‘The Blonde Angel’ on his ’86 European Cup Final, glory at a young age and crossing the Barcelona-Real Madrid divide
Interview Dani Gil
BERND SCHUSTER
At 20, you were in the West Germany team that won Euro 1980 – what a way to start!
It was one of my greatest achievements, and an incredible start to my career. In just two years, I went from making my debut for Köln to starting in the Euro 1980 Final. My first child was also born that year. Sometimes it was challenging for me to manage it all.
Who was the star of that German team?
A golden generation was coming to an end: Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Sepp Maier and others who’d won the Euros and the World Cup in the 1970s were in the twilight of their careers. At the same time, several top youngsters were coming through, such as Toni Schumacher, Lothar Matthaus and myself. It was a great era and a great team. I couldn’t pick just one star from that side.
Is it true Bayern Munich wanted you as a youngster but you were too expensive?
I’d just won the Euros with Germany, and Köln increased their asking price. They asked for 3.5 million Deutsche Marks, but Bayern turned it down – not because I wasn't worth it but because there was no history of paying such large amounts, as at that time nobody paid more than a million Deutsche Marks for any footballer. Then Barcelona came calling.
Were you upset with Köln for pricing you out of a move to Bayern?
I’d like to have played for Bayern, definitely. I lived 40km from Munich and it would have been a dream. Instead, I spent 13 years in Spain and never had much of a career in my own country. It was unthinkable back then to spend so many years abroad. Had I stayed in Germany, I’d have earned many more caps. Being abroad hurt me in that sense, as clubs had a lot of power in those days and often didn’t let me play in international matches.
Why did you retire from international football in 1984, at the age of just 24?
I grew annoyed with the German federation for not acknowledging all of the efforts I was making just to play for my country. We had a friendly match against Brazil [in 1981] and I really wanted to be there, but Barça had a Copa del Rey fixture against Rayo Vallecano on the same day – Barça wouldn’t let me go, so I ran away without their permission. The German federation were angry with me for doing it, and I was fed up wit
