Strong performances at EM
Son of Johannes B. Kerner on the hunt for goals for Germany
01/10/2026 – 1:51 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The German hockey men celebrate three victories at the start of the European Indoor Championships. One player in particular is in focus.
The DHB team is fully on track at the men’s indoor European Championships in Heidelberg. The team, which is coached by the coaching duo Matthias Witthaus and Jan Philipp Rabente, has won all three games so far. One attacker in particular is drawing attention not only because of his athletic performance, but also because of his name: Nik Kerner.
Kerner has a prominent father who every sports fan in Germany probably knows: Johannes B. Kerner, the former ZDF sports presenter. The sporting spirit was not only passed on to Kerner Junior on his father’s side. Britta Becker, the ex-wife of Johannes B. Kerner and mother of the DHB player, was herself a national hockey player.
On Friday, Nik Kerner was named player of the game in the win against Switzerland (7:3). With four of his own goals and two assists, he was involved in almost all of the German team’s goals. The next game was against Belgium (13:2) just six hours later. Here too, Kerner entered the top scorer list.
“The team is growing together more and more. I hope that they can go one step further,” said national coach Matthias Witthaus at MagentaSport: “All the strikers scored well, that’s important in a tournament like this.”
After the national team won the first group game against Ireland (7:3) on Thursday and also won the duel against Spain 5:4 on Saturday, Nik Kerner and his team are in the semi-finals as group winners. Poland is waiting there.
The two best teams in each of the two groups of five qualify for the semi-finals, the other teams play for the remaining places. Germany is considered one of the big favorites for the tournament. The DHB team won the last edition in Belgium in 2024, and in February 2025 the DHB team was also crowned indoor world champion.