Barbara Dunst
Barbara Dunst is an Austrian footballer who plays as a midfielder for German Frauen-Bundesliga club Bayern Munich (women)|Bayern Munich] and the Austria women's national team. She is a two-time Austrian Women's Footballer of the Year award winner.
Career
Club
Dunst began playing football in 2004 at SV Anger, where she played for eight years in the boys' team. In November 2012, she signed with ÖFB-Frauenliga club LUV Graz, for whom she made her debut on 10 November 2012 in a league match against FC Wacker Innsbruck.For the 2014–15 season, she moved to league rivals and reigning cup winners SKN St. Pölten. With St. Pölten, Dunst won the domestic double in the 2014–15 campaign and repeated this championship and cup success in the following season. In the UEFA Women's Champions League, her team reached the Round of 32 in both the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons, being eliminated by Verona Calcio Femminile|Verona] and Brøndby respectively.
During the second half of the 2016–17 season, Dunst signed a contract with the German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. She debuted for Leverkusen on 19 February 2017 against FF USV Jena in a league match which ended 1–1.
On 21 June 2017, Dunst left Leverkusen and moved to fellow Frauen-Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg. She made 46 appearances in all competitions during her two years at the club.
In 2019, Dunst joined Eintracht Frankfurt and established herself as a key player for the team. She helped Frankfurt reach the 2020-21 DFB-Pokal Frauen final and played 106 minutes of the final, where they lost 1–0 after extra time to Wolfsburg (women)|Wolfsburg]. Dunst scored an impressive four goals in 10 matches in the 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League. In total, Dunst has made 147 competitive appearances for Frankfurt and scored 25 goals.
On 20 March 2025, Bayern Munich announced the signing of Dunst on a three-year contract, with the midfielder arriving in the summer. Due to a cruciate ligament rupture suffered whilst on international duty back in December 2024, the Austrian was unable to make any appearances for Bayern for many months. On 4 November, 336 days after getting injured, Dunst made her comeback as well as her Bayern debut as a substitute in a 6-0 league win away to Nürnberg (women)|Nürnberg].
International career
Dunst played for the Austria U17 national team between 2013 and 2014. In 2013, she participated with her team in the 2013 [UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification|UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification], where Austria was eliminated in the second round. In 2015, Dunst became part of the Austrian U19 team. In 2016, she played UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, where Austria was eliminated in the group stage.In October 2015, she was called up to the Austrian senior team for the first time for a European Championship qualifier against Israel. She made her senior international debut in that qualifier on 25 October. In March 2016, she won the Cyprus Cup with her team.
In 2017, Dunst was part of the 23-women squad who represented Austria and reached the semi-finals at the UEFA Women's Euro 2017. She was also part of the squad that was called up to the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.
In 2023, Dunst's strong performances saw her named the Austrian Women's Footballer of the Year, a prize awarded by Austrian Press Agency DiePresse. She impressively won the award for the second time the following year. In December 2024, Dunst ruptured her cruciate ligament during a Euros qualification play-off tie against Poland and missed several months of football as a result.
Career statistics
International
Honours
FSK St. Pölten-Spratzern- ÖFB-Frauenliga: 2014–15, 2015–16
- ÖFB Cup: 2014–15, 2015–16
- Austrian Footballer of the Year : 2023, 2024