“Extremely difficult”
A Braunschweiger in the 96 jersey: Horn looks back
04.03.2025 – 11:50 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
The native of Braunschweig Jannes Horn never played for the Eintracht heart club. Instead, he briefly laced his shoes for Rival Hannover 96. The 28-year-old looks back.
Jannes Horn is a boy of Braunschweig. The later Bundesliga defender and today’s MLS professional grew up in the Löwenstadt. The connection to Eintracht Braunschweig is therefore a special one for him. His father once took him to the stadium as a child. His brother works as a physiotherapist for the BTSV. “I am Braunschweig through and through,” said Horn recently in “Football Spezi Podcast”.
And yet he never ran for Eintracht himself during his previous professional career. Growing up in the western ring area, he took his first football steps at Rot-Weiß Braunschweig. Then it went through VfL Wolfsburg (2008-2017) to the 1st FC Köln (2017-2022).
The fact that a one-year intermezzo at Braunschweig-Rival Hannover 96 followed in 2019 still depends on him, as Horn admits. “In retrospect, the club may not be the optimal as Braunschweig,” he says with a grin. At the time, however, the loan business made sense for him.
“For me personally, it was just extremely important that I would get back to play and collect my minutes again so that my career does not stagnate,” he explains. In Cologne he had previously struggled with injuries and had come out of rhythm.
However, the fact that the Braunschweig native of Hanover, of all places, did not arrive everywhere as the next step. It was “extremely difficult” for him and his environment, he admits. “I got countless news how I can do it as a Braunschweiger. It was not easy for my family either because the Braunschweig fans are very often in the stadium and grew up with the club.”
During his time in the red jersey, he was particularly good for him. “I was very often in Braunschweig in time and then just got into play. Now I wouldn’t take the step anymore. At the time – I was 21 – it was great. We had a very good team and a very good coach,” continued Horn.
He then went back to Cologne strengthened and developed into a regular in the Bundesliga at the “Effzeh”. His conclusion of the 96 excursion is therefore correspondingly positive. “In retrospect, it was definitely a good step for myself and the regret,” says Horn.
But also the desire to run again in the Eintracht jersey in his hometown of Braunschweig, slumbering in him. “It is my dream and my wish. I hope it will work at some point, but you will see that,” said Horn. If you keep your fingers crossed for the upcoming Lower Saxony Sendersby next Sunday (1.30 p.m.), you should therefore be clear.