed across Switzerland at UEFA Women’s EURO 2025.
On the night of their must-win clash with Iceland, in which the Swiss side were able to clinch all three points, 14,000 football supporters marched towards Stadion Wankdorf in Bern.
It was the largest fan walk in the history of the competition, spurring their side to within distance of a place in the quarter-finals for the first time ever.
“Hard to put into words what happened over the last couple of days,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Never stop dreaming!”
A win or draw against Finland on Thursday (10 July) will secure their place in the last eight, with Crnogorčević issuing a rallying cry to locals.
“The atmosphere in Basel was already unbelievable, but the fan march and the energy in Bern [was] something I never thought would be possible in Switzerland when I first joined the national team,” she added to her post.
“Thank you, Switzerland, for all the love and support so far in this tournament, but we’re not done yet.”
Regardless of what happens, it is clear to see that this side has changed the game in Switzerland.
Crnogorčević grew up without a role model in this sport, but EURO 2025 will ensure that no young Swiss will face that same problem.
View this post on Instagram
Ana-Maria Crnogorčević on being a role model
Growing up, seeing women’s football on TV was a rarity for Crnogorčević. As a result, role models were few and far between.
More recently, though, things have changed astronomically.
During her time as a player for FC Barcelona, the 34-year-old was part of two record-breaking games; the first in front of a crowd of 91,553 in March 2023, before bettering that the following month as 91,648 piled into the Camp Nou.
“After [those games], I went to a men’s Barcelona game, and you could just see young kids, young girls, young boys, walking around with a jersey [with the] name of a women’s player,” she said in an interview, according to Star News.
“I couldn’t imagine that even five years ago, that wasn’t the case.
“I think this is something very special; it’s so amazing, and for young people around the world, it’s huge that they can look up to a women’s player.”
Not only can they now look to women’s football for inspiration, but they can look to Crnogorčević in particular.
On a stage like the European Championships, held on her home soil, there is no time like the present to be exactly the kind of role model she wanted as a young girl.
View this post on Instagram
Crnogorčević: Written in the history books
At 34, this may very well be the last major tournament Crnogorčević plays for her nation.
If it is, there’s the hope they can make it one to remember by achieving their best-ever finish in European history.
Whether it is this year or in the next five, Crnogorčević will bow out from international football a Switzerland legend.
Since her debut in 2009, having featured heavily for the youth teams too, she has been a mainstay, with the numbers backing up her impressive career.
At the time of writing, she is her nation’s leading all-time appearance maker with 171 caps to her name.
More than that, she leads the way in terms of goals scored, netting an impressive 74 in Swiss red.
The nearest competitor, Ramona Bachmann, has a tally of 60.
Only Crnogorčević knows what will happen when the curtain is drawn and the dust settles on this competition, but she can be certain that she, along with her teammates, have lit a fire that will long last in the country they call home.
She was there in ’09 when the sport was finding its feet, and she will watch on as the players of tomorrow relish in the work she and many others have put in to make it what it is today.
