99ers captain Holzer

Ex-NHL star warmed up with the music of STS

The Graz99ers ice hockey cracks are going to have an early morning party. The Styrians face Vorarlberg on Sunday at noon (12 noon) in the Merkur Ice Stadium. The "Krone" met captain Korbinian Holzer in advance for a "Bavarian breakfast". 

Ice hockey matinee in Graz. The 99ers meet Vorarlberg on Sunday at 12 noon sharp. The players will be wearing special traditional costume jerseys, and numerous fans will make the pilgrimage to the bunker in lederhosen or dirndls. "Of course I'll also be wearing lederhosen," says captain Korbinian Holzer, who, as a true Bavarian, always has lederhosen in his closet anyway. "No matter where I've played."

The well-traveled former NHL star has seen a lot in his career. But he has never forgotten the local culture. "And I've listened to a lot of Austro-pop. When I played in Toronto, for example, I always listened to STS while driving to the arena. I'm a huge fan. The last time I went to the thermal spa, I drove through Fürstenfeld. I immediately had to take a photo of the town sign," laughs Holzer, who was also a good kicker in his youth. "I even played for the Bavarian team, but then had to choose between soccer and ice hockey."

99ers captain Korbinian Holzer also cuts a fine figure on the ice in traditional costume.(Bild: zVg/99ers)

I once came home from kindergarten and told him that I was a Bayern fan. He looked at me and said: 'Your grandpa was a sixty, I'm a sixty - so you're a sixty too. That was it! Since then, my heart has belonged to 1860 and I would never go to FC Bayern.

Holzers Fußball-Liebe gehört den „Löwen“ von 1860 München

Like the Toten Hosen
He has remained a soccer fan. But it was his dad who decided who his favorite club was: "I came home from kindergarten once and told him that I was a Bayern fan. He looked at me and said: 'Your grandpa was a sixty, I'm a sixty - so you're a sixty too. That was it! Since then, my heart has belonged to 1860 and I would never go to FC Bayern," says the German like Campino, the frontman of the Toten Hosen.

Ticket campaign

If 99ers fans turn up to the game against Vorarlberg in traditional costume, there is a 50 percent discount on ticket purchases at the ticket office.

"I even met him once when I played in Düsseldorf," Holzer told the "Krone" ahead of the game against Vorarlberg. Incidentally, he had a Bavarian breakfast. But the sportsman skipped the wheat beer. "We'll only have that after the game. Then, if we win."