Bundesliga’s fiercest rivals — FC Bayern München versus Borussia Dortmund — clash this Saturday in Der Klassiker on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes (12:30 p.m. ET) live from Munich’s iconic Allianz Stadium.
German-born ESPN senior associate producer Kosta Karipidis will be in the Bristol control room producing ESPN FC’s pre- and postgame coverage as well as the halftime show hosted by Kay Murray and Alejandro Moreno alongside Archie Rhind-Tutt, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Arne Friedrich pitchside.
Front Row spoke with Karipidis and associate producer Damon Gray, who will be in Munich to help coordinate coverage there.
Walk us thru your storytelling strategy that takes place behind-the-scenes leading up to Der Klassiker.
Karipidis: Der Klassiker goes beyond the current form of the two teams and their position in the standings. It is the Bundesliga’s most anticipated match twice a year.
Working on the coverage of the Bundesliga on a weekly basis is the best preparation. The league, the teams, the players tell us their stories. Our job is to find the best possible way to capture and highlight those stories for our audience. In a game of this magnitude, it is not hard to find storylines, but the real challenge is to determine which of those storylines will make it into the show.
In the end, it is always exciting to see the puzzle pieces come together for the final broadcast.
You recently scored an exclusive interview with Harry Kane. What was your goal for this interview?
Karipidis: We were fortunate for Bayern Munich to grant us an interview. Harry’s pursuit of his first team trophy and his global appeal as a superstar were the perfect vehicle to help create some anticipation for this game and additional content for our multi-platform approach in the lead-up.
Gray is preparing for this first on-site work assignment in Germany.
What are you expecting from the experience?
Gray: In Munich, I will be booth coordinating with [commentators] Derek Rae and Stewart Robson. I’m ensuring a smooth communication process between talent in Munich and the production facility in Bristol.
In addition, I will ensure that any concerns by the Bundesliga are addressed promptly. While I am typically the graphics producer for our studio coverage, seeing the workflow from Bristol, this will be my first time experiencing the production on the other side. Working weekly with the Bundesliga has been incredibly special and something I don’t take for granted.
When I was young, my dad worked for a German paper manufacturing company here in Connecticut. He had many German friends because of that, and they were a heavy influence on me as a kid. I ended up growing up surrounded by the German language, the culture and, of course, the appreciation for soccer.
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