Interview with Rachel Rhinost: “As a little girl I never had in mind that women can make money through football” – Sports

Mrs. The carnival season kicked off in Cologne on Thursday, Rhinost. Stephen Palmcord coached his team in a unicorn costume. What costume did you wear?
Together with three teams, we are Dutch new kids.

They also did not hide their love for the city of Cologne.
I think it slows down a bit for my grandmother from Urgol. We used to meet her often when I was a boy and it was always the best holiday for me. There were playgrounds, cable car, rhine and zoo. So I only had sweet memories, when I started living here, it happened to me. I think even those who are not related to football are becoming football fans here.

You are a native of Cologne and a true North German. If you play for the national team, you are Swiss. How does it work?
Three hearts burn in my chest. I grew up in northern Germany, so I knew how to behave. Cologne is just like how I am, which is why I feel so much at home here. And the Swiss welcomed me very well, it was a special when you played for the national team. In EM I was more for Switzerland than the Germans.

At 30 you have already seen a lot. What has changed since switching from ballet to football at the age of four?
In the women’s area, there are a lot of good changes. As a kid, I used to think that women could make money through football, but that was not possible then. I didn’t get the chance to emulate a player because I didn’t know they existed. It would have been nice to be able to say as a young woman: “Hey, there are women who do the same as men. Very good. I can do that too. “Of course, today it is different. Nevertheless, more can happen, especially when it comes to women in executive positions. Then football will grow in a better direction again.

Despite the positive growth, female hate speech still exists.
Yes, of course there are sayings like this. But they are everywhere, and unfortunately always will be.

How does a woman handle it better?
I will not now make it my mission to convert disrespectful people. But let’s try to show some people who don’t know that women can.

What prejudice is causing your nerves in particular?
The same nonsense is unleashed again and again. Women football can’t work, it only costs money and no one wants to watch it. It annoys me because it is so firm in some minds, but it is not true. But I think a lot will change in the next five to ten years, and I hope Germany will go along with it.

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But you thought the same thing.
Yes, right, we say these words to ourselves sometimes. But why? Because that’s how we grew up, at one point it became a form of self-defense. Before anyone else says silly words I would like to say them myself, but I have stopped doing it now and I have more awareness on my language. And I try to point out to people that some things are discriminatory.

You study as a football player, stand-up comedian, singer, podcaster and teacher. How do you do all this cool stuff?
I am currently doing my practical semester at school, while doing some research projects, which requires a lot of time and nerves. We held a seminar yesterday and some fellow students said they were completely crazy because there were a lot of them. I thought: If only you knew. But it would not be good for me to just play football without doing other things. Doing nothing is very stressful for me. Stand-up is a new story, it made me very sad, so I can imagine continuing it.

In 2018 they terminated their contract at Freiburg after five games. They said they had lost the fun of football. Why?
I wanted to stop. Physically everything was fine, but mentally I always had downsides in which I thought, now I can’t. I have passed through so many descendants before this. It was hard. In Freiburg, it came together. This is not the right club and city for me.

In Israel they found their love for the game again. Why everywhere?
My teammate Sharon Beck said: “Before you stop playing football, go abroad.” I don’t want to put too much pressure, I don’t even know that there is a league in Israel where you can make money. Also, Tel Aviv is a great city. That was right for me. People are positive, where life is at the forefront. So a bit like Cologne – only the sun and the sea.

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Then I went back to Cologne. In the summer, FC climbed back to the Bundesliga. Most of the newcomers are struggling in the new league. Why is it still enough to be in the league?
I hope it works this time. Last time it was so close, we were only knocked out by a bad goal difference. We have the best staff and we play the best football.

The turbine was upside down in the cup two weeks ago. How is it going now?
We want a match again. The turbine is definitely a great team and definitely a favorite, but we certainly have opportunities. We don’t have to lose the cup game.