For Some Reason, This Happened

By: Abby | April 29th, 2009

No, that is not a random Photoshop job. Arne Friedrich met with Prince Charles and Camilla during their trip to Berlin. I’m not sure exactly why, except that he’s apparently a good person to have a photo op with these days.

It’s been exciting times for Arne, although perhaps not in the way he’d like. While the team has struggled a bit without him (although we’ve seem to have recovered), the Kapitän has been rehabbing, recovering, and wearing a bullet-proof vest to get his stolen property back.

As a member of the German national team during Euro 2008, Arne Friedrich received a very fancy watch from the DFB. Designed by the Swiss firm IWC, it was engraved with his name and squad number and worth €8,900. While working out in a Berlin gym, this very precious, one-of-a-kind watch was stolen from his locker.

Perhaps realizing that it would be hard to sell and not much worth keeping, the thief contacted Arne a few days later, saying he’d found the watch and demanding €5,000 to get it back. Arne, being the upstanding model citizen that he is, immediately called the police. They arranged a meeting, at which Arne wore a bulletproof vest and the would-be blackmailers were arrested.

The story gets weirder. According to Bild, which as we all know is a source of true journalistic integrity, the arrested suspect is an ex-Hertha youth player. Kevin C. was part of the youth team that were German champions in 2005, and played in the reserves. In 2007 he left Hertha and went to the fifth division, and tore a ligament over the winter. And now, allegedly, he’s attempting to blackmail the current Hertha captain.

The captain, true to him being a model citizen, isn’t commenting on the ongoing trial situation. He’s classy, that Arne.