How Denmark's Nadia Nadim continues to defy the odds on the pitch and in the operating room 

By all accounts, Nadia Nadim is an exceptional human being who has led an extraordinary life.

After taking up football as a young girl, Nadim has played 103 caps so far for Denmark – the country she and her family settled in after fleeing war-torn Afghanistan.

At 34, she has enjoyed a successful career playing the sport she loves.

But for Nadim, it did not matter what she dreamt of doing or went on to do, she has always possessed the desire to succeed.

“I don’t remember a specific dream I had when I was living in Afghanistan,” she said. “But I always knew I wanted to be successful.”

And her push to be the best version of herself influenced life off the football pitch, too.

In 2022, Nadim fulfilled her goal of becoming a doctor, specifically in reconstructive surgery.

She is currently facing a race to be fit for the 2023 Women's World Cup this summer having suffered back-to-back ACL injuries, but in spite of the adversity, one of Denmark’s most influential players is continuing to write an incredible story both on and off the pitch.

Finding refuge in Denmark

Nadia Nadim was born in Herat, Afghanistan in 1988.

Her father was a military general and her mother a school principal.

Everything was "how it should be", according to Nadim.

But tragedy struck in 2000, after Rabani – her father – never returned home from a meeting with the Taliban.

From that moment on, Nadim and her family lived in survival mode.

“I can’t remember much, but the whole thing happened fast, it was chaotic,” she told Our Game Magazine.

“My mom [Hamida] always tried to protect us from everything.”

When Hamida learned that her husband had been executed, she knew she had to take her family and leave the country.

After selling a majority of their possessions, they fled in the middle of the night.

Although they had expectations of arriving in London, Nadim and her family were dropped off at a refugee camp in Denmark.

Once in Scandinavia, Hamida admitted that she “felt safe for the first time in a very long time.”

“I felt free. I could sleep without being afraid of a rocket or anything, hitting the house or the sounds of war,” she added.

Their family were granted refugee status in Denmark once their time at the asylum came to an end.

But for Nadim, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that somehow, her father would return to them.

“Until I was 15-years-old, even when we were in Denmark, in my brain, [it] was always that one day he was going to turn up,” she confessed to SportBible.

Although those wishes never came true for Nadim, fleeing to Denmark gave her the opportunity to be a kid again, away from the war in her homeland.

Nadim: I love football but I've never thought of it as a job

Nadim was first introduced to football by her father as a young girl.

Although she never played while they resided in Afghanistan, she 'knew the basics'.

Having a fresh start in Denmark, however, allowed Nadim the freedom to explore away from enforced gender expectations.

And that is when she began to develop her ability in football.

It was one of the sports she played regularly both with her sisters and with other children at the asylum.

“There was a girls team that played on the same fields there, so we asked if we could play with them,” said Nadim.

“We played football from 1 p.m. until it got dark, with all the guts, and then we went to our training and then we want and played more.”

She quickly made an impression, and ultimately went on to play for her first club: B52 Aalborg.

In 2008, Nadim received her Danish citizenship and not long after - thanks to FIFA making an exception in this case - began her international career with Denmark.

For her country, she has now exceeded a momentous 100 appearances and she has made a significant impact across multiple clubs that have included spells in America and England.

One of Nadim’s most notable periods at a club came when she spent two years with Paris Saint-Germain.

In 2021, she helped the Parisian side to their first-ever league title, beating off the ever-dominant Lyon.

Even for all her success on the field, Nadim doesn’t see it as a job – but rather as her passion.

“I love football but I’ve never thought of it as a job,” she revealed to SportBible.

“It’s just my passion. Even though I get paid money to do it, I would happily play for free.

“For me, I wanted more than that. I wanted to do something where I could have an impact on people’s lives.”

Paging Dr. Nadim: What life after football looks like for Nadia

Where many footballers cannot imagine life beyond football, for Nadim there has always been a plan.

And that was to help others, just as others have helped her and her family.

"I know the value of helping a person when they have no hope,” she told The Guardian.

“I’m a walking reminder of that; all the help I was given in my life made me the person I am today.”

Her desire to give back has been channelled into medical school.

Nadim has been training to become a reconstructive surgeon for years alongside playing professionally.

She even remembers at one point she assisted in surgery immediately after playing a game.

“I was standing there for two hours, in the same position, holding an instrument so he could see better,” she recalls.

“I was hurting everywhere because of the match but I was still feeling so great and my pulse was racing.

“I experience similar emotions [to scoring a goal] or adrenaline rush in the operating room,” she adds.

Nadim often recounts stories of how people have helped her throughout the years.

When she began playing football in Denmark, coaches at her first club offered to cover transport expenses given how far away she lived from it at the time.

These moments “had a huge impact on me,” said Nadim.

“I know as a doctor, I’ll be able to do that for other people.

“I know 100 percent that I want to be a surgeon.”

In early 2022, the dream that she had been working towards for all these years came true as she qualified to become a doctor.

Nadim shared the news across her social media, saying: “For the haters, I did it again. Kicked a** and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

Defying the odds once again

In recent years, Nadim's injury issues have plagued her time with the national team. 

Last summer, a torn ACL meant facing the prospect of sitting out of the European Championships. 

But 250 days after knee surgery, she made her highly-anticipated return to football, playing the remaining 25 minutes Racing Louisville. 

Her subsequent return saw Nadim reinstated into the Denmark squad in time for Euro 2022, completing the dream comeback.

In September of 2022, disaster struck as Nadim once more sustained a devestating ACL injury against her former club, the Portland Thorns, that would see her sidelined for a significant period of time.

Nadia has recently posted images of her back on the grass with a ball at her feet and could be in with an outside chance of making the finalised roster.

But regardless of what she does on the pitch, it is clear to see that Nadim’s legacy will be felt across generations.

Whether it is encouraging young people to become footballers or doctors, or acting as a beacon of hope for those in similar situations to her, Nadim’s story will inspire for many years to come.