Bender twins come out of retirement
Sven and Lars Bender have announced that they are both coming out of retirement and will feature for 9th-tier side TSV Brannenburg for the upcoming season.
| Lars Bender (left), Neymar (middle) and Sven Bender (right). | Photo: Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil/CC-by-SA 3.0 |
But now they are back at the club it all began: TSV Brannenburg in their native Bavaria. Having joined Branneburg as a pair of teenagers, the Bender twins have now taken their journey full circle and it turns out that their return to TSV was long-planned.
Brannenburg head coach Hans Nietzold told HNA: "We still have three or four players in the squad, who played with Lars and Sven in the youth teams, they kept in touch and the two always said: 'If we stop, we'll play again for Brannenburg.' There was an agreement."
"Of course, there was the question: do they really play in the end? I still can't quite believe it, but it's also a huge joy. Both totally fit in, are just as much a part of it as everyone else. They carry the gate over from the neighboring square, fill up drinking bottles and have cabin duty. They want that themselves too."
After their initial emergence at Brannenburg, the brothers went on to start their pro careers with 1860 Munich, before they both sought pastures new ahead of the 2009/10 campaign; with Lars moving to Leverkusen and Sven heading to Borussia Dortmund. They were reunited at Leverkusen when Sven joined the club in 2017 and the Bender twins eventually spent four seasons together at the BayArena.
Sven lifted the Meisterschale with Dortmund in both 2010/11 and 2011/12 and is also a two-time DFB Cup winner, while both have represented their country. Lars collected 19 caps and scored four goals for Germany, while Sven played seven times for Die Mannschaft.
Sven and Lars have made their second debuts for the club, marshalling the midfield with their vast experience and helped Die Blauweiße defeat local rivals ASV Flintsbach 5-2 in their season opener.
