Portrait of ex-footballer

Viki Schnaderbeck – a Styrian success story

Viktoria Schnaderbeck

(Bild: Marlene Fröhlich )

Whether as captain of the ÖFB team or as a player for FC Bayern Munich or Arsenal - former professional footballer Viktoria Schnaderbeck from Graz has enjoyed numerous successes in her career. Sport still plays a major role in her life: as a consultant and speaker.

Viktoria Schnaderbeck, who was born in Graz, laid the foundations for her career in professional soccer at the age of seven, when she discovered her great passion for soccer. She spent every free minute with her friends on the sports field, usually as the only girl. "I soon realized how much fun it was and I quickly developed a certain ambition." When asked whether it was her childhood dream to become a professional footballer, Schnaderbeck replied: "There is an ORF interview of me on Konfetti TV in which I say 'When I grow up, I want to be a professional footballer'. I was about 10 years old at the time." 

A success story with its origins in Styria
Between 2007 and 2022, Viktoria Schnaderbeck made 83 appearances in an ÖFB jersey for the national team. She led the team as captain for nine years. From Graz, the Styrian went out into the big wide world. At the age of 16, she was signed by FC Bayern Munich and showed her skills there for eleven years. Together with her team, she was able to celebrate great success - they won the German championship twice (2015 and 2016) and the DFB Cup in 2012.

She then moved to England to join Arsenal FC, with whom she became English champion. After three and a half years, she moved on to Tottenham Hotspur as the last stop on her extremely successful career as a professional footballer. After Euro 2022, she made the decision to end her career. Even today, she is still certain that this was exactly the right time. "I'm very at peace with it, I don't want to miss a year and I don't want to add to it."

Viktoria Schnaderbeck announced the end of her career after the 2022 European Championships.

(Bild: GEPA)

From professional footballer to agency founder and speaker
She established a second mainstay as a keynote speaker during her professional career. She now shares her experiences as a successful woman in a male-dominated field and talks about topics such as leadership, diversity and success strategies. Her aim is to inspire and make people think.

Today, she also demonstrates her leadership qualities off the pitch. In 2023, she founded her own sports marketing agency "Pro-Spective". She advises professional athletes on how to find their way to a successful career after their active sporting career. When selecting athletes, her focus is clearly on personality and not on a particular gender or sport. Nevertheless, her personal approach to women's soccer is obvious.

She would like to highlight one athlete in particular who she has been looking after since founding her agency: Manuela Zinsberger. "She was the first to say to me 'I want to be coached by you'. She had known my plans for a long time and she is someone who proactively thinks about how she can be successful in sport and beyond. She is also willing to invest time off the pitch. That is a necessity, because if athletes are not willing to invest time and show initiative, then even the best advice is useless." Schnaderbeck also emphasizes that the foundations for a future career should be laid during an active career. 

Viktoria Schnaderbeck founded her own sports marketing agency in 2023.

(Bild: zVg)

From an academic perspective, the Styrian also had an exciting career and laid the foundations for her current work as a consultant. She completed her bachelor's degree in sports management and her master's degree in business psychology and trained as a marketing communications specialist. In her private life, she has found happiness with her wife Anna. They are expecting their first child soon. 

Ambition and perseverance as important building blocks for success

According to Schnaderbeck, the number one prerequisite for success is clearly hard work. Of course, it also takes a bit of luck and talent. What is necessary is perseverance. Not giving up during low phases. To prove resilience. Learning to deal with setbacks. Setting goals and surrounding yourself with positive people who support you and always looking ahead.

This applies equally to men and women. But it's different when it comes to the conditions, which are not always the same for men and women. This made her path to the top more difficult than that of her male colleagues. "Women often have to overcome more hurdles to become successful."

"People would think that my greatest sporting successes are the titles, that would be obvious. But for me, the biggest success was fighting my way back to the top again and again after eight operations on my right knee."

Viktoria Schnaderbeck

Using the strength of sport for social commitment
Viktoria Schnaderbeck also attaches great importance to social commitment, which always goes hand in hand with her passion for soccer. She donates one percent of her agency's sports-related income to the international initiative Common Goal and contributes directly to the Austrian initiative "Kicken ohne Grenzen". The aim here is to bring children together through soccer. Children with a migration background or from difficult social circumstances should be given the same opportunities. According to Schnaderbeck, the aim is to break down barriers with the help of sport.

"Fair play and tolerance play a major role in sport. However, this is often lacking in our society outside of sport. I believe that if everyone makes a small contribution, a lot can be achieved together. It was always important to me to think outside the box and make my own personal contribution," says the former footballer.