When Dzsenifer Marozsan makes the short journey to Paris on Monday night for the Ballon d’Or ceremony, she’s not expecting to leave with the trophy in hand.
If it were any other year, she would be a front-runner. The Lyon playmaker is a generational talent, one who has collected three Champions League winners’ medals, three French league titles and twice lifted the French Cup since leaving Frankfurt in 2016.
But, after a year plagued by injuries, she’ll be rooting for her team-mates on Monday – not that she’d be sat rooting for herself if things were different.
“You know me, I will never say [myself]!” she tells Goal, laughing when asked who she thinks will pick up the prestigious award – but told she cannot pick herself.
“I’m happy we have six players from Lyon [nominated] and I just hope it’s one of us.”
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Representing the club alongside Marozsan on the list of nominees is Ada Hegerberg, who won the inaugural edition of the accolade last year, and Amandine Henry, Sarah Bouhaddi, Wendie Renard and Lucy Bronze.
The latter is always quick to talk about the talents of her German team-mate, telling the media over the summer that she is without a doubt the best player in the world.
“In terms of football talent and ability, you rarely see players like that,” she said during this summer’s World Cup, delivering her response to England boss Phil Neville’s claims that the defender herself should win the Ballon d’Or.
“You’ve not seen the best of her because she got injured in the first 10 minutes in the first game and struggled to get back to fitness to play against Sweden.
“She’s someone that I’m really good friends with and I’m gutted for her.”
It was no small injury either. Although she would complete the full 90 minutes of Germany’s first World Cup group stage game against China, Marozsan suffered a broken toe that would rule her out for the next three games.
In any other circumstance, she would have been out for much longer. With it being the World Cup, she returned for the quarter-final against Sweden three weeks later, playing through an injury that had yet to heal.
“The toe was broken. Normally, it’s not possible, but I took the risk,” she says.
“We decided together [that I would play] and I would do it again. We lost the game, but it’s not because of that, it’s a lot of things.
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“We have to continue and stay positive. I think we can learn a lot from this World Cup. We have a good team. We know that.
“I have never been lucky with the World Cup.
“All the time, I have injuries when the World Cup is starting. It’s like this, but I continue and hopefully [for] the next World Cup I will be fine.
“[Injuries are] hard, but that’s football.”
The way which she brushes off disappointment is admirable. Marozsan is never one to dwell on the past, but rather focus on what is next and what she can win.
It’s a mentality boosted by the fact that last summer, she was given news that made her wonder whether she would ever play football again.
“It was really hard with my sickness, for sure. It was a scary moment for me,” she says, reflecting on the moment in which she discovered she had a pulmonary embolism in her leg.
“But I was sure I would come back and I just took my time and listened to the doctors.”
The injuries are part of Marozsan’s story now, another example of her drive, motivation and professionalism; obstacles she has had to overcome that make her a great choice as one of Team Visa’s inspiring athletes.
Nonetheless, it’s her incredible talent that gives her the platform to be a role model for young people around the world.
For those that have seen Marozsan work her magic on the pitch, her calmness off it will come as no surprise.
The German midfielder operates with a touch of class that makes the brilliant look effortless, never rash in her decision-making.
It’s that which makes her the best playmaker in the game, and it’s something that comes from the footballers in her family - as does her ability to stay grounded.
“For me, [my role model] was always my brother because he was really talented, but also he was always calm. He also never forgot where he was from.
“That’s really important because even if you win a lot of things, you should never forget where you are from.
“That’s my way, that’s how I think, that’s why he was [my role model].
“Also, my father, he was a professional football player and that’s what he showed me.
“That’s how I live my career now.”
Those morals stay close to her heart and are what made her latest Champions League triumph so special.
Although Marozsan has been capped 97 times by Germany, she was born in Budapest, Hungary – the location of this year’s European final.
“I said to my team-mates everyday, ‘Please, girls, just this year, we have to do it again. Please!’” – and they did exactly that, with Marozsan herself breaking the deadlock in Lyon’s 4-1 win over Barcelona.
“It was unbelievable. It was the most amazing moment in my life,” she says.
“I will never forget it. It was so special for me, for sure that we won it, but the most important [thing] for me was that my family could be in the stadium for the first time ever.
“That was so amazing.”
Now, after her team-mates helped her enjoy the greatest moment in her career so far, she is hoping that one of them will receive their own incredible moment on Monday night.
And while Bronze may have spent the summer dismissing Neville’s claims that the England star should win it, Marozsan is backing the coach on this instance, not her close friend.
“For me, it’s Lucy, the best player, the best defender in the world – and she knows that as well,” she says, happy to pass the individual attention onto someone else.
And when a footballer of Marozsan's calibre declares someone as the best, who are we to argue?
Marozsan was speaking at the Team Visa Summit, where 16 of Europe’s top female football players came together at Visa’s European Headquarters to discuss the future of the game. As members of Team Visa, these athletes will receive the tools, resources and support they need to achieve their lifelong dreams, both on and off the football field. To find out more about Team Visa, visit visa.co.uk.
