The small community of Karbach in the Rhein-Hunsrück district in Rhineland-Palatinate has fewer than 1,000 inhabitants – but the local football club FC Karbach will soon have a national player. The 19-year-old goalkeeper Romaric Grenz switched from the U19s of FK Pirmasens to the upper division of the RP/Saar-Staffel last summer, where he has mostly alternated with veteran Florian Bauer (35) since then. Now he has been nominated for his father’s home country, Togo.
“It’s a dream that’s coming true for me,” said Grenz, who was “very” happy about the invitation, when asked by Transfermarkt. Togo, who did not qualify for the last Africa Cup of Nations and lost out in the World Cup qualifying group to tournament winners Senegal, often scout in Germany.
In addition to the team’s biggest star, Ihlas Bebou (27) from TSG Hoffenheim, the squad of Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte recently included Frederic Ananou (24) from SC Paderborn, Haymenn Bah-Traoré (24) from the BVB reserve and Jean -Marie Nadjombe (24) from Fortuna Cologne. Like Grenz, the latter two were born in Germany – the goalkeeper, to be more precise, in Koblenz, not far from Karbach.
Grenz remembers visiting Togo with his father in 2018. Even then he was told to stay and play for the national team. “We still laughed about it, but when it can become reality now – you think ‘wow’.” Of course he would accept the invitation: “I definitely want this feeling of playing for the nation experience, I’m really looking forward to it.”
Hakimi over 100 million mark: African players with the highest transfer earnings
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
