Georg Klein was not the captain and yet received the honor of being the first to present the twelfth Berlin championship trophy to the 8553 home fans.
Photo: imago/Sebastian Rappold
When teammates, trainers and supervisors run like mad across the field of the Max-Schmeling-Halle and hug each other, Georg Klein stands still and clasps his hands over his head. Otherwise, he likes to express his emotions, yells at fellow players or the audience to spur them on. But in this moment of the last victory, Klein simply cannot understand the unexpected luck that has just happened to him: yet again German volleyball champion with the Berlin Volleys, two years after he had already ended his career. »There is no better farewell. We had a sold out house. I wasn’t that bad either – it’s an absolutely awesome ending for me,” Klein says a little later, his knees still weak from fatigue and too much adrenaline in his blood.
At the end of 2019, the 30-year-old decided to stop and finally start his studies to become a police commissioner. He wants to say goodbye with his third championship title, but in the first corona lockdown the season is interrupted shortly before the start of the playoffs. No medal, no standing ovations for the favorite of the Berlin fans. The BR Volleys media department is also organizing a fictitious farewell game, which will be commented on »live« via podcast, including pre-recorded audio snippets from many old companions. Klein sounds it at home and sheds a few tears.
A year and a half later, one of only three middle blockers fails in the volleys. Manager Kaweh Niroomand can’t find a replacement – and asks Klein if he can at least help out in training. “I clearly said no,” the student remembers. ‘But then I started brooding and talking to people in the police force. We shifted a few things in the roster and I said to Kaweh: If you really can’t find anyone better, I’ll do it again.”
The volleyball team’s misery didn’t improve after that either, and Klein sporadically got back into the league. In the first final game against VfB Friedrichshafen, the next colleague is injured and the semi-pro even has to get on the big stage. “No author could have written the screenplay better,” says manager Niroomand. “That was the best series of finals in recent years. Both teams are on an equal footing, and the deciding factor is our broader squad, which we always pay attention to when putting together before the season.« At the time, Klein wasn’t even in the squad.
The rescuer in need knows himself that he is not an exceptional volleyball player. He doesn’t jump very high, doesn’t hit very hard, doesn’t score many points. But Klein is solid – and he can inspire his colleagues. And that’s exactly what the Berliners needed. »Georg helped us enormously. He’s a fighter whose athletic performance and mental attitude come together in a nutshell,” the manager praises him.
Of course, Berlin’s coach Cedric Enard also knows these qualities when, after losing the first two final duels, he decides to say the last words to the team before game three in the dressing room. ‘He was the perfect man for us. Not even there at the beginning, and then he gives 100 percent of his body, his attitude, his fighting spirit for us, although he still has to work on the side. He sacrificed so much,” reports Enard. ‘When we won the game I let him talk before the last two games too. Georg has become my lucky routine.« In fact, thanks to the 3-1 win on Saturday, the Berliners were the first team to turn a series final in the Bundesliga after being 2-0 down to make it 3-2. “It became our mission in the team to become champion for Georg Klein,” says Enard, who consciously grabbed his middle blocker for a few words in the jubilation beforehand and said: “Now you can go into volleyball retirement. You deserve it.”
Consequently, captain Sergei Grankin also gave Klein the honor of being the first to raise the championship trophy at the award ceremony in front of 8,553 celebrating fans. ‘A huge gesture from Sergei. I give him credit for that,” Klein is still deeply moved minutes later. Again – like the first career end. »What the boys did for me back then also made me cry wildly. But you just can’t replace a setting like today.« In the end, nothing is more beautiful than reality.
And? Can he really break up after such a moment of happiness? Klein is asked again. »But what of!«, he says and says goodbye to a night of partying »when none of us goes to bed early«.
