Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are so hot right now. But, as with so many of the most significant cultural reference points, German football was hotter in the 1990’s – at the 1990 World Cup, to be precise. There was that kit, Der Kaiser as the manager, Matthäus rampaging through midfields and, leading from the front, a pair of absolute badass goal scorers – Jurgen Klinsmann and Rudolf ‘Rudi’ Völler.
It felt like Germany had these two for an eternity. I’m guessing it’s quite rare for one of the top international teams to field the same two strikers as their first choice in consecutive world cups. If you think about all that can happen in four years with loss of form, injuries, or the emergence of new players, it’s a sign of the enduring greatness of these two that Germany relied on the same pair in 1994 that took them all the way in 1990. And, they didn’t let them down, contributing six goals (three goals each) at the 1990 World Cup, and seven (five for Klinsmann, two for Rudi) at the 1994 tournament.
I want what he’s having
According to Völler, he and his strike partner were totally different, “on the pitch, and privately” but their careers include plenty of similarities. For example, they both scored 47 international goals (Völler achieved his haul with 90 caps compared to Klinsmann’s 108). To put their records in perspective, Gary Lineker scored 48 goals for England, and he seemed to be scoring international goals forever. Germany had two players in the same team scoring as many goals as Lineker did. Both players were part of the German exodus to Italy in the late 80’s – Klinsmann to Inter and Völler to Roma – where each won the Coppa Italia (Klinsmann also picked up a UEFA Cup). In 1992, both players swapped Italy for France, with Klinsmann going to Monaco and Völler heading to Marseille. Both players stayed for two seasons before moving on. And, even in retirement, they kept copying each other, taking it in turns to manage the German national team. Yeah, totally different, Rudi.
Blonde on Blonde
Appearance wise, there were some rather more obvious differences. If Klinsmann was playing now I doubt he’d have a beard or sleeve tattoos, he was far too clean cut. He always looked a bit like the kid who never got in trouble – or, at least, never got caught. Not that he was a coward – as he proved by taking a full blooded kneed to the face courtesy of Mark Bosnich.
It’s fair to say Völler’s image was a lot more iconic – a curly blonde mullet and moustache combo. Personally, I find it hard to separate the image of vintage Völler with the Austrian band Opus performing their terrible pan-Euro hit, Life is Life (I’m not going to link to it – you can look it up yourselves). It’s a vision that should have been filed in the overflowing folder titled ‘look at the 80’s – weren’t they funny’, but Völler kept it going well into the 90’s. I can remember the first time I saw a civilian rocking ‘the Völler’ in real life – a truck driver at a motorway service station in Luxembourg, or Belgium – definitely one of the Benelux nations. I stared in awe. This was in about 2002, some time after Völler’s heyday. And, even now, you only have to look at the state of some German fans in Bundesliga stadiums to realise it’s still a passable look in Central Europe. Is Völler responsible for this dreadful behaviour? Yes.
Anyway, they looked different, but what about their skills? Klinsmann was the more athletic of the two, and his legs were fitted with hydraulic springs to provide some serious air time. And, not only could he fly, but his headers were lethal. Völler was a bit more skilful, and more likely to dribble, or look to play a one-two behind the defence. In short: Völler would try to pick the lock, Klinsmann would smash the door down.
Klinsmann became a lot more familiar to English fans after signing for Spurs, and has generally maintained a higher media profile, obviously helped by his current status as head coach of the US national team. But, from what I’ve read – and I’ve only read one book on German football (the same one as everyone else) – Völler was a more universally popular character in Germany during his playing career. Apparently, he’s a relatively modest character, and definitely not a fragile ego like some of his contemporaries (*ahem* Matthäus *ahem*).
This makes his involvement in those infamous scenes during Germany’s 1990 World Cup game with Holland seem all the more incongruous. He was sent off for an inexplicable red card (no one other than the ref knows what he was sent off for – it appears to be for some backchat) and Frank Rijkaard spat in his hair. Rijkaard has since apologised for being such a total douche, and the two of them were brought together to publicly reconcile their differences while promoting a brand of butter. Lovely.
Bagsy managing Germany next
As well as being a couple of goal scoring legends, it’s also worth reflecting on both players’ spells as manager of the Germany team. Völler took charge in 2000 after we’d all watched the worst Germany team ever to appear at a major tournament final. Not long after he was watching his side get routed by England in Munich. And yet, while Sven’s England made their obligatory quarter final exit at the 2002 World Cup, and some of the tournament favourites failed to perform, Völler’s Germany went all the way to the final.
It was a false dawn, because Germany were still terrible, as they showed at Euro 2004. But, as we now know, this didn’t matter because the Germans were growing a new team in their secret laboratory. The gamble had paid off – esteemed strikers where the way to inject a bit of life back into the national team.
And so, when Rudi moved aside in 2004, he passed the baton to his old strike partner. If Völler had been a surprise appointment, Klinsmann was an even bigger punt. The guy had been chilling in California since retiring. We’re all supposed to think that the Germans are all focused on pragmatism, but no way on earth was Klinsmann a sensible appointment. The German FA got lucky again, though. Klinsmann’s team played with the handbrake off and everyone loved it. Germany were fun!
Obviously the rebirth of German football was the result of much more than these two pitching up for a few years and picking the team. But, it’s also true the status of German football was transformed between 2000 when Völler to charge and 2006 when Klinsmann departed. Looking back at their contributions to German football over the length of their careers, it’s hard to think of two strikers who’ve contributed more to their native land.
You can read the posts in this series here. And, now for the videos.
Rudi:
Jurgen:
