‘Trust me blind’ is the motto supporting the blind football players of FC St. Pauli

‘Trust me blind’ is the motto supporting the blind football players of FC St. Pauli

Under the motto ”Trust me blind’, blind footballer Serdal Çelebi and FC St. Pauli have jointly developed a new YouTube format.

What is it like not to be able to see in everyday life or on the way to the Millerntor? What is the best way to order and eat in the clubhouse? And how does blind football actually work? Whether it’s president Oke Göttlich or head coach Fabian Hürzeler – the blind football player Serdal Çelebi takes various FC St. Pauli officials with him as they go through everyday situations blind.

In the first episode, Serdal faces off against head coach Fabian Hürzeler at the FC St. Pauli training ground. With the two goalkeepers, Sascha Burchert and Sören Ahlers, they each formed a team and competed in three disciplines, such as dribbling, penalty shooting and long shots on the empty goal. The goalkeepers assisted and gave acoustic signals by hitting the goalposts with a stone. In the second episode, Serdal blindsides the club’s president, Oke Göttlich, – and in the third, he enjoys lunch with “Schnecke” Kalla in the clubhouse. Every Friday, a new episode is online. 

Communication and trust

With “Trust me blind”, Serdal and FC St. Pauli want to draw attention to the issue of accessibility through communication and trust, as Fabian Hürzeler emphasised after a competition with Serdal on Kolla Street. With “Trust me blind”, “Serdi” wants to take a further personal step and address not only St. Pauli fans, but everyone and show how important accessibility and inclusion are on and off the pitch.

“In everyday life, I trust people, and with the new format, I also want to show them that they can trust me. Of course, it should also have the effect of sensitising people to realise what is possible and how we can live together in a society, also with blind people. I grew up in Turkey and football was the cheapest and easiest sport. You build a goal out of a few stones and then a plastic ball. That’s all you needed. Then we came to Germany during my childhood, until I was twelve years old, I could see a little bit.”

Serdal Çelebi, FCSP blind footballer 

Serdal has so far become known primarily in the jersey of FC St. Pauli – more precisely, in that of the club’s successful blind football team. The goal-scorer has already won the German championship in blind football three times with the Brown and Whites. In August 2018, he was the first blind footballer ever to score the Goal of the Month in the Sportschau. However, it was a long way for the 39-year-old to reach a successful sporting career in blind football, but “Serdi” has always been enthusiastic about playing football himself. 

At the age of eight, his vision increasingly deteriorated, and even an operation did not help. For Serdal, as a blind teenager, everything suddenly changed. In Hamburg, he first completed an apprenticeship. Later, with a short detour to Nuremberg, he also trained as a masseur and medical bath attendant.

“It took me a long time to cope and I had very little self-confidence. With football, confidence came back – both in myself and in other people. I found friends here and got new self-confidence and learned to use my abilities and to always develop myself,” says the FCSP blind footballer.”

Serdal Çelebi, FCSP blind footballer