World Cup presenter Sedlaczek privately
“I thought I was going to fall over and die”
Updated June 18, 2026 – 4:07 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Esther Sedlaczek is currently probably the most prominent German sports presenter. In a conversation she talks about doubts and a very special evening – in a negative sense.
Who to a game of Football World Cup If you switch on the first transmitter, you usually can’t avoid it. A majority of the games are made by Esther Sedlaczek moderated – together with the expert and world champion from 2014, Bastian Schweinsteiger. The two harmonize in front of the camera and make an entertaining duo.
In an interview with “Spiegel”, Sedlaczek speaks openly about her past and her path to her dream job. Among other things, it’s about a decisive night six years ago. At the time, the presenter was still working for the private broadcaster Sky, came home late and went to bed. She woke up in the middle of the night, barely able to breathe, and went into the garden to calm down. “I thought I was going to fall over and die,” Sedlaczek told “Spiegel.”
That night, the now 40-year-old had a panic attack. A year earlier she had her first daughter. The mother assumes that she got postpartum depression that night, which many mothers suffer months after the birth. But trauma could also have been the cause.
She was taken to the emergency room in an ambulance. The night left a lasting impression on the TV presenter. Weeks later, she was still afraid of the dark, wondering what would happen if the numbness she felt that night returned. “I wanted to do everything perfectly on every level,” she said, alluding to the conflict between strenuous shift work on live TV and being a mother.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself”
Sedlaczek wasn’t really happy with the job at Sky, so she continued to develop. But especially as a young sports journalist, she had strong doubts about being good enough for the complicated industry. “I left almost every show with the feeling: That’s not good enough,” said the presenter. “I put a lot of pressure on myself and didn’t enjoy the job.”
After each broadcast, Sedlaczek went into analysis and got upset about every little mistake. “I always beat myself up,” she says. Today she is probably the most famous German sports presenter. And Bastian Schweinsteiger will also be happy to have her at his side as a presenter. After all, “Schweini” disappointed as an expert for years before Sedlaczek took over.