Kevin- All mouth but also trousers

It is difficult to write about Kevin Großkreutz without repeating things we all already know or even worse, a number of clichees. The "Dortmunder Jung", loyal to his roots, from the not very noble district "Eving", who has now bought himself and his parents a house in exactly that district, who has been standing on the "Südtribüne" until lately and who- let's say- doesn't really care too much for teams from Gelsenkirchen. And who is, by the way, of course always up for a witty quote which equals in the fact that he doesn't necessarily collect the same kind of sympathies from other football fans like he does in Dortmund. Somehow, one has already read everything and Kevin Großkreutz' history is more or less part of our general knowledge, right?

Not at all. Between all the tough comments and the "Dortmunder Jung" reports, there is actually one thing always running short- Kevin Großkreutz' effort and achievements: 43 games, nine goals and seven assists have not only made Kevin an unquestioned starter and key player but also a three-time national player.

Aside from the loyalty to his home and the big mouth, the Dortmunder 19 has also a lot to offer when it comes to football: running, obviously- in this point Kevin Großkreutz probably gets as close to his coaches perception as probably no other player does. Because even if the game wasn't really going anywhere, which luckily never happened very often during the games of the last season, Kevin Großkreutz' strength in running and fighting was the one thing you could depend on the most.

But Kevin is more than the clichee-like "Ruhrgebiet-virtue" in person, of which people say that this is enough for us fans.

In fact, in this season Kevin Großkreutz has proved- game for game- that he is on the same level as his team mates when it comes to actually playing football. Unforgotten the nicely played out 1:0 against St. Pauli, which Kevin succeeded by heading the ball into the goal. Also unforgotten the two mellow goals in Leverkusen. But especially unforgotten the amazing assist with his heel at the 2:0 victory against Hamburg- for me, THE scene and THE goal of the whole season. Simply because within this move the blind understanding of the whole team was perfectly shown.

All in all, for me Kevin Großkreutz is something like the epitome of the new BVB. Not only does the number 19 work his way up and down down the pitch in every new game as if there was, first of all, no morning, and second of all, no breath to catch- but also charakterwise he is the prototype of the 2011 Championship team and its lived affinity to the fans.

There is no question: The Championship teams from 1995, 1996 and 2002 (only mentioning the latest ones) all have a secure place in our Borussiahearts and we all like to remember the Cesars, Reuters, Kohlers and Sammers. But still, the way the team from Borussia is seeking the contact to the fans nowadays, and the way they are seeking the possibilty in order to celebrate with the fans is simply peerless. The contact between the professional player and the fan was simply reduced to signing some autographs and fullfilling some must-gos back then.

The generation Großkreutz is different. Since the era Jürgen Klopp started, autographs are being written until the last one actually got one, not until the player has had enough. On the other side you don't actually feel like the boys are keeping this fancontact against their will- the contrary is the case. The celebrations after the Derby, the starting of chants and also Neven Subotics legendary spontanious party on the Lindemannstreet- has this ever happened before? And regardless of all his achievements, can anyone actually imagine Jürgen Kohler half naked on the top of his car?

For this newly grown connection between the team and the fans, Kevin Großkreutz is the link and the projection surface for many fans. Because there is actually one thing to retain, even though we might slip into some clichees after all: With his career, Kevin Großkreutz lives the dream of many boys, who have grown up in Dortmund or are growing up right now. Swapping the stands with the pitch and play for our Borussia once. Who wouldn't want that?

Written: Arne, Translated: Ida, 22.06.2011

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