Philipp Schmitz is actually an employee of a hardware store and a part-time hip hop music producer. But his hobby is football. The 37-year-old used to play for SV 08 Rheydt in the district league, and he grew up as a fan of Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 1990s. Players like the 1995 DFB Cup winners Jörg Neun and Christian Hochstätter are his heroes. The former played around 260 games for Borussia in ten seasons, the latter played around 340 games for the Fohlen in 16 years between 1982 and 1998 and played for the national team.
Many who have only recently started following Borussia will only know these names on paper as luminaries from the distant past, even though Hochstätter at least continued to appear as an official after his playing career. And bringing these once celebrated players and their deeds back into the spotlight, giving their experiences a new space, is the aim of Philipp Schmitz and his colleague André Biermanns in their new joint talk format, which they have been offering on YouTube for a while in collaboration with the adult education center (VHS) and the music school in Mönchengladbach.
“For example, Kicker has a section: What’s actually happening…? We always wanted to find out what happened to the legends,” explains Schmitz. Schmitz and his friend Biermanns sat together over a round of beer; Marcel Voigt, a technician at the adult education center and music school in Mönchengladbach, was also there. Voigt said he could make the event room in the adult education center available, and that’s how “the puzzle pieces came together,” says Schmitz. In the autumn of last year, the idea for “Langholz – the football talk” was born. Langholz is a term from the district league: “When the libero says Langholz, the striker runs long and the ball is thrashed forward,” explains Schmitz.
Biermanns acts as a producer in the background, he knows his way around video and editing, Schmitz is the football freak and presenter. Together they invite well-known ex-footballers, many of whom still live in the region. Filming began in February, the format launched on YouTube in June, and the episodes will later be available to listen to on Spotify. So far, the “Langholz” team has uploaded six episodes in its first season, and in addition to Neun and Hochstätter, the former Borussia goalkeeper and goalkeeping coach Claus Reitmaier is also involved. “But it’s not just about Borussia players. We want to give many players the chance to tell their story. We heard it as children, but we want to hear the story as they experienced it themselves,” explains Schmitz, who stresses that he does not prepare much for the discussions. It is not an interview, but a relaxed chat. “It’s intentionally freestyle so that it’s realistic,” says the presenter. Schmitz has also already interviewed active footballers, such as goalkeeper Mario “Brate” Zelic, who is known from social media and the Baller League.
The format is supposed to feature real “guys” who also tell funny anecdotes. And: They don’t do it for money, they should be keen on it, says Schmitz. It’s about old club friends, everyday life as a professional footballer, injuries and setbacks, but also big victories. And about well-known names like Thierry Henry, Diego Maradona and Andi Möller. At the end of each talk, the interviewees put together their best team-mates and present another team with the best opponents they have played against.
The YouTube channel currently has just under 100 subscribers, and the videos get at least a few hundred views. With these numbers, it is not yet possible to make money, but that is not necessary, stresses Schmitz, as the project is still in its early stages. “During the first conversation, I thought: what is happening here is amazing, we have almost 1,000 Bundesliga games on stage in the first broadcasts. The players are legends, but perhaps not so well known anymore, so we want to get in on that,” is his plan.
Thanks to the help of the VHS, there are hardly any expenses, you only have to give up your free time. The team is still looking for sponsors and of course wants to generate something with the format, but not for themselves. Instead, Schmitz and Biermanns have a higher vision: “We want to enable children in Mönchengladbach and the region to play football. And we call on everyone to help us by clicking and thus helping people.” Langholz wants to use the YouTube and sponsorship income to benefit football. For tournaments, for equipment and for children whose families cannot afford the club’s membership fees.
Schmitz uses an anecdote to demonstrate that this is not just a noble intention, but already a reality. “I work in a hardware store and once got talking to a customer. I told him about our project and he was so enthusiastic that he suggested supporting us,” says Schmitz. They stayed in touch and shortly afterwards the craftsman actually took over the annual membership fees for two young players with a refugee background who would not otherwise have been able to afford it, and also covered the cost of equipment for both of them. There was also some money left over, which “Langholz” had already used to sponsor a tournament in Viersen and the winners’ trophies.
New videos appear on “Langholz” every Sunday. The team has also already shot “On Tour” videos, for the “Baller League” and more videos are planned for the new season of the indoor tournament format with well-known faces from the world of sport and entertainment. And in the new season, which is due to start in the fall, they want to invite new, well-known talk partners, including those who are still well-known to a younger generation. “We want to bring in some top-class people,” says Schmitz, without mentioning any specific names.
