A ninth-tier German club from the tiny village of Branneburg is getting a pair of top-class players. Lars Bender and his twin brother Sven have decided to end their playing careers at the little club they used to play for when they were only youngsters.At 32 years of age, the former German internationals could have easily scored contracts at much bigger clubs, probably also in their country’s top tier. Still, they decided enough is enough, and they’ve had enough physical strain. When their Bayer Leverkusen deals approached their ending, they decided to go back home and play again with some of their childhood friends.Can you spot the Bender twins in this 1997 photo? (©blauweisse.de)After 12 years at the highest level, Germany’s most famous football twins said goodbye to clashes with Bayern and Dortmund and playing in European competition. In a joint statement released by the pair back in December, they cited health reasons behind their decision to call time on their playing days.”Everyone who knows us knows that we give 100% every day. That was always the basic requirement for us. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to do this continuously with all the pain and physical problems we are suffering more and more. This decision has been anything but easy.”Lukas Podolski returns to Poland to end his career at his grandmother’s favourite clubBut now they are back at the club where it all began – and it seems that their return to TSV Branneburg was long-planned. Their coach Hans Nietzold must have thought he’d won the lottery when he got the news that he’d be getting a top-class right-back Lars and a former Bundesliga-winning midfielder Sven.”We still have three or four players in the squad, who played with Lars and Sven in the youth teams here at Branneburg. They kept in touch, and the two always said that they would return one day. 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 neighbouring square, fill up drinking bottles and have cabin duty. They want that themselves too.”Sven & Lars Bender have both come out of retirement to join their boyhood club TSV Brannenburg. They’re currently in the 9th division. Brilliant 👏🏻 #Germany pic.twitter.com/QbsQUcJCoB— Fanatics of Football (@footynews129) August 4, 2021 Their second debuts for the club ended in a resounding 5-2 victory, with Lars and Sven paired in the centre of midfield as they helped in a victory against ASV Flintsbach.After their initial emergence at Branneburg, the brothers started their professional careers with 1860 Munich. They both sought pastures new ahead of the 2009/10 campaign – with Lars moving to Leverkusen and Sven heading 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.Lars Bender y Sven Bender debutaron este domingo con su nuevo club, el #TSVBrannenburg, de la #Kreisklasse1 (Novena División), club en el que se iniciaron como futbolistas allá por 1993. Vencieron 5-2 al #Flintsbach. (📸 @TN_Rosenheim @mehr_von_baer) pic.twitter.com/gyahPnMiGx— Sp_ | Bundesliga (@Sp_Bundesliga) August 2, 2021 While at Dortmund, Sven won the title under the noses of Bayern in 2011 and 2012. The Benders have played for the German national team a combined 26 times.The Bender brothers continued the trend of high-profile footballers returning to their old clubs to help out and end their playing career in a familiar surrounding alongside their school friends and neighbours.
