Forward Madison goalkeeper, Bernd Schipmann, was introduced to soccer at a very young age. With his love for being outside and his dad’s passion for the sport, he was quickly welcomed into the soccer world by his neighbors before beginning club soccer.
“My dad loves soccer and all my friends and neighbors played,” Schipmann explained while talking about his childhood. “At some point I was like, ‘okay, everyone’s playing,’ so I just jumped in and all my friends were there so I said ‘let’s start’. I started on the pitch because I had the hardest shot and then at some point the goalie got injured and they said ‘hey, send the small fat guy in,’ and it worked.”
Growing up in Germany, with a German father and Filipino mother, Schipmann has dual citizenship, which has positively impacted his soccer career. After growing through youth club soccer programs in Germany, he was called up to play for the Filipino National Team at a very young age. Schipmann finally made his debut at the senior level in 2021, when he started in two matches for them.
“It was a good feeling. I mean, they invited me already when I was 15-16 years old, so pretty early. I applied for my passport, but unfortunately, my passport took forever because some documents were missing and they called me five, six times already. After I got the passport, I got called up for the World Cup qualifiers.”
On the club side, Schipmann transitioned from playing in Germany to moving to Thailand, where he played one season with Ratchaburi Football Club in Thai League One. After a successful stint with Ratchaburi, Schipmann made his way to the United States.
“My best friend [Rafa] brought me here. I played with Rafa for three years in the second division in Germany. When I was in Thailand, he said, ‘hey, come over here and train with us,’ so I trained with the Chicago Fire first team for two months.”
While living in Chicago, Schipmann spent some time in Madison training with the Flamingos before the offseason. With a spark of interest igniting, the Forward staff ended up signing him for the 2023 season.
“I mean, I love it here. It’s such a good vibe, to be honest, even the fans. When we have a corner and I’m in the back I just hear the noise and it’s cool. They support us so much, it’s crazy. I mean, I played in front of 10,000 in Germany and it’s similar noise. It’s really crazy.”
While leaving Germany to come play in America seems like a big transition, it wasn’t a huge challenge for Schipmann. After moving out when he was just 16 years old, he is used to adapting, but what made the transition even easier was the team.
“I don’t want to just reach the playoffs, I want to win this league. We can, we really can. This group is special. The vibe in the dressing room, I don’t think any professional team in the world has the same vibes. No chance. For example, on the Fourth of July everyone was there. Obviously Fourth of July is a big thing, everyone normally would do their own things, but the whole team came together. That’s special. I think that’s gonna win us this league, this togetherness, not because we are better players, but we battle for each other and that’s a big thing.”
