Germany’s Olympic goalkeeper Svend Brodersen is moving from FC St. Pauli to Japan to Yokohama FC – also because of Nintendo and Godzilla.
The German surprise participant in the Olympic football tournament in Tokyo, goalkeeper Svend Brodersen, will stay in Japan right after the games. His move to Yokohama FC became official a few days ago – and he has a curious reason.
“My childhood was strongly influenced by Japanese culture through Nintendo, Godzilla, Samurai, Fast & Furious. Since then, my dream has been to come to Japan one day,” the 24-year-old from Hamburg was quoted in the official announcement of his new club.
When asked about his hopes for the Olympic soccer tournament, Brodersen drew a comparison with Japan: “I hope that we will fight our way through to the final in the spirit of Takeshi’s Castle.”
Brodersen was most recently active for St. Pauli
Before moving to Japan, Brodersen only played for FC St. Pauli, where he had been playing since he was four. In 2014, at the age of 17, he was part of the professional squad for the first time, but has only played six times since then.
His contract, which expired in the summer, was not renewed at the Kiezklub. Brodersen made only one professional game at club level in seven years than in the German U20 (4) and U21 (1).
On November 16, 2018, he played his first and only U21 game against the Netherlands (3-0) under Stefan Kuntz, who had now called him to his 18-man Olympic squad due to a lack of alternatives. At the games in Japan, Florian Müller from VfB Stuttgart will appear as a regular goalkeeper.
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