Turkey for dinner in Britain, family holiday in the mountains

Unlike in previous years, Jonjoe Kenny and Rabbi Matondo will not be playing football over the Christmas period. Benjamin Stambouli and Bastian Oczipka, on the other hand, are more than used to the winter breaks in Germany. Schalke04.de spoke to the four players about their plans during the holidays.

Inside

26.12.19, 09:49

Jonjoe Kenny und Rabbi Matondo

Jonjoe Kenny is looking forward to a football-free Christmas

I’m really looking forward to going home for Christmas, it’s the busiest time of the year in England but with our winter break we get a few days off to go home and see our family and friends so I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. My family and I all go for a big meal on Christmas Day and just enjoy some family time. It’s great because you’re with each other every day and everyone is off work so everybody really enjoys it. Our Christmas dinner is quite standard really. We have turkey, potatoes, vegetables, pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings – everything. And lots of gravy of course!

Benjamin Stambouli enjoys the break with his family in Switzerland

My family and I have spent the last few Christmases together in Sion in Switzerland. My father coached there between 1999 and 2001. I really enjoy spending time with my family over Christmas as I rarely get to see them otherwise. We go for a walk up the mountains, watch films together and enjoy some nice food. We can’t completely forget about football though – we often discuss the various European leagues with one another.

Rabbi Matondo attends the Christmas service

On Christmas Day in Wales, we start off by opening the presents in the morning. I was so excited for this moment when I was young. My family tend to go to church as well, and then sometimes family come over for the special time of the day, which is when the food is served. There’s always a lot of food in my family. On the one side you have all the typical food that everyone knows– the turkey, chicken, broccoli, potatoes and all the trimmings. Then of course we have some African food, like plantain and jollof rice. I don’t have a favourite, I love it all!

Bastian Oczipka spends Christmas in the mountains

I spend the festive period in the Austrian mountains with my family. It will be a special time of the year for us this time, as our son turned two in October and is slowly starting to understand Christmas. We already put up a tree at home at the start of December to get us all excited. My wife also made an advent calendar with 24 surprises for my son. It was lovely to watch him open it every morning and discover something new.

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