Everything but the Football: Leicester City
WSL Football sat down with Leicester City’s Sari Kees and Janina Leitzig for a conversation about everything except the game they play.
“I had the best time ever.” Janina Leitzig always wanted to try surfing, but had struggled to find the right opportunity around the busy nature of her career. One summer not too long ago, with all her fellow football friends playing international tournaments and wondering how to fill a rare period of free time, “an advert for a surf camp popped up and it said, ‘it's so nice going alone on a surf camp.’” The German goalkeeper jumped at the chance, although in the end attended with a family friend, and discovered her hobby away from the pitch. “It was so fun. The whole vibe, how they see life and the whole spirit.”
Now, Leitzig makes the time to go surfing for at least one week out of every year, travelling the globe in order to do so. “The time you have in the summers is really precious and I want to make the most out of it.” Most recently, the 26-year old ticked Canada and Sri Lanka off her map. “I just love travelling around, meeting new people. It fills my batteries.” As for surfing in the United Kingdom, Leitzig is yet to take that particular plunge. “Cornwall is so far from Leicester,” she rightly points out. “I'm looking for the perfect timing, but that's definitely on the list.”
Leitzig’s Leicester City teammate Sari Kees doesn’t share an intrigue in high adrenaline, water-based pursuits, “I don’t really have a hobby besides football and studying.” That’s not to say though that the Belgian international hasn’t attempted acquiring new skills, sharing that she and Leitzig signed up for guitar lessons together. “How did it go?” her classmate teases, with Kees forced to admit, “I went one time.” She’s keen to note though, “Jani is quite good now, to be honest.”
Kees has also attempted DJ’ing, but ultimately she’d much rather study than manufacture beats. “I wanted to go to University, that was not a question mark for me.” The defender has a Master’s degree in physiotherapy. She’d also briefly considered becoming a doctor, but knew she’d not be able to balance that vocation with her passion for football. “Physio was really interesting for me to do,” she says, adding, “if you're an athlete, you are in this environment every day and you learn so much.” As part of her training, Kees undertook placements at her previous club OH Leuven, as well as with the Leicester City Academy.
When it comes to the relationship with her own physiotherapists however, “I said to them, ‘if I'm injured, I don't want to think that I'm a physiotherapist, I just want to be treated like a player.’”
Leitzig is also on her own studying journey. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in primary school teaching in Germany, she has recently embarked on qualifications in psychology, finding clinical psychology particularly captivating. “The good thing with psychology is if I want to stay in sports, I can stay in sports. If I want to go back to school, I can go back to school.” Both ballers consider their studies to be an avenue for life post football career. “In 10 years, if I really want to be a physiotherapist, I have everything,” Kees adds.
“I’m also growing vegetables”, Leitzig adds on, proclaiming with quite some pride, “more or less successfully.” She’s been making use of her garden and has produced quite the horticultural haul including kale, beans, potatoes, and chillis. Kees, who is also naturally green thumbed, chimes in, “and courgettes.” Aubergines have also been grown, “but I don’t like aubergine,” admits Leitzig who, of course, has been cooking with her home-grown produce. “It's almost time to plant everything,” Kees advises. Having grown up with parents and grandparents who grew their own food, she finds the whole process deeply fulfilling, even if she cannot currently partake due to not having a garden space in England. “You put so much effort and care into it, and when it's finished it tastes so much better. It sounds weird, but it's a different taste.” Leitzig adds, “you’re like a proud mummy.”
When their heads aren’t in textbooks or their fingers in plant pots, Leitzig and Kees find television a good way to unwind. Leitzig is currently watching Ted Lasso, meanwhile Kees is bingeing The Good Doctor, “three or four episodes a day sometimes, it's a bit embarrassing.” Spending time with friends also fills their cups; however, upon moving to the WSL in July 2024, Kees struggled with missing her friends back in Belgium. “I came here and you have a bit of a reality check, like ‘oof, it's more lonely.’” Nearly two years on though, Kees has created many friendships at Leicester City. “I love to go for a coffee with some teammates”, says Leitzig, with Kees finishing her friend’s sentence, “we go together.”