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Ex-football professional Moritz Leitner: He compares the Baller League to a school reunion
Photo:
Baller League
The organizing team around Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski had big plans: their indoor league called the Baller League, which started in January, was supposed to usher in nothing less than a “new era of football”.
Whether this was successful or not is debatable.
Many traditionalists are likely to be put off by the six-on-six format.
Not to mention special rules, such as a maximum duration for attacks, which come into force via the virtual wheel of fortune shortly before half-time and before the end of the game.
Others, on the other hand, seem to be attracted by the new thing: on average, more than 300,000 viewers follow the Baller League on Twitch, Joyn and ProSieben Maxx, and at peak times half a million people watch.
The league is particularly attracting a lot of attention from various celebrities on the sidelines: The twelve teams in the Baller League are looked after by so-called team managers, which include, for example, the active Bundesliga professional Christoph Kramer, comedian Felix Lobrecht and the Twitch streaming icons Knossi and MontanaBlack.
There is 250 euros per match day
Before the league started, the team managers were each able to select nine players in a draft.
At that time, mainly footballers from the fourth and fifth leagues were distributed, but also ex-professionals such as Christian Clemens, Diego Contento and Mehmet Ekici.
The clubs are also allowed to award two wild cards per match day, which means they can add two additional kickers to their eleven-man squad.
In this way, Zé Roberto and Aílton made guest appearances on the artificial turf.
Baller League players receive a fee of 250 euros per match day.
The question, however, is whether playing along isn't worth even more - be it through attention on social media or even as a springboard for your future career?
To answer this question, SPIEGEL interviewed six players who have already made headlines around the Baller League.
The top scorer: Moritz Leitner
One of the most famous Baller League players is Moritz Leitner.
With Borussia Dortmund he won the championship and cup in 2012.
He appeared on the pitch a total of 97 times in the Bundesliga, not only for BVB but also for VfB Stuttgart and FC Augsburg.
Most recently he played for FC Zurich and became champions in Switzerland.
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Moritz Leitner: He's playing his way back into the limelight in the hall
Photo: Baller League
However, Leitner has been without a club since the summer of 2022 - and so the organizers led by his former teammate Mats Hummels were able to convince him to join the Baller League.
While he once played in the Champions League, he now goes to Motorworld Cologne – Rhineland Monday after Monday, where all league matches are played in a hangar.
Leitner says he usually travels with other ex-professionals like Mehmet Ekici, Diego Contento or Sascha Bigalke on the ICE from Munich "just to play for 30 minutes."
That alone shows how much fun the Baller League is.
For him and his friends, the indoor league is like a big class reunion.
The footballer plays in Cologne for the Las Ligas Ladies team, which is managed by the German national players Jule Brand and Selina Cerci.
Leitner has proven to be a stroke of luck for them: he is currently leading the top scorers list with 13 goals.
Leitner says he sees the Baller League as a big stage for amateur players because there is no format with a wider reach for them.
You could perhaps even recommend yourself for the regional league or the 3rd league: »Of course, this requires more than good performances on the small pitch.
The football out there is simply different.” However, the level of play in the Baller League is higher than he thought on the first day of the match, says the ex-professional.
And what good do his goals bring him?
He is often asked about his Baller League games, says Leitner, and, ever the business professional: "If an interesting request comes, I'm definitely ready to talk."
The ambitious amateur: Sangar Aziz
Baller League?
Sangar Aziz says he was initially unsure whether it was right for him.
After all, he never attended a youth training center or had an advisor.
He is one of a few players playing in the sixth division, where he is fighting for promotion with his club Calcio Leinfelden-Echterdingen.
"I didn't believe I would be accepted," says Aziz.
“Actually, I never have any luck with anything like that.”
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Sangar Aziz: “The Baller League is a unique opportunity”
Photo: Nadia Saini / MissNadiaS
Ultimately, Eintracht Spandau, the team of gaming video maker HandOfBlood and ex-professional Hans Sarpei, wanted him for indoor football.
The 25-year-old quickly made a name for himself among Spandau's fans, who are particularly motivated by Baller League standards: after the first eight games, Aziz has seven goals and four assists to his name.
Aziz's parents are Afghan immigrants.
He says that at the beginning they only spoke a little German and his school education was more of a priority.
The Baller League now sees Aziz as a possible stepping stone and a “unique chance” for him to prove himself.
Spandau coach Sarpei praised his performance in the Baller League.
He even believes he can play in the regional league.
But he has to work on his fitness after a long injury.
“Of course I take tips like this from an icon to heart and will train even harder,” says Aziz.
And there has apparently already been a first interesting follow-up inquiry: According to his own information, Aziz is being watched by the German small-field national team.
The Baller League also helps him network with advisors, Aziz says.
He also has guest appearances by old stars
the opportunity to play against his childhood idols.
The Baller League has also given him a boost on social media: he has collected several thousand new followers on Instagram since the event started.
Calcio Leinfelden-Echterdingen is still his priority, emphasizes Aziz.
"On Mondays I give it my all in the Baller League, and from Tuesday to Sunday I'm 100 percent with my club."
The TikTok influencer: Steven Kodra
You don't have to be a fan of Max Kruse and Knossi's team Hollywood United to recognize Steven Kodra.
His pink hair makes sure of that.
“It’s 100 percent” a marketing strategy, says the 26-year-old.
Together with his little brother Kamil, Kodra produces comedy videos for TikTok and achieves millions of clicks.
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Steven Kodra: Conspicuous on and off the pitch
Photo: Julian Meusel / Baller League
In the Baller League he is currently in third place on the top scorer list with ten goals.
An offer from the regional league
Kodra would accept if he is allowed to continue posting the comedy short clips on TikTok.
»My goal was always to become a professional football player so that I could be a role model for the children out there.
I get this recognition through TikTok.« From his social media income and his employment at fifth division club FC Brünninghausen
According to his own statements, he can live well.
The Baller League
bring the football field atmosphere
from his childhood, Kodra says:
On the small pitch he can exploit his attacking strength and his one-on-one skills.
The TikToker also likes that he can get closer to Knossi through the league - and learn something from him too.
“No matter whether in front of or behind the camera, Knossi is always authentic,” says Kodra.
He wants to take this with him into his internet career.
The reality star: Max Wilschrey
Beyond the Baller League, Max Wilschrey plays for fifth division club 1. FC Karbach.
However, the 28-year-old's appearances in TV formats such as "The Bachelorette", "Ex on the Beach" and "Bachelor in Paradise" made him much better known.
Hardly any other player has as much show experience as he does.
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Max Wilschrey: He has already appeared in several dating formats
Photo: Ricardo Bonarrigo
“I just want to play,” says Wilschrey when asked why he applied to the Baller League.
His ambitions to recommend himself to higher-class clubs are low.
He probably only has the freedom to appear in TV shows in addition to football at 1. FC Karbach.
The club, in turn, also benefits from Wilschrey's sideline activities.
When asked, the board of directors of 1. FC Karbach explains that the reality star gives you more media attention.
In the Baller League, Wilschrey plays for the Protatos, the team led by Lars Holzschneider and Lucas Kutting from the YouTube channel “Brotatos”.
After the eighth matchday he is in fourth place on the top scorers list, just one goal behind second place.
The striker still sees football in the club as his main job.
“If I got seriously injured in the Baller League, the club would rip my head off,” he says.
The passionate footballer: Jakub Merlan-Jarecki
Like Max Wilschrey, Jakub Merlan-Jarecki is also known from reality TV; he was seen on “Temptation Island” and “Prominent Separate”, among others.
The 28-year-old has played in the Baller League once so far, as a wildcard for the Cage Tigers, the team led by Kevin-Prince Boateng and influencer Diyar Acar.
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Jakub Merlan-Jarecki: Stay loyal to his hometown club
Photo: Jarecki - Private
Merlan-Jarecki is under contract with FV Bonn-Endenich.
At times, six regular players from this fifth division team played in the Baller League on Mondays.
Sports director Markus Köppe no longer wanted to bear the risk of injury to the footballers.
He described the new format as a “fair league” and a “virus” that was spreading in the locker room.
The club temporarily suspended five players,
it was the culmination of a conflict between amateur clubs and the indoor league.
In contrast to his teammates, Merlan-Jarecki chose his hometown club.
In FV Bonn-Endenich he has found a family club that he wants to remain loyal to, he says.
Merlan-Jarecki said he could understand Köppe's point about the risk of injury: "If you play for 90 minutes on Sunday, you should actually make sure that you recover on Monday." The footballers who played in the Baller League would take this very seriously and therefore play with a certain hardness on the pitch.
He would like to see open communication between the players and clubs.
He thinks the Baller League streams are “cool,” says Merlan-Jarecki, but he doesn’t follow them.
He has always preferred playing football to watching it.
The 28-year-old also emphasizes that he sees no further opportunity for himself in the project.
"The Baller League is no better springboard than kicking in the major league." A good player is always seen when he performs well.
The triple winner: Lukas Raeder
Lukas Raeder's career started promisingly: U19 championship as starting goalkeeper with Schalke 04, move to the professional squad at Bayern Munich and immediately win a treble, and the following season two Bundesliga games as Manuel Neuer's representative.
However, Raeder was denied his big breakthrough.
After stints abroad and dozens of third division appearances for VfL Lübeck and MSV Duisburg, the goalkeeper ended his professional career in the summer of 2023 at the age of 29.
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Lukas Raeder: Sees the Baller League as an adventure
Photo: Baller League
Since January he has been playing for TuS Bövinghausen in the top league - and for the Las Ligas Ladies.
He considers a return to professional football to be unlikely.
“I still listen to everything, but it has to be right.” He is at an age where he no longer wants to go on every adventure.
The goalkeeper is convinced of the Baller League concept.
He says he particularly likes being close to the community.
For example, at the request of the fans, two of the special rules, in which only volley goals counted or only one contact with the ball was allowed, were abolished because they made the game rather lengthy.
But he doesn't see the Baller League as an opportunity to play professional football again.
The level is due to the differences in quality within all teams
still too low.
"I therefore don't think that an amateur from the Baller League can recommend himself for the regional league and the third league." Even with his teammate Moritz Leitner, interested parties would probably watch videos of the large field, Raeder suspects.