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Big story out of Germany this week as a cult player with one of the most iconic stories in the modern game retiring. His name is Kevin Großkreutz, the son of a BVB ultra who went from travelling on buses supporting the team to travelling on the team bus to play for them. (THREAD)
With 2 Bundesliga titles, a DFB Pokal trophy & a WC winners medal (the only Kevin to win the tournament) Großkreutz's trophy cabinet could be enough of a story, but it's how he got there & who he won it for that makes his story so special, and yes, that is his tattoo.
It's hard to stress just how BVB obsessed Kevin's world was. Born into a family of members, even his grandmother had a seat in the Yellow Wall & from the age of 4 Kevin followed the team around Germany & Europe thanks to his dad writing fake sick notes to get him out of school
By eight years old, Großkreutz was so obsessed with BVB & the ultra mentality, he says he stopped asking for autographs from players and took down all the posters of individual Dortmund stars on his wall. Why? He supported the club, not the players.
But Grosskreutz didn't just want to support BVB, he wanted to play for them, joining the clubs youth ranks from a young age with the dream of one day playing in front of the Yellow Wall he and his family so often frequented.
Sadly, despite showing promise, Kevin was deemed too small to make the 1st team & had to take his talents to the lower leagues, joining Rot Weis Ahlen in the 3rd tier, a club that played on Friday nights which of course meant free Saturday afternoons to support his beloved BVB
Then in 2008, RW Ahlen went up & Kevin's role in promotion saw him selected in the XI of the year for German football zine @Kicker. A certain Jurgen Klopp must have been reading that issue as before long Großkreutz was being offered a second chance to play for the club he loved.
Back at his dream club, Großkreutz, embraced his second chance with both hands playing a significant role in one of the clubs most successful eras that involved winning 2 Bundesliga titles, a DFB Pokal trophy, a run to the UCL final in 2013 and a Super Cup win against Bayern.
Despite boasting Lewandowski & Gotze it was Großkreutz who became the cult icon of the club, perhaps thanks to the 2011 season where refused to cut his hair until BVB won their first title since 2002. When they did win the Bundesliga on the final day, he shaved it on the pitch
But success on the pitch didn’t mean Großkreutz forgot his roots off the pitch where post match victories often saw him head straight to the Sudtribune, grab a megaphone and join in the bouncing and chants with his friends & family in the yellow wall.
And in 2013, as his Dortmund teammates celebrated in their Madrid hotel after knocking Real out of the UCL semi finals, Großkreutz snuck out to party with his Ultra mates down the road in an Irish bar.
Not that anyone at the club cared with Klopp describing Kevin as “A dedicated line to our fans always knowing what moves them" & Sporting director Michael Zorc stating Kevin's path "shows it's still possible to fulfil the dream to make a jump from the stands to the pitch."
The feeling from the Borussia stands was mutual, evidenced by one matchday when Dortmund Ultra’s unveiled Tifos, banners and messages throughout the stadium demanding a contract extension for their fellow Dortmunder when his time at the club was coming to an end.
The extension never materialised & life after BVB wasn’t easy for Großkreutz with a failed move to Galatasaray and unsuccessful stints at Stuttgart & Darmstadt that never reflected the same success he had playing for the club of his heart.
Life after BVB also saw issues off the pitch, including a melee that resulted in him hospitalised with serious injuries after he claimed he was ganged up on by ten people in Stuttgart's city centre
Then there was the bizarre incident that saw him sued for throwing a kebab at an FC Koln supporter during a night out, not that Großkreutz's took it too seriously https://twitter.com/sanborussia/status/490125713941725184
Thankfully in 2019, Großkreutz received a fitting, final goodbye with his beloved club thanks to the luck of the cup draw, when his final club KFC Uerdingen met BVB. At full time, Großkreutz alongside his BVB supporting daughter was given a standing ovation by BVB players & fans
One of the most popular chants from Dortmund's Yellow Wall is "Wir sind alle Dortmunder Jungs" or “We are all Dortmund kids.” When they sung it for Kevin Großkreutz, they really meant it.
