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They enjoy the respect of their teammates and the coach, wear the armband with pride and have something to say: the captains. In the club dress on the pitch, she is known as the “leader” of her team. We want to know who the person is who is wearing this jersey. Today we get to know Timon Konstantinidis from the upper division club SV Thalheim a little better.
Breathtaking nature, endless expanses, one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the “Big Five”: During his six-month stay – Travel and Work – in South Africa, Timon Konstantinidis got to know and love the beauty of nature and African culture after graduating from high school. But what shaped him most was the other side of South Africa – undiscovered by most of the tourists. Back then he spent most of his time in Cape Town, working in a hostel.
“Through my work I got to know a colleague who also showed me life in the townships,” explains the 27-year-old. “When you see the poverty there, you get a completely new perspective on everything.” Large families live there in tiny tin huts, without electricity, without running water.
“I learned a lot. Above all, I have come to appreciate my life here in Germany,” reports Timon Konstantinidis of his formative experience. “The people in the townships are poor in wealth, but rich in good nature, zest for life and respect. That really impressed me.” Through this experience the captain of SV Thalheim discovered his passion for traveling. “In the summer of 2020 I had actually planned a trip to Asia. In December, I wanted to visit a friend in Namibia whom I met in South Africa and who has already visited me here twice,” he reports. Both fell flat due to the corona pandemic and the associated restrictions. Instead, the Niederhadamarer flew to Rhodes. Timon Konstantinidis also has a special relationship with Greece: “I am half-Greek, as my father was born and raised there and came to Germany at the age of 18.”
Timon Konstantinidis works as an operator at an online marketing company headquartered in Cologne. “A blessing in times of pandemics,” he says. “Hardly anything has changed for me. We have flexible home office arrangements anyway.”
Something has changed in terms of sport for the marketing specialist in recent years. He found his sporting home in Thalheim through TuS Gückingen and SV Rot-Weiß Hadamar 2. “At that time it was a kind of project. With the space and the entire environment, the club offers good conditions and huge potential,” he says.
He has already proven the potential with the Thalheimers. From the B-League it went up to the regional league under the then coach Jörg Guckelsberger within a few years. As captain and spokesman, Timon Konstantinidis also played a major role in this success. “A lot has happened since I’ve been in Thalheim. The focus is now more on what’s happening on the pitch,” says Timon Konstantinidis. Even if the team from Thalheim is bottom of the regional league in the currently interrupted season, Timon Konstantinidis feels at home there. “We’re already a great club,” he says.
Until the end of 2018, the SVT’s fast attacking player was active as a running back or linebacker for the “Black Goats” Niederhadamar, founded in 2017, in American football. “The double burden was simply too much. Especially because of the risk of injury,” says Timon Konstantinidis.
He had to experience that firsthand. During a football game, he sustained a long hand injury that forced him to pause. “Even if everything went well, you still had one or the other tackle from the previous day at football on Sunday in your bones.” But he does not stay completely away from American football today: On Sunday evening he regularly tunes in to the broadcasts of the North American professional league NFL and cheers from the couch with his favorite team, the Seattle “Seahawks”.
Even if the living situation of Timon Konstantinidis will change soon – the search for an apartment with his friend Lisa will start shortly – he will certainly keep this beautiful tradition.
In the next episode we present a seasoned “captain” from the regional league who likes to spend time at the other end of the world.
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