‘It’s a nice hobby’: Manchester United’s Janina Leitzig on goalkeeping and gardening
With some parts of England gearing up for a fifth heatwave of 2026 the new Manchester United goalkeeper Janina Leitzig, a keen gardener, is sympathetic to the precarious health of this reporter’s tomato plants. “You’re not used to so little rain, are you?” she observes. For the time being, after her summer move to Manchester, the former Germany youth international does not have a garden of her own but she reveals that, during her three-and-a-half-year spell at her former club Leicester, homegrown vegetables were her pride and joy.
“I love to do some gardening. Back home, everyone has their own vegetables and it’s just better, it tastes better,” she tells the Guardian. “Being away from home and away from family, of course you have your football friends, but still it can be quite lonely sometimes if you come home from training, so it was really nice to have a garden and to spend time outside. It’s not too much effort, it’s just a nice hobby.”
The 27-year-old got her outdoor fix with a spot of surfing in Cornwall this summer during the off-season, but now the serious business of pre-season is well under way. Her new club Manchester United are heading to La Manga for a training camp between 14 and 19 August, where the focus will have to be less on runner beans and more on running drills.
Leitzig, the former Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim keeper, was sitting down for an interview before it was known that the Spanish coach Eva Olid was to become United’s new manager, but explained why swapping Leicester for United was appealing to her. “It’s such a big club and it’s such a big honour to be here,” Leitzig says.
“I think, for every player, it’s really interesting if you have an offer from Manchester United. First of all, the team is so nice. The characters in here – you can tell it’s a really good and strong team. The training quality is really high. The building and the facilities [at Carrington] are really good; it’s really professional here. [When] the conversations were going on [with United], they just gave me a really good feeling.”
Leitzig has signed a contract with United until 2029, after the disappointment of relegation with Leicester last season, but says she has nothing but fond feelings about her former club, who she initially joined on loan in January 2023 before signing permanently that summer.
Looking back at what she learned in the East Midlands, she says: “It was such a special time for me. It was supposed to be only half a year and then it ended up being three-and-a-half. I think that says a lot about how much I liked it there. The people are great and the club is great.
“Obviously we had some tough times and unfortunately the relegation last season was really, really tough and it really hurt, because the club deserves to be in a better position, but I really hope that the girls will do well and I see them soon back in the WSL. It would be great if they could come back up quickly.”
During her time in England, Leitzig has observed an evolution in goalkeeping styles, and she is in a thoughtful mood when discussing what the future might look like for keepers, tactically. On the modern trend of keepers playing out from the back, she says: “To be fair, there was one phase where everyone wanted goalkeepers to play with the feet and I think it’s still really important, but I think there was a phase where it was too much. I think it was a bit overexaggerated at times, so I think it’s coming back now to be more about the basic stuff.
“Obviously you have to switch play and you have to be good with your feet under pressure, but I think the game is going to be more [about] trying to get the ball as quick as possible in the opposite half to then keep the pressure up there and not to try to take such a high risk. It’s going to be interesting.
“I think, because I’m German and Manuel Neuer [her idol] is German, I learned quite early to play with both feet and I was an outfield player initially, so I’m feeling confident about playing with the ball. But saving shots is the best part of goalkeeping.”
The USA keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce played in 21 of United’s 22 matches in the Women’s Super League last season and Leitzig says they will enjoy working together and helping each other. “They [United] said it’s like a competition [to start in goal]. Obviously it’s really important to have strong goalkeepers, because you never know what happens in the season.
“I will just give my best, I’ll try to bring quality, and then it’s the manager’s decision to decide who’s going to play. But it’s really important that we are a good goalkeeper team, that we support each other and push each other because then everyone can get better.”
United, who finished fourth last season, will get the new WSL season under way on the opening night, at London City Lionesses on 4 September. Leizig concludes by looking ahead to that showdown and says, with fire in her eyes: “To have the first game of the season Friday evening, 7pm, floodlights, it’s just something you’re really excited for. Working in the pre-season you think: ‘When can the [games] finally start,’ so I’m really excited for that game.”
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Reporting from The Guardian contributed to this story.
