Günter Netzer

Lore & Background

Netzer, the son of a greengrocer, played for 1. FC Mönchengladbach from the age of eight until 19 before switching to city rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1963. He scored on his debut against Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, and quickly established himself as a first team regular, helping the club win promotion to the Bundesliga in 1965. Netzer played for Borussia, managed by Hennes Weisweiler, until 1973. In his 230 Bundesliga games for them, he scored 82 goals. With Borussia Mönchengladbach he won the Bundesliga in 1970 and 1971 (the first Bundesliga club to win back-to-back championships), and the DFB-Pokal in 1973. The final was a famous match against 1. FC Köln in which he started as a sub – it is said because he had told his manager of his intention to move to Spain after the season – and went onto the pitch during extra time on his own authority, simply telling the coach 'I'll go and play now' whilst removing his tracksuit. He then went on to score the winning goal three minutes later, with only his second possession of the ball. By then Netzer had achieved a certain pop star-like popularity because of his good looks, flowing blond hair, and perceived rebel personality and playboy lifestyle.

In Their Own Story

The rain slicks the grass at Bökelbergstadion in late autumn 1970. The crowd is a sea of yellow and black, roaring as Netzer receives the ball deep in midfield. With a calm that belies the chaos around him, he shields the playmaker's space, turns effortlessly on his left foot, and unleashes a diagonal pass that slices through three defenders like butter. It finds its target near the byline, setting up the goal that seals another victory for the Fohlen.

Reader's Guide

Netzer was the general manager for Hamburger SV during much of the team's golden period from the late 1970s through the early 1980s, when the club won three league titles and the 1983 European Cup. After his career as a player Netzer offered to publish Hamburger SV's stadium magazine. The president, Paul Benthien, agreed on the condition that he also became general manager. Netzer spent eight successful years in Hamburg, during which time he completely transformed Hamburg's team, managed to sign famous coaches like Branko Zebec and later Ernst Happel, and led the club to three Bundesliga titles (1979, 1982, 1983). In 1983, Hamburg reached the final of the European Cup. With Horst Hrubesch, Felix Magath and Manfred Kaltz, Hamburg pulled off one of the biggest upsets in European Cup history by beating a Juventus side packed with Italian players who had won the World Cup a year earlier and two star import players – Michel Platini and Zbigniew Boniek.

Did You Know?

• Netzer was the first German player to play for Real Madrid.
• He scored the winning goal in the 1973 DFB-Pokal final after coming on as a substitute on his own authority.
• Netzer was nicknamed 'Karajan' after the conductor Herbert von Karajan for his orchestration of midfield play.
• He and TV host Gerhard Delling received the Adolf Grimme Award in 2000 for their work on ARD.