Holger Obermann (31 August 1936 – 30 October 2021) was a German professional football player and football manager, journalist and ARD television reporter.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 31 August 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Kassel, Germany | ||
| Date of death | 30 October 2021 (aged 85) | ||
| Place of death | Friedrichsdorf, Germany | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Concordia Hamburg | |||
| Elizabeth S.C. | |||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2003 | Afghanistan | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editObermann was born in Kassel. He first started playing for KSV Hessen Kassel.[1] He continued his career at Concordia Hamburg and FSV Frankfurt.[1] In 1961, he went to the United States, where he was the first German professional.[2] He played in New York City at Elizabeth S.C. the 1st German-American Soccer League.[3]
His journalist career began with an internship at the Hamburger Morgenpost.[4] Later, he was an editor and foreign correspondent for the New Yorker Staats-Zeitung, head of a German radio station and staff of the American television ABC in Miami.[4] After his return to Germany in 1966, he was a senior editor at TV the Hessischer Rundfunk, later head of the editorial Television Sports currently at South German Radio. Here he commented on football games for ARD.
From 1971 to 1984, he was one of the moderators of the sports program Sportschau.[5]
Obermann was involved for many years in the sport-related development assistance in crisis areas. His work as a "sports development expert" led him on behalf of the German Football Association and the National Olympic Committees around 30 locations, including East Timor, Cameroon, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.[6] Several times he was honored for his commitment. In 1997, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit and 2004, the prize for tolerance and fair play of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community.
Obermann was a senior adviser of the Afghanistan football project sponsored by FIFA.[7] From January until March 2003, he led the Afghanistan national football team.[8][9] From March 2004, he was an honorary member of the Afghan Football Association for his contributions to youth development. After the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, he was named by FIFA as technical consultant for the reconstruction program in Sri Lanka, where he worked directly on site.
Obermann helped to found the German American Society of Hollywood Florida in 1964.
Personal life and death
editObermann married to Barbara in 1961.[1] They had two children.[10] He died from COVID-19 in Friedrichsdorf on 30 October 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.[1]
Writings
edit- Obermann, Holger (1975). Rot-Weiss vor, noch ein Tor (in German). Stuttgart: Thienemann. ISBN 3-522-12280-1. OCLC 74264256.
- —— (1989). Und alle träumen von Pele : meine Erlebnisse am Gambia-River (in German). Stuttgart-Botnang: Consens-Verlag H. Hirschel. ISBN 978-3-926729-06-4. OCLC 29617532.
- —— (2015). Mein Fußball hatte Flügel : Erlebnisse von New York bis Kabul (in German). Wehrheim: Balog. ISBN 978-3-95586-001-1. OCLC 905354078.
Awards
edit- 1997 Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany[11][1]
- 2004 Clasp of Merit from the German Football Association (DFB)[11][12]
- 2004 Fair Play Prize (BMI-Preis für Toleranz und Fair Play im Sport)[13]
- 2010 FIFA Order of Merit[11][14]
- 2013 German Football Ambassador[11][15]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Holger Obermann ist tot: Die letzte Ruhe des Weltenbummlers". www.hna.de (in German). 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ Obermann, Holger (24 October 2009). "Die Holger Obermann Kolumne (1) – Wie bei James Bond". 11 Freunde (in German). Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "Letzte Ruhe des Weltenbummlers". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). 5 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Holger Obermann". Munzinger Biographie (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "Langjähriger Sportschau-Moderator Holger Obermann im Alter von 85 Jahren gestorben". sportschau.de (in German). 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ Strohmann, Gerhard. "VDS-Nachrichten – Aus den Regionalvereinen – VDS". Verband Deutscher Sportjournalisten (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ Burnett, Victoria (24 November 2003). "Boston.com / News / World / A global kick-start for Afghan soccer team". boston.com. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ Beck, Oskar (31 December 2007). "Entwicklungshilfe: Fußball in Afghanistan – Doppelpass mit der Angst". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ Germany backs Afghan effort – UEFA.com
- ^ "Früherer Sportschau-Moderator Holger Obermann gestorben". hessenschau.de (in German). 5 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Holger Obermann mit 85 Jahren verstorben". DFB – Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "Böhmert und Höhne neue DFB-Ehrenmitglieder". DFB – Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "Fair-Play Preis – Preisträger". Der Deutsche Olympische Sportbund (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ Mirwald, Walter. "VDS-Nachrichten – Aus den Regionalvereinen – VDS". Verband Deutscher Sportjournalisten (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "First German Football Ambassador, Holger Obermann, has passed away unexpectedly". Deutscher Fußball Botschafter e.V. (in German). 2 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.