Secrets of the Stars

Getting to know ‘Danso’

Denis-Danso Weidlich was born at Barmberk Hospital in Hamburg to Ghanaian parents. Both – who actually met in Germany – worked in the European country with his father being a lecturer while his mother was employed at Mercedes Benz. His roots are in Kumasi, Ghana, and he is proud of his Ashanti ethnicity, revealing that he is also raising all three of his German-born kids in the Ashanti culture despite the fact that the language of communication in the Weidlich household is German. ‘Danso’ is a family name that he has also passed on to his sons. He has two brothers and two sisters; his older sister and brother were born in Ghana, while his younger siblings were born in Germany. The 30 year-old regularly visits Ghana and speaks Ashanti Twi fluently. He also speaks English, Turkish, Dutch and German, which he considers a very difficult language. He is now learning Afrikaans. Weidlich is married to his Ghanaian-born wife and has three kids, all of whom were born in Germany but now reside in Pietermaritzburg. Though he only met his wife in Germany during a Miss Ghana Germany festival, they are actually from the same street in Buokrom in Kumasi. Weidlich reveals that he was attracted to her because she spoke his home language. Though Weidlich has lived most of his life in Germany, where they drive on the right-hand side of the road, he says he has adjusted well to driving on the left in South Africa. This was helped by the fact that his first experience as a driver was in London, England, where they also drive on the left. Weidlich holds a German passport, but remains eligible to play for Ghana. He used to have a Ghanaian passport, but had to forego it as Germany doesn’t allow dual citizenship. He reveals that he is close to the Boateng brothers, Jerome and Kevin-Prince, who also have their roots in Ghana. He played against Kevin-Prince in his youth while Jerome is also a good friend. Kevin-Prince is a Ghana international, while Jerome plays for Germany. The versatile Weidlich, who is at home anywhere at the back and as a holding midfielder, holds an Information Technology degree attained at the Lewisham College in London. He took the decision to study during his late teens after suffering a serious injury in Germany, which meant his father sent him to university. When he recovered from his injury while in London, Weidlich then spent time training with the Arsenal youth team and regularly got to meet the “Invincibles” squad members, who went unbeaten through the 2003/04 English Premier League-winning season. It was a team that had Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp, amongst others, with Cesc Fabregas arriving at the Gunners academy just as Weidlich left at the conclusion of his training stint.