"Krone" column

Walking home after the game

Benedikt Pichler plays with Holstein Kiel in the German Bundesliga. Despite his steep rise, the Salzburg native has always kept his feet on the ground and has no airs and graces. A "Krone" column by Philip Kirchtag.

Expensive cars, luxury watches or branded clothing - most professional footballers who play in the really big leagues and get paid very good money for it are concerned with much more than "just" their sporting performance these days. The more eye-catching and extravagant, the better - seems to be the motto of many. The ideal example of this is France's team footballers, who transform the path from the car to the building into a fashion catwalk every time they arrive at the team's "Clairefontaine" headquarters.

But there are still counter-examples - Germany legionnaire Benedikt Pichler falls into this category. The striker from Bundesliga club Holstein Kiel attaches zero importance to flashy things and has no airs and graces. He opts for sporty everyday clothing and drives around town in a simple VW. If at all. After home matches, the man from Salzburg usually walks home and occasionally chats with the fans on the way home about the game.

The 27-year-old has not forgotten his roots and knows exactly where he comes from. Unlike the majority of professional players, Pichler did not attend an academy in his youth, but fought his way through the Salzburg lower house, the 2nd division and the Austrian Bundesliga to the German upper house. And despite his steep rise, he has never lost touch with the ground.