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Uwe Schäfer: in the national league again at 57

This probably only happens in fistball: Due to a lack of personnel, the coach of the fistball league team TV Augsburg (who is by all means a bit old) has to start in the away game in Waibstadt - and earns great applause from the home fans. The event of the previous weekend was even worth the following article in the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung.

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They haven't forgotten him, of course. When hall announcer Michael Tschimmel reads out his name, applause erupts in the Schwimmbadsporthalle. Uwe Schäfer, the coach of TV Augsburg, gets the strongest applause of the evening when the two teams are introduced - just as if he were still a TV Waibstadt man. And in a way he is. For the TVW he has remained "Us Uwe".

"The reception was very nice," says the 57-year-old.

The away game in Kraichgau, it is a home game for the native of Waibstadt. Mom Elisabeth and dad Reinhard are sitting in the stands at the season finale of the national fistball league, and among the fans are a number of friends and acquaintances who have admired him in the past, reported https://onlinecricket.bet/live-sports-betting/. Schäfer, the man for all balls, has led the TVW to six German championships, and in 1986 and 1990 he became world champion with the German national team.

Now the former world-class defender is back - and even on the field. Because TV Augsburg is missing five players, he is throwing himself into the work and rushing after the balls. "We've been thinking about considered whether we should cancel. But we didn't want to. That would have been a shame for Waibstadt, too," says Schäfer (photo: Link). Despite his 57 years of age, he does not look old. It's not because of him that his team lost 1:5. Schäfer is still very sure of the ball, the old fox knows how the hare runs.

Rainer Frommknecht, the TVW coach, is happy about the reunion. He used to be in a team with Uwe Schäfer for five years.

"For me it is a time travel to see him play now. He was one of the best defenders in the world back then," says Frommknecht, grinning, "On the phone he asked me if I wanted to play for Augsburg today. I declined."

The sporting Schäfer hour lasts 60 minutes, then the game is over. More than a 1:5 is simply not in it.

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"I'm glad we won a set. We only had defenders, no attackers with us. And Felix Färber played the batsman for the first time," says Uwe Schäfer. There's no question about it: the encounters up in the stands are nicer than the encounters down on the field. With the acquaintances and fans. And with the parents, of course."