Kevin Barra is a well-known name in amateur soccer in Essen. The SV Burgaltendorf player takes part in our questionnaire.
Things are not going so well for Kevin Barra at SV Burgaltendorf. So far, the team from Essen has not managed more than a mid-table finish. The club had set its sights on promotion to the national league.
Barra, who has experienced so much in his life as a footballer and beyond, is also disappointed. After all, he, who has already played 283 Oberliga games and 34 Regionalliga matches, was supposed to lead Burgaltendorf back to the Landesliga.
The 33-year-old midfielder took part in our forecasting questionnaire.
My greatest strength is… my shooting technique.
My biggest weakness is… my physicality.
In our dressing room… there’s always a good mood and a Stauder is a must.
The best moment of my soccer career was… of course the promotion from the regional league to the regional league with FC Kray. That was simply fantastic and I don’t think any club in Essen will be able to repeat that. We wrote Essen amateur football history. I’m proud that I was able to be a part of it.
The best goal of my career was… a goal with Schonnebeck against Ratingen. I scored from half left into the right corner. The ball was stuck in the top corner. Simply perfect!
I didn’t become a professional footballer because… unfortunately, I had a stroke of fate when I was 16. I had to take eight months off after a robbery. Yes, and at that time I was doing very well at VfL Bochum and under coach Andreas Urban. I was one of the best players in the B1 at the time. Sascha Lewandowski was still offering development training for the most talented U17, U19 and U23 players and I was there too. But after the forced break, nothing was the same again. I had to think about whether I still wanted to play soccer at all. Andreas Winkler, the head of youth development at Rot-Weiss Essen at the time, offered me a new start and I switched to RWE. But by then it was clear to me that I wasn’t going to become a professional. I started and completed an apprenticeship.
The best thing about the Ruhr region is… the city of Essen.
Either, right?
Dortmund or Schalke? Dortmund.
Beer or water? Beer.
Club or pub? Pub.
Natural or artificial turf? I’m a child of the Ashes and was always happy to play on natural grass. Later, when the artificial turf in Kray was ready, I appreciated it. So: natural turf before, artificial turf today.
Fighter or artist? I can do both, but I’m more of an artist.
Soccer on TV or in the stadium? I used to like to watch it in the curve with a beer in my hand, now I like to watch it in the comfort of my own home.
Finally, a few more questions:
Who would you like to have a beer with? Lionel Messi. For me, he’s the best footballer. He’s more complete than Cristiano Ronaldo. I have a few questions for Lionel.
What can you laugh about?
About everything. About jokes, but also about myself.
What is indispensable to you?
My family! Which now consists of my wife and our two children.
What music do you like to listen to and what is playing in the dressing room?
I now listen to everything – every genre. Johnny Sylt is our man for the music in the cabin. He does a great job (laughs).
If you could start again, what would you do differently in your life?
I am completely satisfied and fulfilled. After the robbery at the latest, my motto in life is this: That’s life – sometimes the sun shines, sometimes it rains.