Two Idar-Obersteiners play in Toni Kroos’ Icon League

Florian Zimmer and Tobias Edinger usually play in the fifth league, the Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar. Their opponents are Morlautern, Karbach or Diefflen. From Sunday, however, the two amateur footballers will be part of the Icon League, founded by Germany’s top footballer Toni Kroos and the well-known live streamer Elias Nerlich.

Icon League is new football format

The Icon League is an indoor soccer format that is designed to attract thousands of people in the stands and hundreds of thousands in front of the screens. For attacker Zimmer and goalkeeper Edinger, this is a dream come true. “We can hardly wait and are really looking forward to showing everyone,” says Florian Zimmer.

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The Icon League is a new football format that is designed to attract young people in particular. Four field players and a goalkeeper face each other on a small indoor field. The idea is that the game should be more action-packed and spectacular than traditional football.

The format is reminiscent of indoor soccer championships, which are also held in the Trier region in winter. There are also special rules. For example, a team may take an additional player onto the field in a certain game situation. The Icon League is broadcast on the streaming platform “Twitch”.

When Zimmer and Edinger heard about the idea, they were excited and applied. Both were invited to a training session in Frankfurt to show off their skills. Alongside them, there were many other ambitious amateur footballers. “There were also some footballers from the regional league. The level was very high,” says Tobias Edinger.

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Despite the great competition, three weeks later it is clear that the two have prevailed against numerous other players and will be part of the Icon League. “Inside, I almost collapsed with joy. It is also a huge honor to be part of it,” says Edinger.

Met numerous stars at “Draft Day”

The two are invited to the “Draft Day” in Berlin. The system is known from American sports such as football or basketball. The 14 team leaders of the Icon League have the opportunity to select the most versatile players for their team.

Among the “team heads” are football superstars such as Frank Ribéry and Antonio Rüdger and David Alaba from Champions League winners Real Madrid. But also well-known musicians such as the rapper Luciano. Elias Nerlich and Toni Kroos represent the league as presidents. “It really was a crazy experience. A complete culture shock for me,” report Florian Zimmer, and Tobias Edinger adds: “Luciano walked past us, shook our hands and kissed us. He wanted something from us at that moment and we hardly heard from him.

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Coached by Bundesliga footballer and rapper Finch

Zimmer and Edinger are lucky and are both selected for the same team. “Motor Neu5land” is the name of the Berlin team, which is coached by three celebrities: former second division footballer Torsten Mattuschka, Bundesliga footballer Tim Kleindienst and the well-known rapper Finch. Torsten Mattuschka met the two on “Draft Day”. “He’s just a great guy. Very crazy. Always has a good saying ready,” says Zimmer.

In recent weeks, the two Idar-Oberstein footballers have been in contact with their new teammates primarily via a messenger service. One small downside: since most of the players come from Berlin, the team’s training sessions also take place there. Driving from Idar-Oberstein to Berlin, almost 700 kilometers away, for training is unthinkable for field sales representative Edinger and industrial clerk Zimmer.

Not in the squad for the start

This is probably one of the reasons why the two Idar-Obersteiners have not yet made it into their team’s squad for the opening match on Sunday in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, so they have to watch from the stands. But there are still 13 more match days to come, most of them on Mondays in Düsseldorf. Zimmer is sacrificing a few days of vacation for the Icon League. Edinger will also do everything he can to be there. And they are certain: they will soon be able to celebrate their debut in the Icon League.