1989/90 season: A young talent is growing up in Bochum. Thorsten Legat not only celebrates success on the pitch, but also enjoys great popularity because of his many sayings. And in Uerdingen the “Shame of Gijón” will be repeated!
A talent had matured in Bochum that would later cause a sensation: Thorsten Legat. And of course they wanted to keep this exceptional player with the club for the long term. President Ottokar Wüst at the time: “We can’t be that stupid to let a 21-year-old run, from whom the club still has great hopes in the future.” Stupid, however, that manager Hilpert had completely forgotten the day the contract was signed with Legat. And so the young star sat for hours like a little schoolboy in front of the manager’s office and waited. But Klaus Hilpert was already out of the house. Legat later said he felt a bit fooled – and signed a few days later. It was just the beginning of a career that was impressive in many ways.
Nowadays, most people know the former German champion as a trash celebrity who tinkers through the television in the evenings. And indeed, Thorsten Legat has mastered the leap into a new life after his career well. A few years ago, more than seven million viewers watched him in the RTL jungle as he unleashed a firework display of his legendary sayings. At that time he said five sentences in just one year, which soon gained cult status: “The smarter ones let go”, “I let myself be misled by my competence”, “The attitude is always a fact”, “I can’t do it without comment answer” or the almost philosophical bon mot: “I would know more if I knew.”
During his time at VfB Stuttgart, the first representatives of the press understood what a special talent Legat had besides playing football. At that time, the Swabian reporters naturally wanted to know if he had already tried the regional specialty spaetzle. And Legat, the boy from the Ruhr area, answered honestly: “I haven’t tried them yet, but in general I really like poultry!” Shortly thereafter, however, a scandal meant that Legat had to leave Swabia in a hurry. Only one man from the Bundesliga wanted to take on the winner of the 1992 European Cup Winners’ Cup: Rudi Assauer. But no sooner had Legat arrived at the Royal Blues than he had nothing but nonsense on his mind again. Because on the day when Schalke’s official team photo was to be snapped, his teammate Olaf Thon whispered to him from the side: “Legate, if you pull up your pants all the way, you’ll get 500 marks from me.” From the background switched on Andreas Möller: “I’ll raise to 1,000!”
Legat didn’t take long to ask, pushed his shirt into his pants and pulled them up to his armpits. And Legat actually made it into the annual “kicker” special with this campaign. Too bad manager Assauer didn’t show much sense of humor when he held the magazine in his hands. Legat had to dance in his office (“The whole room was full of smoke. I hardly saw the manager at his desk. I thought I was with the godfather himself”, original sound Legat): “Man, Thorsten, what did you get back to work? 20,000 marks fine, 5,000 marks in the team fund and a meal for everyone on top of that.” When the legate briefly objected that it wouldn’t be profitable for him, since he only got 1,000 marks for the bet, Assauer threw him out of his office.
Thorsten Legat has to tell this story again and again to this day. Just like another story. When Legat played for Eintracht Frankfurt with ex-Bochumer Thomas Epp, the two had to go injured to Doctor Müller-Wohlfahrt in Munich. After a slightly longer wait, the great actor and famous Winnetou performer Pierre Brice came in through the door, supported by his wife. He screamed in pain. Apparently he was suffering from lumbago. His wife pleaded with the two professionals to let her husband through. But Legat knew no mercy and answered without thinking: “No!” And then pushed afterwards: “Besides, I thought Indians don’t know pain!”
After the exciting and loud championship final sprint in the last season 1988/89, Cologne’s coach Christoph Daum wanted to take a step back this time: “I will no longer bang the drum, but play the flute with softer tones. Sayings are side effects. Before that there is hard work . 80 hours a week. Only those who have mastered the craft are allowed to drum.” But Daum did utter a small saying: “Of course I want to win titles. But if I have an off-road vehicle and the competition has a Formula 1 speedster, it will be difficult to win the race with better cornering technique.”
And indeed, Bayern won this championship with ease. The Munich team were already able to celebrate two games before the end. Five points ahead secured them the title early on. On a whim, Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes promised the supporters from the town hall balcony on Munich’s Marienplatz: “And next year we’ll win the European Cup!” A spontaneous statement that should cause him problems.
In the fight against relegation, two direct competitors met on the last day of the game. The teams from Bayer 05 Uerdingen and Borussia Mönchengladbach, tied on points, met in the Grotenburg-Kampfbahn. That afternoon, spectators were reminded of the “disgrace of Gijon” when Algeria lost out in the so-called non-aggression pact between the German and Austrian national teams. After the 1-0 lead for Germany, which was enough for both teams to qualify for the finals, back and forth at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, the ball was pushed back and forth listlessly. A similar drama took place in Krefeld almost eight years later.
Even before the game, the Bochum team bet on a draw at the Grotenburg-Kampfbahn – at least with 20,000 marks from the team fund. Striker Uwe Leifeld: “If we’re screwed, at least we’ll get some money out of it. I’ll bet my house that this game will end in a draw.” And so it happened. The chairman of the Bochum Economic Council, Werner Altegoer, asked scornfully after the 0-0 win in Krefeld: “Did they even bother to set up the goals?”
