The deaths of his brother and father within a few months have changed former professional soccer player Kevin Kampl as a person. “I realize that I’m not the same person I used to be. I’m much more composed, and I don’t laugh as much as I used to,” the former RB Leipzig midfielder said on “Sky 90”: “It really shaped me and changed me. I’ve simply realized that I’m approaching life differently now.” Following the sudden death of his brother—who was 16 years his senior—in October 2025, the Slovenian terminated his contract in Leipzig and ended his career a little earlier than planned. His seriously ill father also died a few months after his brother, Kampl said. His mother is suffering greatly as a result. “And that’s why it was absolutely the right decision for me to say in December: I have to go home; I have to be with my family.” Kampl, who was born and raised in Solingen, has realized “that soccer sometimes becomes a side issue.” He no longer focuses on so many areas of his life that need attention, but only on what is truly important to him. “In the end, it’s simply this: You never know how much time you have. And we should use the time we have wisely and make the most of it,” said the 36-year-old. In the TV program, Kampl also describes the first few hours after he learned of his brother’s sudden illness. “Yeah, of course that knocked me off my feet at first,” he said. “I was in the locker room in Leipzig, with practice starting ten minutes later, and then you get a call saying they’ve been trying to resuscitate your brother for an hour.” He then immediately flew home and initially heard nothing from his family. But no one contacted him, “because they thought I was driving so that nothing would happen to me on the highway.” After landing, he saw the many messages on his cell phone, “telling me to get to the hospital quickly, that my brother had passed away.” Kampl had actually planned to spend “a little more time” with his brother after retiring from his career last summer, “because my brother was one of the closest people in my life. He was a little bit of everything to me: best friend, brother, and even a father figure.” With his brother’s death, “a whole world” had come crashing down for him. “One moment everything is fine, and then suddenly everything is gone.” Kampl played 270 Bundesliga matches for Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, and Borussia Dortmund. He made 28 appearances for the Slovenian national team. Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved“Soccer Becomes a Side Issue”
Kampl’s plans with his brother were ruined
