“It’s a German tournament, it’s awesome, it’s always special to be here anyway. ´There were so many people at the training sessions—it’s just cool!”
What was equally cool for soccer fanatic Struff was the chance to warm up for the tournament with a visit to the Allianz Arena. The lifelong Borussia Dortmund fan had plenty to cheer about as his team played out a 2:2 draw against historic rivals Bayern Munich.
“It was very nice, I would say! It was good that we didn’t lose, I think it might have weighed a bit on our minds, I would say. Of course I would have liked to have won, but it’s fine,” he said.
“It was nice to be at the stadium. I was there once before, I think maybe ten years ago or eight years ago, had the chance to watch the game here. That was a Cup semi-final, where we won 8-7 after extra time. That was really cool too. I love just going to football!”
The points being shared was perhaps the best result all round, given his German teammate—and top seed in Munich—Alexander Zverev’s support for Bayern. The two caught up on the practice court on Sunday, but was it all friendly when it came to the football?
“Yes, we chatted about it a little bit already, but it was all chilled out” Struff laughed.