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Lisa Zimouche is 21 and a social media star.
She plays soccer - but without a team and without rules.
The “freestyle soccer athlete” has been posting videos with tricks on Instagram for more than seven years.
Two million people are already following her.
Lisa Zimouche was born and raised in Paris as the daughter of Algerian emigrants.
Lisa Zimouche, freestyle soccer player
»I grew up in a family that loved soccer.
Everyone in our neighborhood played football, all the time.
The only thing I did in the summer was play soccer.
Going on vacation was too expensive and my mother decided to join a club when I was seven.
My mother actually wanted to play soccer herself when she was young.
But my grandfather didn't want her to play.
That's why she made up her mind to allow her children anything they want to do. "
At first Zimouche only played "normal soccer" as a girl.
After a few years, however, she discovered "freestyle football" as a second passion.
Lisa Zimouche, freestyle soccer player
»As a 16 year old I had to make a decision between soccer and freestyle.
And I decided to do freestyle out of my gut.
It just suits me perfectly, this mixture between art, sport and ball control.
In football you give everything for the team.
But if someone keeps telling you: 'You have to do it this way' or 'You have to do it differently' - I wasn't happy with that.
And that's why I decided to do freestyle.
I can play with music, I can play with soccer players, with tennis players, with basketball players ... «
At the age of 14, Lisa Zimouche began to publish her training videos on the Internet.
In the meantime she has made a name for herself in the sports world.
She has already met many world-famous footballers, such as Neymar, Ronaldinho and Luis Suarez.
Lisa Zimouche, freestyle soccer player
“The guy I was most excited
about meeting randomly because he's so humble and all that is Usain Bolt.
He may not be a soccer player, but he is one of the greatest athletes of all time.
I can exchange ideas with other athletes about tricks and our careers. "
Of course, she also earns her money with such joint appearances.
Anyone who has millions of followers becomes interesting for advertising contracts - for example with sportswear manufacturers.
Even if the chemistry is right.
Lisa Zimouche, freestyle soccer player
"All soccer athletes are very nice to me, both female and male."
She used to have it easy with male soccer players.
Which is one of the reasons for her passion today.
Lisa Zimouche, freestyle soccer player
»My opponents always looked at me and told each other
: '
Oh, they have a girl on their team!', 'We'll win against them!', 'It'll be easy!'
And yes, that motivated me.
Whenever I heard something like that, I thought, 'Okay, I have to show them what I can do.'
The 21-year-old is now passing on her skills.
She gives workshops and supports young girls and tells them their stories.
But Zimouche also plays with female clichés.
Lisa Zimouche, freestyle soccer player
»I've played in high heels,
but one of the hardest tricks was playing in a dress.
I thought it was even harder in the dress than on heels. "
Zimouche gets closer to her goal, trick by trick.
She is pleased that it is much more normal today for women to play football too.
Lisa Zimouche, freestyle soccer player
“It's the difference to 2013, when I started playing on the street, when people said, 'Oh.
You are a girl.
What are you doing? ‹Now men are challenging me and wanting me to try to tunnel them and they want to see how long they can hold out against me 1-on-1.
That's pretty cool.
This change is pretty cool. "
Sometimes Lisa Zimouche disturbs her long hair.
But when she balances the ball between her arms and it lands again on her foot, she skillfully swings her braid under it.
Zimouche is a soccer freestyler.
“I have the freedom to do what I want with the ball.
There are absolutely no rules, no limits, ”said the Frenchwoman in a video interview with SPIEGEL.
When Zimouche saw the football legend Zinédine Zidane shoot France for the World Cup title for the first time in 1998, the 21-year-old wanted to use the ball that way one day.
But she quickly got bored of classic football.
She wanted to learn tricks, be more creative with the ball.
"Freestyle is not taught in clubs, so I watched videos of the best players in the world and tried hundreds of techniques until I could," says Zimouche, who started her career on the Paris Saint-Germain youth team for the Freestyle ended with the ball.
Since 2013 she has been sharing her skills as one of the first women on social networks.
Since then, more than two million people have followed her on Instagram alone - including world-class athletes such as Formula 1 racing driver Lewis Hamilton and sprint superstar Usain Bolt.
The ball artist now also uses her reach to encourage women around the world to play freestyle and street football.
During the corona pandemic, she shares her tricks with girls in digital workshops.
Because Zimouche, who grew up with male players, wants to create more female role models.
To this end, she is also involved outside of sport as an ambassador for women's rights.
"My story is nothing special," says Zimouche.
“All women can do it.
The future of women is bright, but we have to change a lot of things, especially people's attitudes, in order to create equality. "
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