Munich and Dortmund – Jürgen Kohler becomes the hero of BVB in April 1997. Curious: The head of defence against Manchester almost never played.
It is April 23, 1997, the semi-final return match in the Champions League between Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.
After the 1-0 first leg, BVB also took the lead at the Theater der Träume, at Old Trafford, through Lars Ricken. But the high favourite Manchester is pressing for the equaliser and wants to turn the tide with all its might.
When Jürgen Kohler lies on the ground in the 17th minute, just in front of his own goal, the equaliser seems to be sealed. Eric Cantona just has to push the ball in for the Red Devils.
But Kohler extends his leg and saves with the sole. The “cokehead” becomes Dortmund’s football god, Borussia moves into the final and later beats Juventus Turin in Munich.
Only Hitzfeld knew about Kohler’s drama
It is stories like these that BVB fans still revel in. But what far fewer fans will know: Kohler hardly played at all in Manchester. It was only on the day of the match that he came to Manchester, and officially he was plagued by stomach and intestinal cramps.
But in reality his wife had suffered a miscarriage. Only Dortmund’s then coach Ottmar Hitzfeld knew about it. Kohler was determined to play despite the terrible circumstances, Hitzfeld trusted his head of defence.
It is one of the many anecdotes about BVB that the author Sascha Staat has compiled and written down in a book entitled Borussia Dortmund for smart alecks. The result is an entertaining black and yellow smorgasbord.
The best anecdotes in BVB history
With stories like that: That the BVB originally played in blue and white jerseys. That only a backdown by the city of Cologne made the construction of the Westfalenstadion possible. How a woman, Margarethe Schäferhoff, prevented the premier goal of a stalker there.
That Cobra Jürgen Wegmann, the creator of the quote “First we had no luck, and then bad luck came along”, is the only professional footballer who played for Dortmund, Schalke and FC Bayern. As Norbert Dickel’s former curry sausage stand in the Dortmund city centre was called.
And of course what the Champions League heroes of 1997 are doing today. Heroes who perhaps would never have existed without Jürgen Kohler.