The Mommy, the Joker, and the Beast: Why Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic, Alisha Lehmann, and Noelle Maritz are so important in the women's national team

From a Swiss perspective, the discoveries of the European Championship are different. But these three players shine unspectacularly by perfectly fulfilling their assigned roles. They subordinate themselves – and thus make the team better.

As Christmas approached, soccer player Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic had traveled from her club in Seattle to spend a month's holiday at home. Sitting in a café in Thun , she looked ahead to the European Championships , which were due to begin in seven months.

When asked how she sees her role and whether she expects to be a regular starter, she said: "Definitely. I bring things to the table that the team doesn't usually have, like my heading ability. And discipline and tactics are extremely important with the way we play now. Not everyone has the tactical maturity that I have. I think that's a plus for me."

Things turned out differently. The 34-year-old played 82 minutes in the group matches. For someone with her ambition, that should be a setback. But Crnogorcevic is filling her role as a substitute in an exemplary manner. She may still be Switzerland's most capped player and record goalscorer (74 goals in 172 matches). But since she has lost some of her attacking power, she has been helping out on the right and left of defense, a role she was already deployed in at her former club, Barcelona. And here she is bringing the full force of her experience to the pitch: she plays calmly and cautiously, she anticipates, intercepts balls - and keeps a clear head even in confusing situations. Not the worst quality, especially considering the Spanish attacking storm that we can expect in the quarter-finals on Friday.

But Crnogorcevic isn't just important on the pitch; she's a walking legend for the national team. Before the second European Championship group match against Iceland, she recalled her early days in the selection. During the 3-0 win against Sweden in 2009, a good 200 spectators dispersed to the Niedermatten Stadium in Wohlen. She was 19 years old at the time and quickly grew into the role of leader. And she brings an emotional warmth and caring that makes her the link between the older and younger players. She's always been a mom, she said in a café in Thun. Never has someone like her been needed more than on this teen team.

So much has been written about Alisha Lehmann. Whether her performances would be enough for a European Championship squad ? Whether the Swiss Football Association could even afford not to field the social media star. Lehmann slipped into the squad. And the astonishing thing is: Since then, it's been quiet about her. So far, the focus at this European Championship has been on others, especially exciting new discoveries like Iman Beney, Leila Wandeler, and Sydney Schertenleib .

This, of course, has to do with the fact that they received significantly more playing time. Lehmann was only substituted on in the last-minute draw against Finland and was involved in the move that led to Switzerland's late equalizer. But the 26-year-old also embraced her role with a certain humility. Pia Sundhage has transformed Lehmann, normally a winger, into a full-back in her setup. A role she accepted without complaint. Sundhage said at the squad announcement: "She impressed us; she wants to help the team. That's why she's here."

Lehmann, the multi-millionaire influencer, has shrunk down to the size of a typical national team player. She was only oversized once, shortly before the tournament, when she was emblazoned on giant neon signs in Swiss train stations, wearing her advertising partner's bikini. But now everyone knows: Alisha Lehmann isn't taller than the team. Even though she can still be reliably spotted everywhere, she's always where the screaming level is at its highest. And she doesn't avoid the fans; her perseverance in fulfilling their selfie requests is remarkable.

That Lehmann puts herself at the team's service may surprise those who assume capricious behavior based on her appearance. But she's not above playing the role of substitute at her club, Juventus. Both here and there, she's popular with her teammates; Alisha is "fun." She also enjoys warming up before matches. Motivating the others and then sitting on the bench – that requires a certain generosity. As Sundhage said: Lehmann wants to help the team.

There are people who remain so silent at meetings or parties that you forget about them. But when they do say something, it's so meaningful that everyone listens. That's roughly how Noelle Maritz, 29, plays football. Unobtrusively – until it becomes important. Then the left-back tackles a striker, blocks an attack, and creates space with her body.

"She doesn't play for the stands," said former national coach Béatrice von Siebenthal in the NZZ newspaper in 2022. Today, one can say: She plays for the team – and how. In the hard-fought match against Iceland, her commitment was crucial; she worked tirelessly, fighting for every ball, for every inch. She went about her business with such a lack of humor and looked so mean that she was barely recognizable.

Maritz is commonly what is called "laid back" in the US. Until she was ten, she lived in America with her Swiss parents, then the family moved to the canton of Thurgau. But her serenity should not be confused with frugality or even sloppiness. Von Siebenthal, who has known Maritz since she was 13, says Maritz has retained the "American style." The competitive spirit has always been strong in her. This desire to compete can only be good for a team that is often described as somewhat tame.

At this European Championship, Maritz has gone from being a "hard worker," as von Siebenthal called her, to a "beast." That's what sports coordinator Johan Djourou calls her. Her performances really surprise no one. Maritz, who now plays for Aston Villa in the Premier League, has been playing at a high level for a long time. When she was 19, she won the Champions League with her then club Wolfsburg. And she was already at the 2015 World Cup, the first for which Switzerland qualified. Maritz would perhaps shrug her shoulders at that list. She shows who she is on the pitch.