TAN LETS HER FEET DO THE TALKING

S’porean is already a key member of Dortmund despite language barrier

- Kimberly Kwek

While waiting for her train in Germany, Danelle Tan heard an announcement in German but thought nothing of it.

The next moment, her fellow commuters began moving to a different platform, leaving her confused. The Singaporean footballer, who had moved to Germany after joining Borussia Dortmund in June, realised later that the platform for her train had changed.

The 19-year-old has experienced her fair share of such incidents in her first six months living in Germany and adjusting to a new life.

But Tan, who attends German classes five times a week, with each session lasting 4½ hours, knows the path to becoming a professional player requires sacrifice.

She said: “That’s the thing about language – it seeps into every part of our lives, from going to the grocery store to trying to find some garlic, everything is in German...

“It’s these kinds of things that make moving to a foreign country with a foreign language daunting and hard but when my German improved, it became slightly easier.”

She also struggled initially during training, as she did not understand her coach’s instructions and basic commands like “man on” but quickly found support.