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AMERICA

Düsseldorf-born Patriot hoists Lombardi trophy

For the first time ever, a Super Bowl ring will find its home on a German finger after Sebastian Vollmer of the New England Patriots helped his team to victory against the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday's game.

The offensive tackle player from Düsseldorf saw his dream of holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy after six years in the league at the 49th Super Bowl played in Arizona.

"I have no words. It's insane," Vollmer told Sat.1 broadcaster after the game.

Vollmer's victory is the first time a German player has been on a Super-Bowl-winning NFL team. Previously, Miami Dolphins kicker Uwe von Schumann made it to the big game with his team in 1983 and 1985, though the team lost both games.

"I have no words right now. But whether I'm German or American, it doesn't matter – I won the game as an athlete," he said. 

The game was decided in the final minutes of play when Patriots player Malcolm Butler intercepted a crucial pass from Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.  The Patriots won 28 to the Seahawks' 24.

 

Vollmer hoists the trophy. Photo: DPA

Vollmer began his career at the age of 14 near his hometown of Kaarst, where he led the local American football team, the Düsseldorf Panthers, to a 25-0 season. Shortly after, he was recruited to the University of Houston, becoming the first German player to be drafted from Germany into American football ranks.

He was drafted by the Patriots in 2009 and his contract, worth $27 million USD, will keep him with the team until 2017.

Sunday night's game was also a crowning glory for Vollmer's teammate, Tom Brady, who collected his fourth Super Bowl ring Sunday night.

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US

Germany welcomes US troop withdrawal freeze under Biden

The German government on Friday welcomed a decision by President Joe Biden to put on hold plans to reduce US troops in Germany, saying their presence was in the countries' mutual interest.

Germany welcomes US troop withdrawal freeze under Biden
An American soldier stationed in Germany, in front of Dresden's Military History Museum in 2016. Photo: DPA

“We have always been convinced that American troops being stationed here in Germany serves European and transatlantic security and hence is in our mutual interest,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters.

As part of a major foreign and security policy overhaul presented Thursday, Biden announced a freeze on plans set in motion by his predecessor Donald Trump to reduce the US troop presence in Germany, a cornerstone of NATO security since the start of the Cold War.

READ ALSO: What could Joe Biden as US president mean for Germany?

Trump's decision was seen as linked to his tense relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and his frequent complaints that Europe's top economy spent too little on defence.

The United States has had US troops stationed in Germany since World War II but their numbers have declined since the fall of the Berlin Wall from some 200,000 soldiers in 1990 to 34,500 today.

Although the prospect had been looming for years, Trump's decision in July to redeploy 12,000 soldiers from Germany still came as a shock, particularly to towns that have built strong economic and cultural ties to the US military.

READ ALSO: Trump to withdraw 'thousands of US soldiers from Germany' under Biden

“We strongly value the close, decades-long cooperation with the American troops stationed in Germany,” Seibert said.

He said the communities hosting GIs appreciated their presence, calling the bases “part of the lived transatlantic friendship”.  

Seibert said German officials were in “consultations” with the US administration about “further planning” but that the decision how to shape the future American military footprint in Europe was a “US domestic issue”.

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