Wherever the Werder players show up on their China trip, there are Green-Whites fans there. Whether that's in Changchun at the airport, at Jingkai Stadium, at their...
Wherever the Werder players show up on their China trip, there are Green-Whites fans there. Whether that's in Changchun at the airport, at Jingkai Stadium, at their...
Wherever the Werder players show up on their China trip, there are Green-Whites fans there. Whether that's in Changchun at the airport, at Jingkai Stadium, at their arrival in Tianjin or on the training grounds - everywhere are loads of supporters waiting for their idols. SV Werder are very popular in China, and one of those loyal fans is Shi Menghui or just Tiffany, as she calls herself. This kind of nickname giving is common in China.
Menghui has been a Werder fan since the double season in 2003-04. "Back then I was still in school. Werder had a lot of famous players. I kind of fell in love with Miroslav Klose, Ivan Klasnic and later of course Marko Marin and Diego. And once Werder, always Werder - life-long Green-Whites," said the young Chinese. For her, Werder was the reason to learn German. "I absolutely wanted to understand German and then decided to study German," recalls Menghui, who was born and raised in Tianjin.
But she couldn't start studying her desired subject for another six years. But the deep connection to the club from the Weser did not let up during that time. "I just continued to learn German until my studies," said Menghui. "Now I can finally fly to Germany, talk to the people and watch Werder at Weser Stadium."
She has already been to Germany once. The young Chinese completed an exchange semester in Germany in 2012. "I went to the university in Cologne and could see Werder in the stadium. It was great," she remembered. Back in the Far East, she often watches the Green-Whites live. The easiest way is over the internet, she said. On TV are only matches from Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
Werder visiting her home city means a lot to Menghui. "I will always remember it. It's important for me and the Chinese fans. That's why I bought and made the gifts for the players," she said. For her favourite player Nils Petersen, for example, Menghui made a T-shirt with his face on it. At Werder's arrival at the airport in Tianjin, she used the opportunity to hand over the striker her welcome present. It was a moment that she will never forget.
