Engines of society - Nathalie Scholler

If you have been a spectator at the Käerjeng football stadium lately, you have certainly heard her voice. She has been the stadium announcer for UN Käerjéng 97 since just before the start of the pandemic. We are talking about Nathalie Scholler, who sits behind the microphone every other week during the season. Nathalie came to UN Käerjéng 97 through her husband, who has been part of the team for a long time and is also co-coach now. When asked if she plays football herself, she just grins and says: "I'm not tough enough for that." Instead, she was passionate about table tennis for 25 years. Today, she is more enthusiastic about team sports and is an absolute club person who likes to spend social evenings with the team and their families and fans after the game. "UN Käerjéng 97 is not a club where people don’t know each other, but it is a real family club", Nathalie says.

For this reason, the 36-year-old is also happy to occasionally drive the young footballers to training. Since she needs a lot of space for this, Losch Luxembourg in Howald provided Nathalie with the brand-new VW Multivan for a day. Now in its seventh generation, the practical 7-seater comes in four versions: two petrol engines (136 hp and 204 hp), a diesel (150 hp) and, for the first time, a contemporary plug-in hybrid (218 hp). This makes the "Bulli" (Camper) a perfect long-distance van for long journeys, but it can also operate purely electrically in the city or on shorter journeys, thus fulfilling all the requirements of a modern, environmentally friendly vehicle.

The hybrid model, which is powered by an electric motor paired with an efficient turbo petrol engine, can travel between 46 and 50 kilometres on pure electric power. Both engines together even achieve a total range of up to 700 kilometres. The fact that the T7 is significantly lighter than its predecessor as well as its improved aerodynamics also contribute significantly to lower consumption. 

Nathalie always had the dream of working in radio one day. So, it was no coincidence that when the club's stadium announcer resigned and they started looking for a successor, they thought of her. Nathalie didn't have to think twice, because it was like a childhood dream come true. "I just like to talk. Nobody answers me here, which is a shame, but I get a lot of pleasure out of it", she explains. It is also undoubtedly an advantage that Nathalie has always been interested in football and has been married to a footballer for five years. She wouldn't necessarily describe herself as a fanatical football fan, but she has been very fond of this sport for a long time. At home, she often watches football on TV with her husband. Sometimes they turn down the volume and comment on the game in their own special way.

After half an hour, Nathalie arrives at her first stop, where the first young footballer gets on board. One thing quickly becomes clear to her: the new van has a lot of space. Like the previous models, the interior has been designed so that you can easily move from the front to the back. Of the seven individual seats, which weigh between 23 and 29 kilos, five can be moved, removed and even turned around at will (optional). For example, the passengers in the two rear rows can sit opposite each other. In this case, the completely mobile multifunctional table with cup holders and storage compartments comes in handy. The table can be easily moved from the first to the third row of passengers via the Multivan's innovative new rail system. At the touch of a button, the console can be easily raised, and with just a few flicks of the wrist, it transforms into a multifunctional table that is perfect both for a sociable game of cards and as a shelf for a laptop or tablet. The two rear rows of seats can also be completely removed, offering up to 4,053 litres of luggage space for every transport task. Nathalie could easily take 5 more young footballers with her. Off we go to the next one.

Versatility is key

Nathalie's tasks as a stadium announcer are much more diverse than one might think. She is already on site an hour before every football match to entertain the arriving spectators with music. Then, shortly before the game starts, she begins her speech. First the sponsors are introduced, then she presents the two teams and their individual players. The scoreboard also falls within her remit. Every time a goal is scored, she has to update the score on the board, and when her own team scores, she plays the team jingle. All this requires full concentration.

Versatility is also the keyword for the new VW T7, which is now available in four different equipment versions: as "Multivan", "Life" and "Style" as well as the special offer models "Energetic" and "Edition". In addition, it can be ordered as a normal and a long version. The length varies between 4.97 and 5.17 metres, while the width is 1.94 metres and the height 1.90 metres. At first glance, Nathalie was intimidated by the imposing size of the Multivan and was not so sure whether she would even dare to drive such a large car. However, her doubts were forgotten after just a few minutes behind the wheel. "If I don't look in the rear-view mirror, I almost forget how big this car actually is", Nathalie is amazed. It's unexpectedly agile and "manoeuvres well and snappily". She also thinks that you have a good overview while driving the new van, because the elevated seating position combined with the huge windscreen and the additional side triangular windows allow the driver to have a perfect view of the entire road and surroundings. Nathalie was impressed by the technology in the Multivan. "The reversing camera is super precise. That's why parking is not an issue at all, despite the size!" she is pleased.

In the meantime, Nathalie has dropped the young players off at the stadium and parks the Multivan in the car park. From the outside, it certainly makes a spacy impression and yet somehow looks retro. The T7 can be ordered in one colour or alternatively in two colours. The latter, with its horizontal character line, is reminiscent of the iconic "Bulli" predecessor, the T3, but with its brand-new illuminated radiator grille, the T7 fits perfectly into the new VW DNA.

Nathalie's main job has been as a kindergarten teacher in Differdange for 13 years. She always wanted to become a German professor, as she has always had a natural talent for languages, but today she is happy with her decision to take care of the education of the very young. At a very young age, they just love going to school, they are easy to get excited about and they just want to learn something. That's why Nathalie enjoys her job so much today that she also plans and prepares activities in her free time. "It is not only a job for me, but also a hobby. Because especially in kindergarten you can be totally creative", she knows. Creativity, handwork and being close to nature are three areas that are particularly close to Nathalie's heart and which she regularly incorporates into her activities. It is especially important to her that the children work a lot with their hands and learn to make things themselves. In addition, every Friday they organise an indispensable and well-deserved excursion into nature, which the children really enjoy. During the pandemic, they were forced to spend a lot of time at home and rather learned how to cope in the digital world on their tablets. This is also essential for the future, of course.

Because even today's cars are connected. In the new VW Multivan, the digital cockpit and the infotainment system are combined in the completely redesigned and networked display landscape in the dashboard. The colour of the interior can be adjusted to suit your mood thanks to the 30-colour ambient lighting. The dashboard also includes a phone storage compartment that doubles as an inductive charging station. In addition, each row of seats is equipped with USB ports for charging mobile phones and tablets.

Even though football is still a rather male-dominated domain, Nathalie felt completely accepted and respected in her role from the very beginning and got a lot of positive and even enthusiastic reactions. "As a child, I was brought up to always know that I could do anything a boy could do", she says. And that is also very important to her. In her job, too, it is especially close to her heart to give the girls the message that they can achieve anything they strive for. "I think it's great that we live in a time where I can do something like this at all. 50 years ago, a female stadium announcer would certainly have been considered disreputable, " she regrets. Nathalie definitely knows how to assert herself with a strong personality. Even if she sometimes has to deal with a few less nice comments from angry or sometimes drunken fans, her self-esteem does not suffer. It also happens that she blurts things out. For example, when she once wanted to say "Bofferding Brewery", it unintentionally came out "Déifferdeng Brewery". There might be a few wry looks from the audience, but she doesn't let that spoil her mood and she can laugh at herself sometimes.

After switching off the microphone and all the associated equipment, Nathalie makes her way back to Howald. By now she has left any prejudices about driving in a big car behind her, because today she was allowed to see for herself how manoeuvrable and comfortable a Multivan can be. And even though she doesn't need such a spacious car herself at the moment, she would recommend it to anyone who needs a lot of space with a lot of comfort.