Interview with Arne Friedrich (February 2013)
ZEIT ONLINE: Miro Klose crosses oneself after scoring, Jérôme Boateng has a tattoo of Virgin Mary on his arm. Lukas Podolski, Mario Gómez, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Per Mertesacker, Joachim Löw and Oliver Bierhoff are religious Christians. Then you have Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira, two Muslims. Are footballers especially religious?
Arne Friedrich (A/N: former player of the German NT who is very religious himself): I don’t know. But I think it’s good that the players are not afraid to say that they are religious. Belief doesn’t seem to be modern anymore. Who’s talking about it these days in everyday’s life. That’s a shame.
ZEIT ONLINE: Has Belief ever been a topic at the National Team?
Arne Friedrich: Of course. Back then, we used to sit together with Cacau (A/N: former player of the German NT) and talked about it. We also read in the Bible together and prayed for one another during the World Cup 2010.
ZEIT ONLINE: Have there ever been conflicts between the different beliefs?
Arne Friedrich: Not at all. There has never been any conflict at all. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Everybody should believe in what they want to believe. And everybody has to let others live in peace. It’s all about tolerance and respect. If you think about how many wars are fought due to the different beliefs, it’s the worst thing that can happen. Also for the Belief itself, because these wars are not what it should be about.
