Off the big stage
© Imago
In front of 50 spectators on an ashing area in the province and after playing with the teammates, drink a beer in the clubhouse instead of answering questions from journalists in the mixed zone-the differences between the dazzling professional business and amateur football are great. Nevertheless or precisely because of this, former professionals always find their way back to the amateur area.
One of them is Raffael Caetano de Araújo, Raffael for short. He ran for Borussia Mönchengladbach for seven years and is one of the top 10 of the most frequently used legionaries of foals. Due to his elegant style of play, the Brazilian became a crowd favorite on the Lower Rhine. In January 2022, he ended his professional career after an adventure in Slovakia at FK Pohronie. Almost 20 million euros were paid for the 290-time Bundesliga player in his career.
Since 2023, the Maestro, as it was lovingly called during his time in the upper house, has been conjuring up in Ay-Yildizspor Hückelhoven on the amateur courts in North Rhine-Westphalia. He also works as a consultant at the “Macospo” agency. He wanted to bring in his experience as a professional and is primarily a contact for the actors to be looked after from Germany.
In his first year in amateur football, he helped the district league team after three missed promotion attempts to make a long -awaited leap into the district league. In 17 games, he got 27 goal participations. “What inspired me: We always tried to play football. The team developed a lot from the first to the last match day, I was pleasantly surprised, it was a lot of fun, ”the long -time professional told the“ Rheinische Post ”after the end of the season.
Großkreutz and Da Silva mix in the Westphalia League – “absolutely ascent”
“I really want to move up to the top division with Wacker.” Despite his now 36 years and the departure from professional football, Kevin Großkreutz is still ambitious. The 2014 world champion has been playing at Westphalia League SV Wacker Obercastrop since summer 2023 and is aiming for promotion to the 5th division.
The native of Dortmund experienced his most successful time at his youth and heart club Borussia Dortmund. With the black and yellow he became German champion, one cup winner and in 2013 over the full distance in the Champions League final on the field. A year later, he reached its highest market value with 10 million euros. In 2020 he ended his professional career at KFC Uerdingen.
He is currently not only captain of Obercastrop, but also a playing assistant coach. He already gained experience in this position at TuS Bövinghausen, Türkspor Dortmund and still as an active professional at VfL Kemminghausen. Next to the soccer field, he has a pub together with a friend and publishes a podcast with commentator Cornelius Küpper.
In his profit, Großkreutz noticed more often through extra -sporting headlines and thus also continued off the big stage. In April 2023, as a playing assistant coach at Bövinghausen, he received a dismissal after he was said to have insulted the opposing players. Then his time ended in the coaching team and he switched to Wacker Obercastrop after the end of the season.
Since October 2024 he has been playing there with Antônio Da Silva. The two ex-professionals know each other from their time together at BVB between 2010 and 2012. In 24 encounters they were on the pitch together. Since Silva won two championship titles with the Borussians and one with VfB Stuttgart. In 2013 he ended his career at MSV Duisburg after a year at MSV Duisburg.
At the age of 46 he celebrated his comeback in the Westphalia League at Wacker Obercastrop. In his first game after eleven years of break, he immediately scored his first goal. “It is a challenge to be on the pitch after so many years. I didn’t train at all, ”the Brazilian told the club team. It is important to him that he could help the team and the club.
Due to many failures, the sixth division team and at the request of his friend Großkreutz occurred due to many failures. “He called me again and again and asked if I wanted to play. I enjoy it, that’s why I’m on the pitch. ” The team around the two ex-professionals is currently in third place in the table with only two points behind the leader TSG Sprockhövel.
Brosinski and Gondorf – long -time teammates, now opponents in the Landesliga
In the summer of 2024, the former Mainz Daniel Brosinski ended his long and successful professional career at his youth club Karlsruher SC. The defender ran 222 times in the Bundesliga, and another 126 missions in the lower house are added. In the Beletage, only three players played more games for the “zero fifts”.
After his farewell to the big stage, he moved to the seventh team FV Fortuna Kirchfeld in the Landesliga Mittelbaden. “I am happy to continue playing football here in the region and hope we will have a lot of fun and success together,” said Brosinski after his change. The team is in the table of the table and the defender contributed two goals and four templates in 17 missions.
“Now there is time for new challenges to learn and discover new things,” the 36-year-old announced after his career end announced. He started the first new challenge in September 2024 – since then he has been a player coach at Fortuna Kirchfeld.
Jérôme Gondorf was also born in Karlsruhe, played with Brosinski in the U19 of the KSC and ended his career with him in 2024. Now he plays at the league competitor SG Stupferich. In a total of 38 encounters, the two football pensioners were on the field together in their career. On March 30, 2025, the league game between SG and Fortuna Kirchfeld could be reunited. Only Brosinski was on the pitch in the first half of the season.
Gondorf ran 277 times in the first two German play classes and, with the double promotion in 2014 and 2015, managed to march from the third to the first division with SV Darmstadt.
His farewell to Karlsruher SC was accompanied by loud background noises. After his career end, he sued his former employer because he believed that his old contract had automatically extended by another year. The KSC then announced that it was “very disappointed” by the behavior of his long -standing captain. The second division club received law in court and Gondorf admitted in an interview with the sports magazine “Kicker”: “The lawsuit was a mistake.” The 36-year-old does not run as planned for the 36-year-old. In the first half of the season, he did not come to any effort for his new club, in which two of his brothers also play.