St. Pauli’s U19 coach Christian Dobrick has made his homosexuality public and linked this to harsh criticism of top-class male football.
“I’m a football coach, 29 years old. And at the end of the day, why I’m sitting here is: I’m gay and I wanted to say that once.”said Dobrick in an interview with “Stern” and “RTL”. So far, so normal. Or not?
“Gays are considered aliens”
The Flensburg native, who is currently coaching the U19 team at FC St. Pauli, is the first active football teacher at a professional club in Germany to share this private matter with the public. “In professional football, gays are still considered aliens”said Dobrick.
Things are completely different in women’s football, where the sexual orientation of a player or coach has long ceased to play a role.
Hitzlsperger came out after his career
In 2014, Thomas Hitzlsperger was the first professional to publicly declare that he was gay – but only after his active career. Because he feared that this confession could have led to unpleasant comments or unmistakable insults from the stands if he had played in the stadiums of this republic. Or even unpleasant reactions from his opponents or teammates. The former national player did not expose himself to this danger.
Career now blocked?
Dobrick, on the other hand, decided to tell his story earlier. “For a long time I was unsure whether I would ruin my career by confessing that I was gay.”said Dobrick, the “sometime” would like to work in the professional sector.
Although he was still unsure about the career consequences of his coming out, he no longer wanted to hide his sexual orientation in the work environment. “This game of hide-and-seek cost me too much strength”he said.
Often he has “Word acrobatics“and one”rhetorical egg dance“Had to perform to conceal his life as a gay man. All of this would have drained energy,”that you actually invest in your job and sport” could have. Dobrick has been working in St. Pauli’s youth ranks since the summer of 2025; he previously worked for RB Salzburg, TSG Hoffenheim and Holstein Kiel.
Fewer homosexuals in professional football?
At least at his current club, his statement, which was not agreed upon in advance, should not cause him any inconvenience. “As FC St. Pauli, we of course support him and his coming out. Because it’s actually quite simple and should apply to everyone: Love who you want!”said the people of Hamburg. President Oke Göttlich has already personally pledged his support to Dobrick.
Dobrick said he was though “certainly not an isolated case, but when it comes to the professional sector, I suspect that there are significantly fewer gays there than the average population. Because there is so much pressure in the industry to lead a hetero-normative life.”, said the coach, and concluded: “Fewer gay footballers are making it to the top because they have to waste their energy on problems that have nothing to do with the sport.”
Christian Dobrick moves forward with courage
In any case, Christian Dobrick takes a big burden off other and future homosexual trainers and professionals. He also explicitly relates his statements to his current role as a trainer: “If I want to be as authentic as possible as a coach and demand courage from my players to play football courageously, then that is only possible if I stand up there at the front and also have the courage to say, friends, that’s who I am, do what you want with it.“
