Kaiserslautern 4 B Monchengladbach 2
September 22, 1979
Bundesliga
“My first choice has to be my very first professional game, at Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga. I was 18 and excited to make my Gladbach debut after joining from Herzogenaurach, a smaller team close to where I was born in Bavaria. I’d arrived at the club that summer and it was a huge step up, but I was ready to prove myself at the top level of German football. I played from the start, which is a dream for any youngster. Although we lost and I probably didn’t have my finest game, it was the beginning of my journey. Without that, nothing I went on to achieve in my career would have been possible. I really loved my time at Gladbach and stayed for five seasons, before Bayern Munich came in for me – I’ll always be very grateful to them for taking a gamble.”
Argentina 1 West Germany 1
March 24, 1982
Friendly
“Ahead of the 1982 World Cup in Spain, we flew to South America to play two friendlies against Brazil and Argentina. In the first match, I faced Zico. In the second, I took on Diego Maradona for the very first time. I was still relatively young and yet to nail down a place in the West Germany team. During that game in Buenos Aires, even though it was a friendly, I realised how high the bar was set in terms of quality at that level. Diego was already the best player in the world, and he was magnificent on the ball. I’d wanted to compete with the best and here it was. I played the full 90 minutes and conducted myself well. That performance helped me to make a name for myself in the national team – it had a massive impact on my international career.”
West Germany 4 Yugoslavia 1
June 10, 1990
World Cup group stage
“Your first game of any tournament is always important – it sets the tone for the rest of the competition. We were one of the favourites at Italia 90 and knew we had to get off to a good start. We were brilliant that day at San Siro, and showed the rest of the world that we meant business. Yugoslavia were a great side, but we dismantled them. I probably had my best ever game for my country. I scored the opening goal and put us 3-1 up in the second half, which was vital as Yugoslavia had just pulled a goal back and were pushing for an equaliser. Jurgen Klinsmann and Rudi Völler, a terrific attacking duo, also scored. We were excellent all over the pitch from start to finish. That victory was key in helping us to go on and win the World Cup.”
West Germany 1 Argentina 0
July 8, 1990
World Cup final
“The day that changed everything for me. We’d lost to Argentina in the 1986 fina
