TV documentary “Born for this”
DFB women about the desire to have children and cancer
7/15/2023 3:03 p.m
In the TV documentary “Born for this”, the German national soccer players are as close as few athletes. They are celebrated for it and now there is the sequel. The first episode can be seen shortly before the start of the World Cup, and filming is also taking place in Australia. It’s getting emotional again.
Svenja Huth and her wife Laura talk about artificial insemination and the joy of being a parent. Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger talks about her renewed fight against cancer. Sara Doorsoun tearfully reports on a life crisis. Shortly before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the German national soccer players again provide deep insights – in the continuation of the TV series “Born for this” (translated “For this born”).
The team of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has resolved to remain approachable and authentic, even after last year’s success at the European Championships. The fact that the DFB stars are available for selfies and autographs for a long time after games is still common practice. In the TV documentary, the team allows a closeness that would be unthinkable in the men’s national team in person. ZDF shows the first part of the second season (Saturday, 9:45 p.m. and in the media library).
Birth after the World Cup
Olympic champion Svenja Huth from VfL Wolfsburg and her wife Laura explain their family planning in detail: The couple is expecting their first offspring after the World Cup (July 20th to August 20th). “We opted for the ROPA method. This means that my egg cells were removed and my egg cell was then fertilized. And then ultimately fertilized Laura was used and we are both connected accordingly,” says Huth in the film.
This in vitro fertility treatment, which uses semen from an anonymous donor, is banned in Germany, so the Huths traveled to Valencia to do it. “In Spain it’s regulated in such a way that if we had the child there, both would be considered mothers. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in Germany at the moment,” says Laura Huth. “It makes us a little sad because Svenja still has to adopt her own child.”
The joy of the two is still huge. “The time has come in September. It will be a boy,” said Huth. “It won’t change that much in football life, but in private.” Her life partner says with a smile on “Born for this”: “It’s one of Svenja’s best ideas that I can be in the stadium with our son and that she walks in with her son or has him in her arms.”
A message against cancer
Goalkeeper Berger from Chelsea also speaks openly in the Warner documentary about her cancer. The directing duo Martina Hänsel and Björn Tanneberger had accompanied the DFB selection for months before the European Championships in England last year. During the tournament at the time, Berger received the news that her cancer had returned. In the meantime, the 32-year-old has been treated, has been playing again for a long time and is in the World Cup squad.
“I said to my body: I decide when to stop and when not! And I wasn’t ready yet,” says Berger. After this European Championship, she didn’t want to waste any thought on not going to the World Cup.
As with Sara Doorsoun, the euphoria of the European Championship and the increased popularity have triggered a lot among the players. The Eintracht defender also had to struggle with the separation from her partner. “If I only listened to my heart, then I said: Wow, you’re not doing so well,” says Doorsoun in the documentary. “The last few months have been one of the most difficult for me. I’m still learning about myself.”
The 31-year-old from Eintracht Frankfurt struggles to regain her composure before the tears run down and she says to the camera: “Now you’ve caught me.” The Warner team is also very close to the World Cup in cooperation with the DFB: parts two to four will be broadcast after the tournament.