He has more appearances than many superstars • He participated in 15 Champions League finals • And is married to an Israeli • Meet Brand Ormzer, Europe's top football photographer
Brand Ormetzer.
Europe's top football photographer
Photo:
Private album
The transfer of the game between RB Leipzig and Liverpool from Germany to Budapest arranged for Brand Ormitzer days off in Tel Aviv with his Israeli partner and their two daughters.
The 53-year-old German rarely works at this time of year, but the Corona has proven to be able to disrupt everyone's routine, including that of the man who spends more time than anyone else on football pitches.
"In the last 15 years I have been to 120 games a year," he boasts in an interview with Israel Today, "so do the calculation yourself."
I did.
That comes out to 1,800 games, all of which Ormasser is placed at the best point on the field.
Smells the smells, hears the sounds, and mostly sees the events.
Since 1989, Ormzer has had a camera.
In 1995 he decided to focus on his love of sports, and a few years later he specialized in "Steady-Cam" - a device for carrying and stabilizing a video camera that allows "smooth" photography even when the photographer moves quickly from place to place.
"I'm the one who photographs the players on the grass, in the anthems, near the screenings and along the pitch," he explains, and it turns out he does it well.
Today, Ormtser is the most sought-after senior cam photographer in European football.
One who shoots Bundesliga games, has been to five World Cups and filmed 15 Champions League final games.
Asked if it was at all possible to enjoy the game through the camera lens, Ormetzer replied emphatically: "Very! I am closest to events and experience the game in the best way."
As a Dortmund fan, he remembers badly the final against Bayern Munich in London, which ended in a 2: 1 loss from a dramatic goal by Arian Ruben, and as a neutral fan he cannot forget the meetings between Real and PSG in the quarter-finals three years ago.
"So fast they felt like five minutes."
In the same game, Cristiano Ronaldo played, according to Ormetzer, one of the best photographers in the field.
"Of course he and Leo Messi are the most fun to photograph, but so is Zlatan, who is a fascinating figure throughout the 90 minutes."
Tracking the big stars requires from the German photographer not only physical fitness and physical strength, but also an understanding of the game.
"I get instructions from the director, I have to understand football and know what's going on. I hear everything, including curses and instructions, and if something happens - I have to let them know."
Ormzer cites Thomas Muller as an exceptional motivator, assuring that most of what is said during a game - even by coaches - is not really interesting.
As someone who was there, in the first Bundesliga game without a crowd, Ormitzer has been experiencing football for a long time where the silence is thunderous and every word thrown into the air is heard.
"It's weird to be in games in this situation. I've talked to players and referees, and they say it's hard to concentrate like that," he says, "hopefully it will be over soon."
In the meantime he is waiting for the next game where he will be required to capture on camera everything interesting, with Dortmund hosting Sevilla in early March.
