From Bovenden near Göttingen: Jean-Manuel Mbom.
© Joachim Sielski / Imago
The documentary “Black Eagles” has been on view on Amazon Prime since last Thursday. Torsten Körner’s film deals with dark-skinned soccer players.
Kassel – Most of them were or are German national players. Otto Addo, Anthony Baffoe, Guy Acolatse and Beverly Ranger also have their say. The documentary is impressive and shocking at the same time. Racism was and is still widespread in the stadiums.
Less than 25 years ago, Gerald Asamoah and Otto Addo competed with Hannover 96 in promotion games to the second division at Energie Cottbus. The fans of Energie kept chanting: “Get rid of the negro!” The game was not even interrupted. Afterwards nobody at Hannover spoke about it – because Cottbus won and the disappointment was the focus. Just one example of many. Shary Reeves, formerly active for 1. FFC Frankfurt and U16 national player, says: “It makes you very, very tired.” Then she starts to cry. Tears that Asamoah also sheds when he says goodbye to the fans of FC Schalke 04. He says: “You never pointed your finger at me, you always said: ‘Asa is one of us.'” He certainly didn’t mean the Schalke supporters who, years later, tears from Hertha BSC’s Jordan Torunarigha with racist remarks drove into the eyes.
We present the protagonists in short portraits.
Jean-Manuel Mbom: 21 years old, from Göttingen, father from Cameroon, mother from Germany, midfielder, active at Werder Bremen, 28 international matches from U16 to U21 (three goals)
Jimmy Hartwig: 66 years old, from Offenbach, father US-American, mother German, defensive midfielder, 244 Bundesliga games for 1860 Munich, Hamburger SV, 1. FC Köln and FC 08 Homburg – meanwhile opponents of KSV Hessen Kassel in the Regionalliga Südwest – (63 Goals), two international caps in 1979
Steffi Jones: 48 years old, from Frankfurt, father US-American, mother German, central defender, 16 years active in the Bundesliga, 14 years in the national team (111 games, nine goals), world and European champion, later also national coach for women
Erwin Kostedde: 74 years old, from Münster, father US-American, mother German, striker, 219 Bundesliga games for MSV Duisburg, Kickers Offenbach, Hertha BSC, Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen (98 goals), three international A matches in 1974 and 1975
Gerald Asamoah: 42 years old, born in Mampong in Ghana, grew up in Hanover, parents from Ghana, striker, 323 Bundesliga games for FC Schalke 04, FC St. Pauli and Greuther Fürth (50 goals), 43 international matches (six goals), part of the Summer fairy tale
Jordan Torunarigha: 23 years old, from Chemnitz, parents from Nigeria, central defender, active for Hertha BSC, 62 Bundesliga games, five goals, 20 international games from the U18 to the U21
Patrick Owomoyela: 41 years old, from Hamburg, father from Nigeria, mother from Germany, right defender, 156 Bundesliga games for Arminia Bielefeld, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund (eight goals), eleven international matches
Shary Reeves: 51 years old, from Cologne, father from Kenya, mother from Tanzania, central defender, former Bundesliga player, U16 national player
Cocoa: 40 years old, from Santo André in Brazil, parents from Brazil, 307 Bundesliga games for 1. FC Nürnberg and VfB Stuttgart (88 goals), 23 international matches (six goals)
Rigobert Gruber: 59 years old, from Worms, father US-American, mother German, Libero, 110 Bundesliga games for Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen (13 goals), ten international games for U18 and U21 (Maximilian Bülau)
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