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July 2013
2013 Grand Marshals: Soccer, Beer and Politics
Werner Roth, Christian Dinkelacker and Harald Leibrecht to lead Steuben Parade up Fifth Avenue
The 56th Annual German-American Steuben Parade will be led by three Grand Marshals: US Soccer legend Werner Roth, German brewery magnate Christian Dinkelacker, and Harald Leibrecht, coordinator for transatlantic affairs in the German parliament. "We are proud to have an extraordinary group of Grand Marshals leading our parade up Fifth Avenue," says Parade Chairman Lars Halter.
 Werner Roth is a US Soccer Hall-of-Famer, who captained the New York Cosmos during the teams most successful time in the 1970s. At the time, the Cosmos squad included German superstar Franz Beckenbauer, Brazilian legend Pele and Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia - an assortment of stars that "mostly meshed, occasionally jammed, but when it worked it was a thing of beauty," as Roth remembers. With Werner Roth as captain, the Cosmos won the 1977 Soccer Bowl. Roth also served as team captain for the US National Team. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1989.
Roth appeared in the 1981 movie "Victory", with Pele, Sylvester Stallone, and a cast of internationally recognizable players. Roth played German soccer team captain Baumann, and said he entertained an acting career "for a minute or two." These days, the 65-years-old Roth lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Robin Mattson, and runs a soccer marketing company called Futbol Academia. He is also closely working with the newly resurged New York Cosmos and prepares for the teams first season in the North American Soccer League, which will begin August 3rd with a home game against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Hofstra University stadium.
 Christian Dinkelacker is a household name in Germany, thanks to the family brewery of the same name. Founded by Carl Dinkelacker in 1888, the company has always brewed its specialty beers in the town of Stuttgart. Dinkelacker has a proud history in America, first exporting beer in 1964 to serve during the World's Fair in New York City. Their first business partners in the US included a "Wienerwald" restaurant on Broadway, "Harry's New York Bar" at the "Helmsley Palace" hotel, as well as two surviving German-American institutions: restaurants "Heidelberg" on Manhattan´s Upper East Side and "Zum Stammtisch" in Glendale, both of which continue to have Dinkelacker on tap.
Mr. Dinkelacker is 49 years old and excited about being a Grand Marshal in the German-American Steuben Parade: "Dinkelacker has a rich history in New York, and I am proud to celebrate this legacy and German-American friendship right on Fifth Avenue," says Dinkelacker.
 Harald Leibrecht was born in Evanston, IL, where his father was teaching theology. He spent his formative years in Germany and studied International Business in Heidelberg, London and the US. Since 2002, Mr. Leibrecht has been a member of the German Parliament (Bundestag) focusing on international relations, international commerce as well as cultural and educational initiatives. Since 2011, Mr. Leibrecht has been the German parliament's coordinator for transatlantic affairs, handling relations and exchange programs between Germany and the US and Canada.
On Friday, September 20th, Werner Leibrecht, Christian Dinkelacker and Harald Leibrecht will be officially introduced as Grand Marshals at the Annual Steuben Parade Gala, a black-tie affair held at the New York Hilton. Tickets are now available on the Steuben Parade website. The Parade itself will be held on Saturday, September 21st, marching off at Noon and leading up Fifth Avenue from 68th to 86th Street. An Oktoberfest in Central Park will be held immediately after the parade.
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