The team is made up of players from the same family
In Florsheim am Main, a small town near Frankfurt, something extraordinary is happening on the pitch. DJK Florsheim II, a club usually competing in the lower amateur tiers, Kreisliga D Main-Taunus, has become famous not for a star signing, but for having almost every player share the same surname: Kurtanovic.
The idea came from Haris Kurtanovic, player-coach and one of the many Kurtanovics in the squad. Faced with a club in crisis and struggling to fill out a team, he asked himself: “Who can I trust to always show up?”
The answer was his own family, brothers, cousins, and even an uncle. So, during the 2024/25 season, the Kurtanovics asked family after family: could they play? The result: 15 players with the Kurtanovic name on the roster, regular starting elevens where 10 or 11 spots are occupied by relatives.
Opponents are sometimes confused. Some assumed “Kurtanovic” was the team sponsor until they saw substitutions. Others marvel at how fluently the squad operates; they talk among themselves in Bosnian/Yugoslav dialects, with a familiarity and cohesion born of real family ties.
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The familial bond isn’t just for show. It has paid off: the team is doing well in Kreisliga D, climbing up the table. Their trust in one another makes them reliable. If one Kurtanovic is missing, another steps in.
Beyond goals and results, the Kurtanovics have sparked conversations across Germany and even abroad. Media outlets from regional Hessian papers to outlets in Serbia have covered the unusual story.
Social media videos of their matches have gone viral.
What started as a necessity has become a symbol of unity, passion, and what football really means.
FKA/AE
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