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kevkesblog · 6 years

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Fabian Süle Interview (spring 2018)

As you can guess, this was recorded before the World Cup 2018.

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F: I’m Fabian Süle. 25 years old. Originally from Frankfurt but now studying in Munich.

N: Oh you already speak about your studies… (laughs) So what do you study?

F: I do my masters degree in International Business at the Munich Business School.

N: And what’s the goal?

F: Well yeah… hopefully getting into an industry thats fun. Having a good job. But not anything specific at this point.

N: So I would like to go back to your childhood (laughs) it’s like a therapy here…

F: (laughs)

N: …ahm. You are here because the overarching theme is football. You played football yourself for a pretty long time, didn’t you?

F: I did, yes.

N: How old were you, when you first started?

F: I was three years old.

N: Three!?

F: Yeah… at a local team. Probably I started playing or kicking a ball around since I was able to walk or to crawl. But I was three when I signed up with a local football team.

N: Is that legal!? (laughs)

F: Yeah it is! You can also sign up right after birth, that’s totally fine.

N: So you are bascially like a „silent member“ of a club… but the balls were still lighter back then right!?

F: Lighter, smaller… it was a lot about coordination and stuff. Fun was still the focus back then. It’s not football in a way people are used to. But still I have good memories about that time.

N: Was that part of your family? With your dad, or…?

F: Generally speaking – sports, yes. My father played football. My mother was an athlete. And yeah my father bascially put football in our cradle. The fact that we both play football. Niklas and myself.

N: Yes – because your brother is…

F: Niklas Süle. (smiles)

N: Very nice. Ok, then Niklas was born and he saw you playing with the ball in the garden and he wanted to join…

F: Yeah that’s pretty much the story. We started fighting over every ball and it went back and forth once we got older.

N: And has there ever been a different sport in your lives?

F: Ah, yes. I played tennis for a while. But it wasn’t that long – perhaps eight months or a year. Niklas was very talented in all sports I have to say. He did athletics – won everything. He became local champion in table tennis once. Football I guess in his youth he score over 150 goals one time. And in the end he settled with football.

N: I mean you played sports yourself… back in day did you feel that, there was something different about him than you? Did you think you were both the same… or… don’t pay any attention about stuff like that first?

F: You don’t pay attention. But you sensed that Niklas had an unbelievable talent… something I had as well but the difference was that Niklas was physcially always ahead and more mature for his age. He was always very big. Very physically. Fast. And those features really worked for him and it’s something that played an important role when you are in a young age. And that was different with me – I developed later than him.

N: So you really matured when you were like seventeen…

F: Yeah you can say that…. I was always the small guy. And I grew up quickly once I became fifteen or sixteen years old.

N: And did he clearly say, the other sports don’t really play a role anymore. It was just football?

F: I was really like that, yes. Other sports were also fun for him, but football was really his thing. For both of us. And that’s what we stuck to ever since.

N: How was it with you – I mean at one point you quit playing. Were the reasons only your body and your injuries?

F: Yeah, well actually I quit playing just a couple of months ago. And the reason was honestly just school. Since I have a lot to do currently. I would like to play again. Back when I was seventeen I played on a very high level – very successfully. Then I suddently got injured. I tored a ligament and broke my middle foot. And I got surgery and I saw that I couldn’t go any higher in terms of football. After that I got an offer from New York for a scholarship and went to New York for four years.

N: Oh great, so you combined it…

F: Exactly. Thats possible in America and now I‘m back in Munich since August and do my masters degree.

N: Nice. How was that experience?

F: Indescribable! New York is the best city in the world – by far! There is nothing better than that – the people, the culture, the city itself… the possibility to play football, studying at college… I traveled a lot. Saw nice places. So I would really say those were the best four years of my life.

N: Sounds great. How did you experienced football in America? I mean, there are usually other sports that are bigger over there. American football, basketball… football is still growing but… whats your experience?

F: Many international stars are now moving over there. Training is much better here in Europe or Germany for that matter. Especially in terms of tactical training and techniques. American soccer is more physical. So you have to get used to the speed and physical aspect of it… but nevertheless it’s really interesting to watch. It also has a higher status now than maybe back a couple of years ago. And like I said, it was a very nice experience. Even during college when you play. There were games were you flew to a certain place and you played in front of 10.000 maybe 15.000 fans. That was really cool!

N: The big stadium experience so to speak…

F: Yeah that’s almost like that, yes.

N: So how was like for you, seeing your little brother playing in a stadium for the first time?

F: It was May 11, 2013 – I remember that. Against Hamburg. He played with Hoffenheim at that stage. A defender got a yellow card from the previous game and got suspended. So Niklas slipped in as a seventeen year old. Unfortunately they lost 1-4 but I think I was more nervous on the stands than he was on the pitch. It was something great. Something exicting. And it’s difficult to realize. So when you look how fast time has run and you see how much he works for it – it’s really impressive!

N: Niklas is still very young…

F: He is still very young, yes. With 22 years of age you are maybe not the player that is called „a great talent“ in the Bundesliga – because that now usually starts with sixteen or seventeen year olds. Nevertheless he is in a phase where one can say, there is still room for improvement – in all aspects. With him as a person, as well as in terms of his style of football. And he definitely has some good years ahead of him… hopefully!

N: I want to go back to your home… You kicked your first balls back in your garden. Did you guys have any idols? Any german football players? National players where you had posters on your walls?

F: Well, not idols. Maybe you can say my father – but that is selfevident for many people I would say. What we did was we used to play Anfield Road in our garden. Because we used to watch the Premier League with our father and we both were huge Liverpool fans. And since english football is known for its physical aspect and for the rainy weather… so we used to take the hose and made the grass in our garden wet so we could tackle each other better – and that’s something we did almost every day. (smiles)

N: (laughs)

F: …and we went to the local pitch in our neighbourhood. But no we didn’t really have idols.

N: No real role models?

F: Yes. I struggle to remember… all I can say is we used to sleep in Eintracht Frankfurt bed linen. I know Niklas once wrote his favorite team was Energie Cootbus - into a friends diary back in first grade. Like I said those are stories I can barely remember but nothing more than that.

N: Was there ever a point where one of you said „I want to become a football player“ or did you have other professions you wanted to become? Fire fighter, astronaut, pilot…

F: It was always being a football player. Even if you listen to stories from our parents, or family, or friends… whenever they talk about our childhood, it was football all day long.

N: Weren’t you sometimes annoying your mother about this? Didn’t she came to you once and went like „Oh god why football all the time?“?

F: I think she was happy that we got outside once in a while. We really went outside quit a lot and played on a football grounds in our neighbourhood. We played from two o’clock mid-day until eight in the evening with friends.

N: You also have hungarian relatives. Do you have any relationship with them?

F: Ahm, not really. We still have one aunts and two or three relatives back in Hungary. But we don’t have so much contact. I mean… I would say it’s not present in our daily lives, but you know where you coming from. Especially in terms of livelihoods there. But we haven’t been to Hungary for a long time. The last time was maybe… seven or eight years ago.

N: Do you know one or two words?

(9:20min)

F: I can’t speak it. I could say „Thanks“ I guess it’s called „köszönöm“; „please“ is „kérem“ but that’s it…

N: Ok…

F: No. But we don’t speak Hungarian. My father doesn’t either…

N: But why?

F: They never taught us. So it’s not present.

N: Your favourite food?

F: Yeah…. ahm, something with spagetti. In all shape and forms. Spagetti with vegetables with tomato sauce, chicken, shrimps… I cook alot myself. I also like to try out new things. But a favourite food… I mean… pizza!?

N: Do you sometimes eat with Niklas before a game?

F: Not before a game, since they’re always in the hotel. Or they are in the „facility“ as it is called these days (smiles) but I do cook something whenever I’m vitising him once in a while. Sometimes we do stuff together with his girlfriend. That also happens occasionally.

N: His favourite food?

F: Salate.

N: Salate?

F: Salate! Yes.

N: Very healthy!

F: Yes it is healthy. But I have to say, in that regard Niklas has developed in a very professional way. I have to say, Niklas also did interview with the DFB where he said he was kind of a bon vivant – he said he sometimes treats himself something. I think it’s important. But what he also understood by now and what he found interest in eating healthier stuff and try out new things. Sure you sometimes eat pizza or pasta, but it’s quit good how he managed it by now.

N: So the body also changes…?

F: Your body and your demeanor. I guess the older you get, the more you think about stuff like that. Especially in terms of optimizing your skill and performance. It’s not always about practice; what his players, coaches or family tell him to do – you always have to find your own path and I think Niklas did very well in that regard.

N: Are you there if something bad happens if there’s pressure? If you don‘t perform as expected? Or your body does not do what you want? Does he have someone he calls… and have a good cry?

F: No, he never really does that. I would say Niklas is mentaly very strong. And he can withstand pressure pretty good. He can handle those things pretty well. We… we talk about stuff, if it’s a bad game or special things happen. But I view him as someone who can deal with those issues pretty well – coming from him. Which isn’t always a given with many others.

N: Do you think he separates that?

F: Yes…

N: Do you think he doesn’t take it personally?

F: Niklas is someone who understands what it means to be professional football player playing on a high level. He knows you need a certain dedication for the sport. And you have to adjust your way of living around football. But Niklas is also someone who understands that there are many other important things in life as well. Like family, health… accepting other people just how they are. And he is very conscious about the fact that there is more than just football in your life.

N: That’s something he has…

F: Yes. But him being able to distinguish both sides is a weakness some may say, but I think for him it’s a strengh. And the fact that he act like that and plays that way.

N: What is he doing if he’s not on the pitch?

F: He likes to play golf. We are together very often, whether it’s going out for lunch, chilling at his home…

N: Whenever you chill… playstation?

F: Sure. (smiles)

N: Does he take himself, when he plays FIFA?

F: He often want’s to play with a different team. I usually pick Bayern and play against him, yeah. And also so I can annoy him (smiles). And we also play board games…

N: Sorry to interrupt you, but if you play against each other, does he sometimes tackle himself in the game?

F: It happend. But I wouldn’t say on purpose. With us it’s more about personal rivalry. Both of us want to win. The other brother is always angry and sometimes we don’t talk for about twenty minutes whenever someone of us is loosing, playing FIFA or other games. But everything is fine after a while… Yet we do know how to entertain each other.

N: Sorry I interruped you, you said board games…

F: Playing board games in the evening is something we do once in a while, if we are not in front of the TV. Me, Niklas, together with his girlfriend. Things like monopoly… just anything actually. Just to talk is something we like to do as well.

N: Nice. Russia…

F: Russia…

N: How is your feeling about the tournament? Do you think he’ll make it into the final squad?

F: Like everyone else I hope he will. But I do think he will be there, yes.

N: Will you go?

F: Depends. If they - what I suspect, make it far into the tournament, I guess I would fly over for a game. But since it’s so far away – it’s still three, four months and it depends on so many small things as well – I can’t really give a final answer.

N: But you would like to go?

F: Absolutely.

N: Have you been to Russia before?

F: No I haven’t. Thats a country I haven’t seen yet. Very interesting in terms of culture and you can go there and watch a football game - sure.

N: One question: does he have a favourite song?

F: A favourite song?

N: Yes…

F: No, not really to be honest. We both listen to alot of music that is roughly the same.

N: That being…

F: Hip Hop, R’n’B sometimes house, but more hip hop. But… there are so many new songs coming out all the time, so you get a favourite song every now and then.

N: But in terms of music you bascially are on the same page?

F: Yeah, definitely. You can say that.

N: So how do you see yourself over the coming years?

F: For me personally?

N: Yep.

F: Well I will finish up my second semester of school. I will go abroad again. Finish my masters degree. I hope to find a job then – it doesn’t have to be in Germany. America or everywhere in the world could be possible too. A job that’s fun. Where I have to take responsibility. Where I can develop as an individual. In the long run, sure you always dream about having a family. A house. But since things are changing so rapidly these days, I can also think short-term and face the challanges of the day.

N: But your future – based on what you told us – won’t be in sports right?

F: No not really.

N: Well it’s surprising.

F: Yeah… I mean I would love to play football myself. I guess I will start playing at some point, since it means alot to me. In terms of sport I will always be there and present for Niklas. But I personally see my future in the industrial sector and outside of sports.

N: Could that be a reason why you went to New York. To have a certain distance – some room for your own development?

F: The most important thing for me is – and thats something our mother always told us: be independent and self-reliant. You have to take responsibility for yourself. You have to be able to look after yourself. I went to New York for two reasons: independence was one of them. In order to mature and grow up more. Become self-reliant. The other reason was to have some experience in a foreign country. I have never been away for a long period of time before. Niklas went to Hoffenheim when he was fourteen. And that’s something I told myself, where it would do me a favour if I can see different places too.

N: Was it weird, once he went to Hoffenheim?

F: It was weird, yes. We always lived together and then he moved out when he was fourteen…

N: …that’s very young.

F: It is. It was very difficult. We also didn’t have a good relationship back then. We used to argue a lot around that time. But ever since then, it now developed – because we both put effort in it – into a perfect desicion.

N: Nice. One last thing, ehm… could you tell us your wish for Russia. What do you hope for the world cup 2018?

F: I hope Niklas becomes part of a team that playes successful and good football. A team that represents Germany, where you can say afterwards you are proud of the team. Independently from results… sometimes you need luck, sure. My wish for Niklas is that, he makes a lot of wonderful memories. That he stays healthy and gets to know the world cup feeling around it and how the people are. And I hope that he can experiences stuff where he can say looking back and tell his children or other people about, in the future…

#fabian süle #niklas süle #fcbayern #german nt #niklas sule

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