Hard to believe: Bayern national player Kalle Rummenigge duels with his own coach – and also gives him a good one on the twelve. In Bremen, on the other hand, a drunk referee writes history.
When Bayern’s star striker Karl-Heinz Rummenigge remembered the 1975/76 season many years later, he laughed and related an anecdote from the backroom of the record champions: “When Dr. Spannbauer was still our club doctor, he once invited the whole squad to his country house , which has all the chicanes: bowling alley, swimming pool, etc. There were also boxing gloves hanging around there and Dettmar Cramer suggested I box a few rounds with him.While it was a weird joke for me, Cramer gradually got angry and harassed me. I suddenly punched him in the nose. That was it! He didn’t want to go any further. The other players had a great time. The coach picked me up again anyway.”
It’s been a perfectly odd season anyway – and that has especially to do with one man and one anecdote for the ages. It was November 8, 1975, when referee Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder and his two line judges sat comfortably in the Werder club restaurant and ate lunch. According to the season, a goose with red cabbage and dumplings was served. The three ate with relish, chatted a bit and forgot about the time. When Werder referee advisor Richard Ackerschott came to their table at 2:30 p.m. and asked when the men in black wanted to warm up, they grabbed their bulging bellies.
That wouldn’t work out today, they thought, and first wanted to flush out their stomachs with a quick beer or two. And that worked well. The goose began to swim. But meanwhile it was already 2:45 p.m., and the roasted poultry, red cabbage and dumplings didn’t really want to sink in yet. They decided to fight the rebellious food harder and ordered a Malteser in addition to a new round of Pils. And because it worked so well, the three happy men repeated the fun once or twice and then went downstairs to change – after all, the Bundesliga match between SV Werder Bremen and Hannover 96 was still on the agenda.
But where was this darn cabin? Ahli and his two companions wandered through the catacombs and, despite a long search, could not find their room. They only found what they were looking for when asked. Laughing, they threw themselves into their black uniforms and waited for the official referee to lead them onto the pitch. However, when he entered the cabin of the three officials, he went straight back out and got a bottle of mouthwash. The smell of alcohol hit his stomach.
Referee Ahlenfelder describes the following events best himself: “After thirty minutes I blew the whistle at half-time. Don’t ask why, why, why. We probably drank too much there, I don’t know either. Yes, that’s Ahlenfelder. ” That’s exactly how it was. The game was stopped after half an hour. Complete lack of understanding among the players, irritation among the spectators and sheer horror among the officials of both clubs.
When Ahlenfelder was just about to march towards the catacombs, Bremen defender Horst-Dieter Höttges blocked his path. He turned to the man in black in a friendly manner: “referee, are you sure it’s already halftime?” Now Ahlenfelder was also confused: “Why not, Höttges?” The man from Bremen pointed to his jersey: “You know, my jersey is always soaking wet at half-time. And look, it’s still almost bone-dry!”
Ahlenfelder touched the shirt, nodded almost imploringly at Höttges and asked in a defiant, trembling voice: “And what now, Höttges?” Bremen points to the sidelines. There, one of the two line judges tapped his watch intensively and then pointed up at the big stadium clock. It was just after four. Ahlenfelder had the presence of mind to understand what had to be done, kicked off his third Bundesliga game again with a referee ball – and after only 42 minutes of play then finally went into the half-time break.
Resourceful business people reacted quickly and offered a real innovation in their pubs, which has survived to this day in the Werder club restaurant. The legendary referee, who is the only referee to this day who has managed to whistle a Bundesliga game halfway after just under thirty minutes, said himself about the pub highlight: “If you order an Ahlenfelder in Bremen, you get a Malteser -Beer cover. I’m proud of it.” In the meantime, even a restaurant not far from the Weser Stadium has been named after the legendary referee.
As in the previous season, the Fohlen-Elf from Mönchengladbach won the title again. Even before the season, the outgoing Gladbach coach Hennes Weisweiler teased: “Borussia will be champions again, and Udo Lattek won’t be able to prevent that either.” And he was also right because Weisweiler’s shadow loomed into the new season. Berti Vogts remembers: “We were sad that Hennes Weisweiler went to Barcelona. We wanted to prove to him that we can become champions without him, that we have grown up.” It worked – and the new coach of Borussia, Udo Lattek, subsequently proved that he is truly one of the greatest of his guild.
