Christoph Biermann

Soccer is much more than just a game. For many people, it represents a sense of belonging, memories, and community—a place where hopes, disappointments, and life stories converge. A love for a soccer club can offer comfort, foster a sense of identity, and connect people across generations.
Hardly anyone captures this unique culture of soccer as vividly as Christoph Biermann. In his reports for 11FREUNDE magazine, he takes readers to where the heart of soccer beats: to unusual places, to fans with unconventional life stories, and to people whose loyalty to a club shapes their entire lives. Curious anecdotes stand alongside touching encounters, revealing soccer as a social space where memories are passed down, rituals are cherished, and community is lived out.
In this conversation, Christoph Biermann talks about these “warmth chambers of soccer,” the power of belonging, and why love for a club is often strongest precisely during difficult times. From there, the discussion repeatedly turns to the current World Cup—to new heroes and surprising twists, to the stories that a major tournament brings to life, and to the political and social context in which international soccer operates today.

Christoph Biermann is a sports journalist and author. He has written for publications including taz, DIE ZEIT, Süddeutsche Zeitung, stern, and DER SPIEGEL, and has been editor-in-chief of the soccer magazine 11FREUNDE since 2010.

Moderator: Mara Pfeiffer
Mara Pfeiffer writes about soccer, society, and where the two intersect, mirror each other, and can learn from one another. In addition to columns and analyses for various print and online media outlets, she has written eleven books to date. The “Word Pirate” prefers to host events where people from affected groups are spoken with, rather than about, and podcasts on “Flutlicht an!” and, together with Annika Becker as “Becker & Pfeiffer,” discusses soccer on and off the field, and considers the space beyond conventional boundaries to be particularly important. She also believes that a life without feminism and cats is possible, but pointless.

Afterward, the DAI invites everyone to watch the semifinal together—as a transition from storytelling to experiencing the game, and to an evening where soccer itself writes new stories.