Neven Subotic French Interview Translated
When you open Maillot vert, the magazine of Saint-Etienne Sports Association (ASSE), he doesn’t wear shorts and football shoes, but rather civil clothes and a protective face mask. He is visiting children hospitalized at the oncology ward of the CHU.
Neven Subotic (29 years) has played his first match for les Verts on January 27th. On that day, 700 km further north, a big banner was unveiled on the Yellow Wall, the famous tribune at Borussia Dortmund’s stadium, paying homage to this tall defender (1,93m) who played for them for ten years. A kind of reserve player*, but one doesn’t forget him.
Altruistic, witty and very calm, the Banja Luka (Bosnia) native stands out in the world of football. No sports car, no Iroquois hairstyle and no showing off wealth on his official Instagram page, instead information about the Neven Subotic Stiftung. He created the foundation in Dortmund in 2012, it’s goal is to provide access to drinking water to the poorest communities of Ethiopia. This, he doesn’t only do from afar, but on site at the Tigré province.
While many professional footballers spend off-season relaxing in luxury hotels and on exotic beaches, Neven goes to the second most populous nation of Africa, one of the poorest in the world, and one that has a growth rate that makes its neighboring countries jealous. He summarizes: “Our actions are directed at a rural region, where children walk two to three hours a day to fill their canisters with muddy water. Then, they have to march another long distance to arrive at school.”
Neven continues: “We install drinking water wells within a maximum walking distance of fifteen minutes, so the children can go straight to school. We also supply schools with water and build latrines.” The activities take place together with Ethiopian groups, “because strengthening local competences is essential, so that one day, they can carry the program on their own.” When he is over there, no one knows that he was one of the best central defenders in Europe, Champions League finalist in 2013 with Borussia Dortmund (beaten by Bayern München), that he has won the Bundesliga twice and the German Cup once. Today he plays with les Verts of Saint-Etienne, “a club that is not superficial”** where he praises the authenticity, passion and loyalty of the fans.
Since his arrival, Neven Subotic has actively participated in the club’s great comeback to eighth place, the eyes on a European spot. He talks about how he was paid 300 000 € a month at Borussia Dortmund and accepted a salary only half of that at Saint-Etienne. He also talks about how Olympique Marseille wanted to buy him this summer. But he hasn’t come to talk about money or football. We find him again at l’Etrat, the training center of ASSE in front of 300 stomping people. It’s a public session today. We talk about Ethiopia again, and end up digressing to talk about childhood.
His parents, of Serbian origin, left Bosnia just before the war of 1992 that tore apart Yugoslavia. They headed for Germany, then the US. “My parents received help, I too received helped. I don’t have anything to pay back, but I know it wasn’t just luck that I have so much money today.” After having played, as a teen, for a club in Florida and the US under-17 national team, he was recruited by FCV Mainz. He met a young coach with a promising future, Jürgen Klopp, whom he followed to Dortmund. There, he saw another form of misery and abandonment at an orphanage close to the club.
“I missed this orphanage. In my way, I wanted to give something to these children who were very reserved, almost autistic. This was not just about pitying them and feeling sorry for them, but to uplift them, to help them better themselves.” With his fame and a growing number of potential donors, Neven Subotic decided to get involved in Africa. He could have chosen charity work in Germany or Serbia, but he preferred to go “where the people don’t even have the most basic necessities.”
According to Unicef, 180 000 children under the age of five die every year (500 a day) because of diarrhea sicknesses caused by lack of access to clean water and insufficient hygiene. A spokesperson from ASSE adds: “Neven often returns to Dortmund to work with his foundation, the administration and to raise money. He’s an incredible guy, independent, hard-working. He repairs his own computer and he takes extra lessons to learn French, the lessons provided by the club are not enough for him.”
In June, he will travel to Ethiopia for three weeks to observe the progress of the programs and to take pictures, “because we have to bear witness”. He has a fiancée, but no children. With a wink he says as he leaves “My kids are over there.”
* I am 95% sure they mean “reservé” as in a bench player and not starting XI, but there is a slight chance they mean reserved as in the character trait, tho I think that makes less sense in this context
** This sounds way less weird in French. But idk how to phrase it better
https://www.letemps.ch/sport/neven-subotic-defenseur-tres-potable
