“i scored pens with both feet in shootouts – it didn’t make any difference”

ANDREAS BREHME

You enjoyed your first special World Cup experience aged 13. Tell us what happened.

During the 1974 World Cup, which was held in West Germany, I went to watch the Dutch players training near my home in Hamburg. I climbed over the fence and no one stopped me. There was Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens and all of these other stars. Thankfully, they were really nice to the strange kid who came of nowhere and gave me autographs. Many years later, when I spoke to Barcelona about possibly signing for them, I told Cruyff about that day. He laughed, but of course he didn’t remember meeting me.

After shining at Kaiserslautern, you moved to Bayern and won the Bundesliga in 1987. Was it tough to leave?

I loved Kaiserslautern but knew I had to leave if I wanted to win the Bundesliga. I told them I was sorry to go and they accepted my wish. At Bayern, we won the title and also reached the European Cup final that season.

After featuring at a disappointing Euro 84, you helped West Germany reach the final of Mexico 86 – what are your memories?

Positive, even if we lost the final. We’d been 2-0 down, so to get back to 2-2 was a great achievement. We’d given everything to haul ourselves level, and it was so hot inside the stadium. We lost momentum and Argentina hit us on the break. They deserved to win as they were the best team. Diego Maradona was world class in ’86 – as a defender, you needed to stay tight to him at all times, and it still wasn’t enough.

You signed for Inter in 1988 and starred with fellow countrymen Lothar Matthaus and Jurgen Klinsmann. What was it like having your mates with you?

That was the best time of my life. I instantly loved everything about Italy – the language, the food, the fashion. I had an amazing time with my friends from the national team – we were successful and our team-mates made us feel like Italians. It was a magical period.

Neighbours Milan had three Dutchmen in their squad: Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard. Was it a great rivalry?

No, not at all. From the outside it looked like a rivalry, but it never felt like Germany vs the Netherlands to us. I’d play golf with Gullit and Van Basten and we’d go out for dinner. Milan fans were never negative towards us in the streets and Inter fans treated the Dutchmen with respect… apart from at derby matches! But that was all part of the fun