After studying journalism, American studies and politics, Marcel Reif began working as a freelancer in the politics department for the “heute” news and the “heute Journal” at ZDF in 1972. From 1981 to 1983 he worked as a correspondent in the ZDF bureau in London and moved to the sports department in 1984. In 1986 he made his debut as a football commentator. After more than 20 years in public broadcasting, Reif moved to RTL in 1994 and became chief commentator there. From 1996 to 1997 he was also head of sports at RTL. After RTL lost the broadcasting rights to the Champions League in 1999, Marcel Reif moved to Premiere and SKY, where he worked as chief commentator until 2016, commentating on the top matches of the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League.
Marcel Reif – Presenter and Sports expert
In 2016, SAT.1 secured his services as an expert at the European Championship before he went on to act as an expert on Sport1 Doppelpass. At the same time, he provided commentary on the Champions League for Blue in Switzerland from 2018 to 2021, until he switched to Bild with his own format “Reif ist live” from 2020.
The sports journalist, who now lives in Munich again, was awarded the prestigious Adolf Grimme Prize and the German Television Prize for his coverage of the 2002 FIFA World Cup on Premiere. His presentation together with Günther Jauch at the 1998 Champions League match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in Madrid is legendary. After one of the two goals collapsed and had to be replaced, he and Günther Jauch perfectly bridged the 76 minutes until the game restarted. This moderation went down in TV history. His statement: “Never before has a goal done so much good to a game as it did today” has since become legendary.
Marcel Reif adds his own personal touch to your event with his many years of television experience. He is a sports expert and impresses not only in front of the camera, but also as a presenter for gala events, sports or business talks, press conferences, conferences as well as trade fair appearances. But his voice is also very popular away from the cameras and stages. He regularly provides soundtracks for countless radio and TV commercials for branded companies.