EM Kramer and Mertesacker
“Per only has one facial expression. He uses it mercilessly”
Status: 10:45 am | Reading time: 4 minutes
Colleagues and friends: Christoph Kramer (l.) and Per Mertesacker in the stands at the German match against Hungary
Source: Getty Images/Alexander Hassenstein
Christoph Kramer and Per Mertesacker analyse the European Championship games as experts on ZDF. Here, the two 2014 world champions talk about their fear of Oliver Kahn, the catering on ZDF and the player material debate. Kramer initially thought it was a joke.
They are the most popular expert duo at this European Football Championship: Per Mertesacker (39) and Christoph Kramer (33) delight up to 23 million viewers with their humorous analyses on ZDF. The two 2014 world champions took two hours between games for the BILD podcast “Phrasenmäher”. They talk about…
… the rumor that they actually don’t like each other.
Kramer: “A lot of people actually think that and it’s because of Per’s look. He only has one facial expression on TV and he wears it mercilessly for five and a half hours. He always looks at me like: What are you talking about? My mother once said to me: ‘Per, he looks at you angrily, darling.’ But I love Per 10 out of 10!”
… their recipe for success.
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Mertesacker: “It’s our third tournament together and the good thing is: we let the other person be who he is, we don’t discuss anything beforehand, everything is authentic.”
… the fear of Oliver Kahn.
Kramer: “I did my first tournament with him on ZDF and I was scared of Oliver Kahn! When he’s sitting there and you have a different opinion, you already have a lump in your throat before you even say a word against him. Almost nothing comes out.” And then? Kramer: “You always start with the sentence: Well, Oliver is basically absolutely right, but…”
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… the end of the day at the hotel bar.
Mertesacker: “We always like to celebrate. Having a nightcap and reviewing what we did on the show is part of it. My drink is vodka lemon. But we have to be careful that we can still walk straight because the next broadcast day is coming up.”
Kramer: “We’re at an age now where we don’t get drunk like we used to. I think we’re both very lucky with our enzymes, which means we can break down alcohol well. So sometimes we have three or four gin and tonics. But it’s never like we’re shouting or anything like that. I like Per with and without alcohol.”
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… the heat in the studio.
Kramer: “It’s unbelievably warm in the studio, the spotlights are shining on us all the time, the giant screen behind us gives off heat and the sofa has a strange synthetic material – after a while you get stuck on it and when you get up you think: don’t turn around now so people don’t see my trousers from behind.”
… the question of what needs to be improved at ZDF.
Kramer: “I can only praise ZDF, it’s a channel where we feel extremely comfortable. The catering, however, is insane – we really need to get to grips with that. The food that’s served in microwave boxes at games in the stadium is really nothing. ZDF is improving us and we’re trying to improve ZDF too – and we’re starting with the catering.”
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… the player material debate. Moderator Jochen Breyer asked the two live on the show to stop using the word.
Kramer: “I have to say, I felt a little sorry for Jochen in the situation. As a moderator, he has to point out one or two things and give space to all the opinions that exist in Germany. To be honest, I didn’t know the discussion at all and at first I thought he was preparing a joke – I didn’t understand it at all and if someone feels offended by the word player material – I can’t help them. I’m a player too, and if someone tells me player material, I don’t think – please, I’m a human being.”
Mertesacker: “With social media, there’s a big wave that breaks and then everything goes a bit crazy. But three or four days later, everything was fine. Jochen reacted really well to it.”
You can find the Phrasenmäher wherever podcasts are available.
