Bad Heilbrunner (9) wins duel against world champions on ARD show - and rejects FC Bayern offer

Created: 01/09/2022Updated: 01/09/2022, 10:52 AM

From: Thomas Eldersch

The 9-year-old Samuel from Bad Heilbrunn plays in “Small against Big” against Jochen Breyer (2nd from right) and Christoph Kramer (right).

© Screenshot ARD "Small versus large"

In the ARD program “Small against Big” it was called mental arithmetic on Saturday evening.

But it wasn't as simple as it might sound.

Berlin - Mathematics and a Saturday evening show on television don't go together at all at first glance.

But anyone who followed the program “Small versus Big” on ARD yesterday evening (January 8th) knows that mental arithmetic is also entertaining.

There the 9-year-old Samuel from Bad Heilbrunn (Bad Tölz district) even challenged a soccer world champion.

But the young player from SV Bad Heilbrunn did not give the opponents a duel in football.

It was more about brain teasers.

ARD program “Small against Big”: 9-year-old challenged Christoph Kramer and Jochen Breyer

The 9-year-old Borussia Dortmund fan claimed in the ARD program “Small versus Big” that he was better at adding up numbers than his opponents, presenter Jochen Breyer and Gladbach player Christoph Kramer. Samuel not only knows all the shirt numbers of all players in the first Bundesliga by heart, he also has an A in math. And so he came up with the idea of ​​combining the two and challenging his opponents to a mental arithmetic duel. Who can correctly add up shirt numbers without seeing them beforehand?

At the beginning, presenter Kai Pflaume asked the 2014 world champion, Kramer, which players he knows the shirt numbers of, apart from his team-mates from Borussia Gladbach.

"All of the fast players, because I mostly see them from behind," joked the midfielder.

And when asked how the two prepared for the duel, the ZDF sports studio presenter Breyer replied: “We split up.

I (Kramer, editor's note) take the first nine teams (last year's Bundesliga table, editor's note) and you take the second nine teams.

I said 'yes, ok' until it occurred to me that he would then have all the simple teams like Bayern, Dortmund and Gladbach. "

Duel at eye level: 9-year-old Samuel gives his competitors a tough fight

There were four tasks to be solved afterwards. Studio guest Bernhard Hoecker joked before: “Did you split up when doing arithmetic? Is one a plus and the other a minus? ”On the other hand, however, the decision was made to use team arithmetic. Samuel presented confidently. But the team of moderator world champions followed suit. Even before it was dissolved, the 9-year-old confirmed the correct result. The duel continued at eye level until it was 4: 4 in the end. "A penalty shoot-out has to decide," announced moderator Pflaume. Whoever solves the last arithmetic problem faster wins. Samuel raised his arm a second faster and was able to loosen it. Standing ovations for the mathematician. Kramer gave the father the compliment: "Congratulations on this son."

As a reward for his efforts, the 9-year-old got one of his greatest wishes fulfilled. He can now call a completely new stand-up paddle board his own. He wants to make the lakes around Bad Tölz unsafe. There was also a signed jersey from his favorite club Borussia Dortmund. “Unfortunately I didn't have Haaland's number (Samuel's favorite player, editor's note). But I hope Reus is okay too, ”said Kramer at the handover. There was also a shirt from Borussia Gladbach with all the players' signatures.

When Kai Pflaume offered to get Samuel a signed shirt from a Bayern player, the 9-year-old refused resolutely.

“Which player would you like to have one from?” “Nobody at all!” But the boys from FC Bayern don't have to be sad.

Christoph Kramer agreed to take one.