Vanessa Fudalla

Vanessa Fudalla (born 21 October 2001) is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder for Frauen-Bundesliga club RB Leipzig.

Career

After starting her footballing career at local club DJK Langwasser in 2007, Fudalla moved around multiple clubs in the area until entering the 1. FC Nürnberg youth ranks in 2015. She moved to the under-17s at Bayern Munich two years later; that year Fudalla made her senior team debut for Bayern II in the 2. Bundesliga against Saarbrücken. Her first goal came in March 2018 during a win against Sindelfingen.

Her debut for Bayern Munich II came on November 12, 2017 when she was substituted for Melanie Kuenrath in 68th minute. She scored her first goal on March 18, 2018 in a 3-1 win against VfL Sindelfingen with the goal to make it 2-1 in the 59th minute. Fudalla and Bayern II won the 2. Bundesliga, as she scored 17 goals to finish second in the goal scoring charts. However, as the second team of a first-division side, Bayern II were denied promotion to the Bundesliga.

Fudalla progressed to the Bundesliga ahead of the 2019–20 season, signing for newly-promoted club FF USV Jena. Her Bundesliga debut came on the first matchday on August 17, 2019 in the home game against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, which ended in a 6-1 defeat. She scored her first Bundesliga goal on the fourth matchday on September 22, 2019 home against 1. FC Köln with a penalty kick in the 71st minute to bring the final score to a 2-2 draw. The team failed to win a game throughout the season and was eventually relegated, with Fudalla scoring two goals.

During the subsequent summer, Fudalla moved to RB Leipzig. After three seasons in the 2. Bundesliga, Fudalla fired Leipzig to promotion during the 2022–23 campaign, becoming the league's most prolific player with 20 goals.

Back in the top flight for the 2023–24 season, Fudalla made her first game-changing contribution during Leipzig's first home game in the Bundesliga, lobbing Essen's keeper for her first goal and executing a short solo run for her second, which eventually brought the team a 3-2 victory. The team struggled from thereon out, taking just one point from the subsequent five games. Fudalla returned to the scoring charts with a shot from range in a 1-1 draw versus Leverkusen, before taking home an assist to Lydia Andrade in a loss against Hoffenheim. Following the winter break, the German began starring in the division, scoring once versus Cologne, twice during a spectacular 4-4 draw in Essen and both goals in an upset victory against Eintracht Frankfurt. She scored both goals in the 2-1 home victory against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Career statistics

As of match played 16 February 2024