Monday, January 25, 2021
Controversial rabble professional with a heart
Kevin Großkreutz divided the nation
Posted by Ben Redelings
Yesterday Kevin Großkreutz officially declared his professional career over. While Schalke hate him as much as he does them, the BVB fans still idolize him. Its authenticity made it a world champion, but it also created quite a few problems!
"In a game of chess the boy would certainly not win big against Grandmasters Karpov or Kasparov". A brother once said the sentence in the spirit of Kevin Großkreutz: Mario Basler. What do they have in common? Their penchant for the greatest possible authenticity and the sad certainty that neither of them have got the most out of their careers.
What Basler wanted to express with his words about Kevin Großkreutz at the time: The man usually doesn't think too much. Especially at the beginning of his career, this meant that Großkreutz liked to burn his face with careless statements. Legendary in BVB circles is his answer to a question from a major sports magazine what he would do if his son became a Schalke fan: "Then he'll come to the home"! At around the same time, in an interview, he also said the following about the royal blue rivals: "They are my number one enemy. Always! I wouldn't play there for any money. I hate Schalke like the plague!"
"I had to give him a BVB ban!"
Kevin Großkreutz has never made a secret of the fact that he loves and lives his BVB. When he first had to take the detour Rot-Weiss Ahlen at the beginning of his career, his coach at the time Christian Wück almost despaired of him: "Kevin was so hot for the south stand that he even went to the Signal-Iduna Park wanted. I had no choice. I had to ban him from BVB! " Born in the Dortmund district of Eving, Borusse fought his way back to his favorite club – which he had to leave in his youth – with outstanding performances. There he became a real top performer and the undisputed hero of the south stand in the successful years of mastery.
The yellow wall drove him on and he spurred her on. Every football fan has the images of the man with hunched shoulders standing in front of the curve with arms waving and asking for support. His tireless commitment and seemingly inexhaustible passion made him a national player and world champion. But that was not always enough for a place on the green lawn in the star ensemble of Borussia. When coach Jürgen Klopp once let him sit on the bench in the derby against Schalke under the protest of the fans, he had to justify himself afterwards. His answer at the time sounds like from another time: "Being a BVB fan is no reason for a starting place in the team."
So Großkreutz celebrated the successes he had with his black and yellow all the more. The first championship party in 2011 showed the republic an exuberant young boy from Dortmund. Even his own teammates had to wait for a spontaneous party with a noble Italian until Kevin and his old South Stand colleagues had quenched their first thirst. Team-mate Mats Hummels knew exactly what was being drunk there: "Today Kevin will certainly not only drink still water, maybe he will have carbonated water."
Black and yellow fan in the championship frenzy
The TV nation watched live how Großkreutz had to leave the stage at the championship celebration at the Westfalenhalle in order to let the events of the day go through his head in a Dixie toilet, supported by two beefy security men. A few minutes later, smiling happily, he left the sanitary facilities to storm the stage again. The black and yellow fan in the championship frenzy was reverently and rightly happy about one of theirs.
Even before winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Großkreutz surprised football fans with an alleged misstep. Together with his team mate Julian Schieber, the now legendary "kebab scandal" occurred. There are different versions of what exactly happened that night in Cologne. In any case, a certain Marco B. appeared at 12:30 a.m. accompanied by his girlfriend at Police Station 1 on Stolkgasse and complained of a burning sensation in his eyes. Allegedly from a kebab that should have been thrown in his face. However the story went, it was definitely worth it for the kebab seller. Days after the event, he proudly told the tabloid newspapers: "Our kebab with extra-hot sauce is now called 'Kevin-Döner'".
And then that too: Kevin Großkreutz almost didn't go to the World Cup in Brazil, because shortly before leaving for the training camp, the press found out about another misstep by the BVB player. "Sport Bild" reported at the time that Großkreutz "urinated in the hotel lobby" while drunk on the night after the lost cup final on May 17, 2014 against FC Bayern (0: 2). Much to the displeasure of another hotel guest who called the police in the course of this derailment. Grosskreutz did not deny the incident and apologized purely through the press: "I was totally frustrated after the game, we had so much planned, we really wanted to win the pot. I had a blackout, I'm sorry."
Such types are remembered
Kevin Großkreutz didn't play a minute at the World Cup, but his team-mates praised him for his collegiality. The colleague from FC Bayern, Bastian Schweinsteiger, mentioned him explicitly in his final tweet after his return: "Guys, it was an honor … Thank you for a great time without escapades. Especially you, Kevin!" On the stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, his WM-WG colleague and rival from FC Schalke 04, Julian Draxler, sang a serenade of his own. To the cheering of the crowds, he intoned in a strong voice: "Großkreutz put the kebab out, Großkreutz put the kebab out, Großkreutz put the kebab out!"
Ben Redelings is a passionate "chronicler of football madness" (Manni Breuckmann) and supporter of the glorious VfL Bochum. The author, filmmaker and comedian lives in the Ruhr area and tends to his treasure trove of anecdotes. For ntv.de he writes down the most exciting and funniest stories on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Further information on Ben Redelings, his current dates and projects can be found on his website www.scudetto.de.
Arrived at home in the Ruhr area, the sung-about countered via social media, already running in derby mode again, very humorous: "Dear Julian, I can't put out a kebab, but I can always get the bowl out."
Kevin Großkreutz has certainly seen the cup of championship wins in 2011 and 2012 with his BVB more often in recent years. Because after his departure from Borussia in August 2015, his athleticism was actually downhill. After his stints in Istanbul, Stuttgart and Darmstadt, Großkreutz also ended his time at KFC Uerdingen in October of last year. So now it's finally over for the boy from Dortmund-Eving – at least in the professional area. Because Kevin Grosskreutz explicitly did not rule out a continuation of his kicker career in amateur sport. That fits. And even if Kevin Großkreutz divided the nation as a controversial mob professional – his enemies always had to admit that he was a footballer with heart and passion. And guys like that are remembered. And that's a good thing too. Good luck, Kevin Großkreutz!
. (tagsToTranslate) Controversial (t) Mob professional (t) Heart (t) Kevin (t) Grokreutz (t) Nation