COMFORT ZONES: Originally I worked as a construction worker. Then, when I graduated from school, I started working in a hospital as a nurse. Then I came to photography, starting in advertisement photography in 2007, and then in 2011 I studied documentary photography and I became more focused on that. 

I feel more comfortable working in Germany because I speak the language better and I know the surroundings. For me it’s important that I know my environment. I tried to take pictures of other sports but it’s not for me. 

Some sports I can imagine are interesting to capture but let’s say I’m a stereotype of a German, so just football! I mean it’s not the game itself, it’s the whole thing; the fans, the players, and how all work together, especially the lower league teams.

LETTING CURIOSITY LEAD: I’m a very curious person. When I worked as an advertisement photographer I was listening to documentaries on the radio all day just to keep my mind moving. I really got into journalism. I figured I should do something in this direction and photography was my medium. The first serious documentary I did was about a gypsy settlement in Serbia.

I always start by reading articles or information, anything I can find. Then I start to talk to people, first with friends then with people who are more involved with the topic. Maybe with the help of organisations, maybe you just call them, maybe by accident you meet the right people.

With football it was somehow different. I would be looking at the fixtures all the time and when I knew I was free on Saturday or Sunday, and someone was playing somewhere close, I went there. There wasn’t a lot of research. I’d ask people if they knew interesting fields or interesting clubs, but they were mainly happy accidents. Sometimes I would just read about a village with a funny name and think, “Oh that sounds interesting, maybe I should go there”.

SIMPLICITY OVER ARTIFICE: My photography itself is very clean. Simple I guess. Simple is somehow not so artificial. When I started it was more complex, with black and white pictures and I was very focused on contrasts and so on. Now, especially with the football series, the photography and the perspectives are very pure and simple.

I did the Every Sunday project between 2013 and 2019. Some people didn’t like getting their photograph taken, but the majority liked it or they didn’t care. I always told them I was a photojournalist and not working for any particular newspaper or magazine, it was just a private project. In small, regional clubs if somebody pays attention to them they are happy. But I guess the majority of the players, for them it was nothing special and they were just doing their everyday business. Eventually, the photos were published in a book.

SAME GAME, DIFFERENT WORLDS: I played football when I was young but not in a team. My father and one of his friends tried to bring me into a team. His friend was the coach, but when I played there I was so bad! I’m a really bad player, but I still play football in my free time with my friends. 

I like the amateur game because, even if it sounds like a stereotype, for me it’s the essence of football. They’re different worlds, it’s night and day. These guys are just working hard each day of every week, and there’s always a risk when they play that they’ll get injured, get in trouble with their families, get into trouble with their bosses and so on, but they still play football. The whole thing is just very authentic.

I was always a football fan. For several years I lived close to Dortmund and I became a fan of Borussia Dortmund. And of course they play good football, it’s a strong team, they have quite nice supporters in their stadium there. It can be beautiful. But to be honest, every year I get more distanced from professional football. There’s too much business. Too much personal interest.

Now I have a favourite club in the lower league, Chemie Leipzig, and I’m just focused on them because I became tired of the professional game. These guys are semi-professional, they are part-time players, the fans are good, and for me the players are closer to their audience. With lower league soccer, I’m quite a normal guy and these guys are normal guys, so you can quite easily find a level to enjoy each other’s art.

OUTSKIRTS OF CIVILISATION: I have several favourites. One is the corner flag in the traffic cone. I like it because of the situation and the makeshift arrangement. This everyday humour is what I really love to discover. The whole situation seemed scripted and I always ask myself: who wrote this script? Who had this brilliant idea?

Then there’s Iodine ointment and duct tape, the small things that keep the world together and keep it moving on. The one with the caravan and the water bucket, I love the different human layers of the picture. The caravan, the old and the young guy, the coach and the trainer. All together. It just tells the whole story in one picture.

The bus stop beside the field, this situation is full of pain and strength and power. The dirt, the awful weather, the court, the exhaustion in the players faces, the discussions going on during the break. This picture always makes me feel and smell the situation. It’s like a flashback. Like the essence of football. 

And the essence of why people play and love Sunday football: in the middle of your beloved comfort zone. They were all over 30 and they played versus young guys, 10 vs 11! And they won 5-3. Now you can understand my fascination.

Then there's the German forest and Sunday football on the outskirts of civilisation. That’s all you have to know about our country. ■

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Christian Werner is a documentary photographer based in Nuremberg. c-werner.net‍