For ex-national player Nils Petersen from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg, the cult comments of his coach Christian Streich on general world affairs are very important.
According to the striker, the 56-year-old coach not only limits his statements on political and social issues to high-profile appearances in press conferences, but also regularly talks with his players about topics outside of football in everyday training.
“It is just on his heart to sometimes talk about things outside of football,” Petersen reported in the online news portal watson Before Freiburg’s Bundesliga opening game on Saturday (3:30 p.m. in the live ticker) with Arminia Bielefeld about Streich’s communication style: “He tells us what is happening in the world and explains his point of view.” From the 32-year-old’s point of view, Streich’s statements sometimes seem like free training measures: “It doesn’t do any harm, because not everyone of us reads the newspaper, and if you get a little something explained every now and then, it’s not at all stupid.”
In the past, Streich had taken a clear position on socially and politically relevant issues in front of the television cameras several times. The longest-serving coach of a Bundesliga club did not hold back with criticism of the former US President Donald Trump or the right-wing populist AfD party.
Streich’s assessments of current questions and problems are particularly important to Petersen. The attacker had already caused a stir in an interview around four years ago by admitting a comparatively low level of general education.
“The football industry is superficial, and we footballers are not that well-read. To put it bluntly, I’ve been stupid for ten years, but I keep my head above water because I’m good at football. I haven’t learned anything, haven’t had any training, other people probably can much more than I. Sometimes I am ashamed because I have so little knowledge of the world, “said Petersen at the time.
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