Berliners don‘t have the fondest memories of soccer trainer Winfried (“Winnie“) Schäfer. The film REGGAE BOYZ shows Schäfer at a later point in his career as the trainer of the Jamaican national team in the qualifications for the 2014 world championship. “Reggae Boyz“ is the nickname of the team, but Schäfer also shakes the hand of one of the biggest reggae stars of all time, Bunny Wailer, who founded the original Wailers with Peter Tosh and Bob Marley and recorded one of the most beautiful roots albums in reggae history with “Blackheart Man.“ Wailer blesses Schäfer with the “staff of Solomon“ and gives him a large amount of high grade herb which Schäfer looks at in confusion. His own magic stems from the methods that are known from the national league: he talks about always wearing the same jacket because he always won with it until it was torn. Schäfer does everything that is demanded of him in Jamaica. He selects local hero Jermaine “Tuffy“ Anderson who plays in the Jamaican amateur league for the Kingston Club Waterhouse and works as a steel worker during the day. Tuffy isn‘t just Kingston‘s fan favorite, he‘s also a rasta, a role model, and a moral authority. When he scores a goal during the qualification, the country loses it.

Hannes Stein

Translation: Elinor Lewy