
From Neo-Nazi to Soccer Coach for Refugees
Thomas Eichstätt, known as "Eichi," once ran deep in the far-right scene in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Now he volunteers unpaid as coach of FC Pio in the small town of Torgelow, a team made up largely of young refugees. The film follows him on and off the field as he mentors players who are navigating asylum procedures, job hunting, homesickness, and a lack of acceptance in their new town. Practices and matches give the players structure and a sense of belonging that their daily lives often lack. Interviews with Eichstätt trace his reckoning with his own past, including his blunt admission, "I used to be a bad person," while the municipality's inability to fund his work underscores how precarious this kind of community effort is. Director Loraine Blumenthal sets the story against a local political climate marked by frequent calls for deportation, using the soccer club as a small-scale test of whether personal commitment can bridge that divide. The focus stays on daily routines, locker-room conversations, and the slow, unglamorous work of integration.