Soccer Talk with Roman Weidenfeller
On Friday, October 10, 2025, our first soccer talk took place together with soccer legend Roman Weidenfeller and the German Soccer Club Borussia Dortmund at Stuyvesant High School in New York.
On Friday, October 10, 2025, a special event took place at Stuyvesant High School in New York City, organized by the Goethe-Institut USA in cooperation with the BVB Americas office in New York and the school’s German program.
Stuyvesant High School is one of 14 PASCH schools in the United States supported by the Goethe-Institut and part of the global “Schools: Partners for the Future” network.
As part of this school visit, Roman Weidenfeller, a longtime goalkeeper for Borussia Dortmund and the German national team, met with students from the school’s German program for an engaging exchange on soccer, language, and culture.
The event began with an introduction by Marc Lingenhoff, Managing Director of the BVB Americas office in New York, who presented the club’s work and presence in the city, including youth programs such as the Times Square Cup, and highlighted Borussia Dortmund’s broader engagement in the U.S. context. He then introduced Roman Weidenfeller, who addressed the students with a few personal remarks before taking part in a student moderated discussion, wherein three students from the AP German class had collected questions from their peers in advance and carefully prepared a bilingual conversation.
During the session, they asked questions about Roman’s career path, his successes and setbacks, personal motivation, and life as a professional athlete. The moderators ensured that even younger participants with more limited German proficiency could follow along by summarizing key points and providing English translations, allowing everyone to actively take part.
The result was an open and engaging conversation full of curiosity, language practice, and honest insights into the world of professional sports. In the end, one key message stood out: learning a foreign language is a lot like professional sports – perseverance pays off.
Special thanks go to Roman Weidenfeller, the team at the BVB Americas office in New York, German teacher Rebecca Lindemulder, and the enthusiastic students of Stuyvesant High School.
We look forward to many more inspiring events where language, culture, and personal stories come together.
Stuyvesant High School is one of 14 PASCH schools in the United States supported by the Goethe-Institut and part of the global “Schools: Partners for the Future” network.
As part of this school visit, Roman Weidenfeller, a longtime goalkeeper for Borussia Dortmund and the German national team, met with students from the school’s German program for an engaging exchange on soccer, language, and culture.
The event began with an introduction by Marc Lingenhoff, Managing Director of the BVB Americas office in New York, who presented the club’s work and presence in the city, including youth programs such as the Times Square Cup, and highlighted Borussia Dortmund’s broader engagement in the U.S. context. He then introduced Roman Weidenfeller, who addressed the students with a few personal remarks before taking part in a student moderated discussion, wherein three students from the AP German class had collected questions from their peers in advance and carefully prepared a bilingual conversation.
During the session, they asked questions about Roman’s career path, his successes and setbacks, personal motivation, and life as a professional athlete. The moderators ensured that even younger participants with more limited German proficiency could follow along by summarizing key points and providing English translations, allowing everyone to actively take part.
The result was an open and engaging conversation full of curiosity, language practice, and honest insights into the world of professional sports. In the end, one key message stood out: learning a foreign language is a lot like professional sports – perseverance pays off.
Special thanks go to Roman Weidenfeller, the team at the BVB Americas office in New York, German teacher Rebecca Lindemulder, and the enthusiastic students of Stuyvesant High School.
We look forward to many more inspiring events where language, culture, and personal stories come together.