As DFB.de looks back at the stories which made 2013 such an unforgettable year for German football, we present some of the DFB.de users’ personal highlights.
Ingrid and Jörg Reppel: “We were travelling on the packed underground in Paris ahead of the match against France in February and next to us in the carriage was a young lad. Not realising we understood a bit of French, he whispered to his pal: “They’re German and they’re going to get a good stuffing tonight.” I answered him in French and told him he must be dreaming. His eyes widened – but we made a reassuring gesture. Then we started having a conversation about football. We gave him our DFB badge and a few Germany accessories. He was overjoyed and phoned his mum straight away: “Guess what! I’m on the underground and the German fans gave me a present!” He told us his mum wouldn’t allow him to take anything from strangers. I told him we weren’t strangers – we were friends. He nodded and put his new badge on with a smile. This little story is only related to football in a small way, but it shows how football can bring people together. The fact that we partied with the French fans into the night was another sign of what football can do.”
Adina Kurz: “It’s tough to pick out just one personal highlight for 2013. There was the Women’s EURO in Sweden, particularly the group stage, when I was there watching it live in the stadium. Obviously the final was the icing on the cake. VfL Wolfsburg and FC Bayern München’s trebles were great too. The biggest highlight for me, though, was meeting Nadine Keßler and Leonie Maier. I gave them their player of the match trophies in Offenbach on 3 April 2013. It was an unforgettable day.”
Ines Karch: “Despite the problems with the coach, we at SV Freistett still managed to win the small-sided Stage 1 championship in Offenburg. Our coach resigned shortly after the start of the season and because the club didn’t arrange for a new one, we sorted ourselves out and still won the league.”
Ann-Kathrin Papesch: “Earlier in the year I took part in a competition held by Allianz. I never thought I’d win, but it was for tickets to a women’s international between Germany and Japan – the final warm-up match ahead of the EUROs. A few days later, I got an email telling me I’d won. I still didn’t believe it – it was only two weeks later when I had the tickets in my hand that I stopped doubting it. So I headed down to Munich to see our girls take on the reigning world champions. It was an unbelievably good game and the atmosphere in the stadium was amazing. And of course we won as well. It was a wonderful experience and a perfect first stadium visit for me.”
Marina Weber: “I had plenty of highlights this year. Winning the league and cup double with TSV Grafenau was definitely among them. The team is in its fourth year and we got promoted into the county league. I’m going even higher, having signed for TV Derendingen in the Baden-Württemberg Oberliga. Unfortunately I tore my cruciate ligament ahead of pre-season which was a shock, so now there are lots of mini-highlights. Every step towards fitness, running for the first time or just being able to crouch down – all reasons for celebration. I’m looking forward to making my comeback next year and making my debut for TV Derendingen. I hope I can be fit for the second half of the season in March.”
Mario Turloff: “At the start of the year my daughter Juliane had the idea of going to one of the Women’s EURO matches in Sweden. Seeing as we live in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, it wasn’t too far to go. We’d worked as volunteers at the Women’s World Cup in 2011 in Dresden and that was a great experience, so we applied again for the city of Växjö, which is about 500km away. The adventure became a reality after UEFA accepted us. On our first day there, on 10 July, we met Nadine Angerer. She was a bit out of breath and told us: “I’ve just jogged round the lake.” We wished her good luck and what proved to be incredible Women’s EURO got under way. Three matches in Växjö, the title and an unforgettable, if brief, meeting with the heroine of the final.”
