Being swept aside 4-0 by league leaders and Bundesliga holders VfL Wolfsburg is never fun but, for MSV Duisburg's Allie Hess, the very fact that she was on the pitch at all was a considerable achievement.

Following a series of crippling ankle injuries, the American forward never believed she would play professional football again, let alone find herself competing on an equal footing against some of the very best in the women's game.

However, 18 months later, and making her sixth appearance of the season in Germany's Frauen-Bundesliga for newly-promoted Duisburg, the 26-year-old is enjoying a remarkable turnaround.

"I have been able to grow my competence a lot playing in this league by lining up against some of the best players in the world," she told DW.

"The German national team are unmatched in how disciplined they are and how they move the ball and you can see that across the whole league.

"It's helping my game grow a lot when I watch videos of our opponents in preparation for games, I am watching some of the best teams in the world.

"Not only am I getting to play against them on the field but I'm getting to see them, watch them constantly and learn from their game."

From Missouri to MSV

Believing her ankle problems spelled the end of her career, Hess initially lost her passion for playing the game at university in Kansas City, Missouri, and instead turned her attention to coaching young female players.

But, seeing the joy the sport gave those young girls, Hess' own desire to play was rekindled, just as the newly formed Kansas City Current side were about to play their inaugural season in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2021.

Although Hess impressed during tryouts for the Current, her two-year absence was reflected in her lack of match fitness, and she struggled for game time. It was then that an opportunity arose to join Duisburg, who were playing Germany's Bundesliga 2 at the time.

Hess' style of play, looking to have the ball at her feet and running at defenses, proved to be more suited to the European game as opposed to the American style, which relies more heavily on forwards using pace and power. Deployed as a striker, she helped the Zebras secure promotion to the German top-flight.

Childhood mentor: Vlatko Andonovski

Hess credits one person in particular with helping bring about her change in fortunes: Vlatko Andonovski, the current US Women's National Team head coach who coached Hess during the most formative seven years of her childhood.

"He has such a high football IQ and was always opening my eyes to new things at such a young age," Hess explained. "He taught me so much as a human and a player."

In 2006, Andonovski had just emigrated from Macedonia to Missouri and took charge of local youth club KHMAC Stars. He began coaching the then 10-year-old Hess, who credits him with making her a student of the game and a more selfless player.

"He helped me tap into the 'work smarter, not harder' mentality. How to see the game, look at it differently and to open my eyes to the bigger picture instead of one single position kind of mindset.

"He gave us the principles and knowledge, but when it came to game time, we had the freedom to do whatever we decided in that moment and if we made a mistake we were never reprimanded or criticized for being brave."

How Wambach and Drogba helped shape Hess' game

Andonovski, who took charge of four-time World Cup champions USA in October 2019, drilled into Hess and her teammates at a young age to consume as much football on television as they could to learn from as many of their idols as possible.

For the attacking midfielder, she was awed by United States' all-time leading goalscorer Abby Wambach and developed an equally close connection to Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

Watching the pair of forwards helped her learn the importance of positioning herself in the box and just off the shoulder of a defender.

"I noticed Abby was not the fastest striker but from her I learned most about being in the right place at the right time," Hess explained.

"I especially watched her off the ball, where she was, the space she was occupying because she wasn't fast she would get herself in really good positions.

"Drogba was also always in the right position, like all great strikers are. People don't notice a lot of the work strikers do off the ball, to get themselves in the right position to score, and Drogba's movement off the ball was something I latched on to early on."

'Family environment'

More than just being a great educator on the field, Hess recalled Andonovski's insistence on creating a family environment for the team.

Some of Hess' fondest memories of her former coach were the pancake breakfasts and barbeques he and his wife held at their home for the team multiple times a year.

Hess believes some of her struggles to maintain her love of the game after she stopped being coached by Andonovski at the age of 17 came from being spoilt by the type of coach he was.

"He is a great human being," she said. "It was only years later that I realized how he cared for us as people. He always put us as people first.

"Ages 10-17 is such a crucial time, not only developmentally on the pitch, but also as young adolescents, there is a lot of stuff that you're navigating at that time.

"He always made it known that he cared about us as people off the pitch. That is something that is really overlooked at that age, but looking back now I see how incredible that was."

Surviving relegation key goal for Duisburg

Hess is now trying to apply those lessons in Duisburg as the newly-promoted Zebras battle to stay in the Bundesliga, while simultaneously dealing with typical issues which continue to dog women's football.

"It is a classic football business issue; a lot of money is always invested into men's teams across the Bundesliga," she said.

"We are fighting quite a harsh battle here in Duisburg in terms of them wanting to invest a lot in the men's team and not so much in the women but that happens everywhere. The team are just trying to hold their heads above water and build off of what we have."

For those reasons, Duisburg's goal for the season is very simple and, despite losing 4-0 to Wolfsburg, Hess sees plenty to be positive about.

"Our goal is to just stay above relegation," she said. "We have a small, young squad but I think we are already proving people wrong."

Edited by Matt Ford