And just like that, it's all over. In the 5th minute after 30 minutes of extra time, the Euro 96 Championship came to a dramatic end: Germany won the championship, while the 73,000 spectators at Wembley witnessed the first golden ball in the history of the game.
The cheering German fans and players on the pitch contrasted with the loneliness and sadness of the Czech Republic, and even many of the British spectators who came to the stadium were awakened by reality, watching their old rivals on the pitch celebrate their victory in their backyards. Just 25 minutes ago, Germany was trailing 1-0, with only 15 minutes left in the game.
Tonight's hero is Oliver Bierhoff. Substitute Udinese striker first saved his home country with a signature header, then turned around and fired a powerful left-footed shot in extra time, czech goalkeeper Kuba misjudged and the ball was saved and refracted into the bottom left corner of the goal. Four months ago, the player who was only selected for the national team for the first time at the age of 28 was not favored by anyone. Even more ridiculous is the fact that he was expelled from the Bundesliga early in his career due to ridicule and ridicule.
Born in 1968 in the southwestern German city of Karlsruhe, Bierhoff grew up in a very different experience than many football icons went from abject poverty to great wealth. His father, Rolf, is the CEO of a major German energy company, and he grew up with a first-class education and plenty of opportunities to pursue his chosen career path.
As a father, the elder Bierhoff worries that a comfortable lifestyle can easily deprive his son of the blood and motivation he needs to become a top footballer. Seeing that his son's jersey was always spotless after training, the elder Bierhoff, worried that such a shirt would make his son feel that he was not engaged enough, poured water on a small piece of grass in the yard and forced his son to practice head balls on the frozen lawn. Unfortunately, Bierhoff's earliest acceptance by the German public was that of a rich man in a stainless shirt.
Bierhoff spent his youth training in Urdingen, making his first appearance for the first team in 1986, at the age of 17. At the time, Ouldingen was in their golden age, finishing third in the Bundesliga in 1985/86 and beating Bayern in the DFB-Pokal last season to win the title. The success of last season gave Bierhoff the opportunity to excel in Europe, while also giving him a lot of domestic league workouts.
Six feet three inches tall, Bierhoff has an amazing physique and strength far beyond that of an average academy player, and he also made a splash in his first-team debut. In the DFB-Pokal, Bierhoff faced Klinsmann-led Stuttgart, where he scored two goals to help Urdingen win 6-4.
The next day, many German media likened him to the young Gerubesch, the German hero of the 1980 Euro 1980 final – while others touted him and Klinsmann as the forward partner of the future German team; in fact, Bierhoff was not even 100% sure that he wanted a professional football career, he just "wanted to try it".
He scored nine goals in his debut season and scored for the U18 and U21 national teams, but the following year will derail Bierhoff's upward momentum and begin a five-year career of displacement. As a result of the injury, Bierhoff made just one appearance in 12 league games in his second season, and the next two seasons he moved to Hamburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he did not score a single goal.
By this time, the olfactory media had thrown the early touts of Bierhoff into the trash. While his athleticism and aerial prowess are undeniable, there are questions about whether the striker is aggressive enough or dedicated enough to make the most of these traits, while others complain that he lacks the skills to handle the ball at his feet. Looking back on this phase, Bierhoff said: "Maybe I wasn't ready, but I never found a coach who was willing to give me confidence and make me work hard."
There is no doubt that the negative comments surrounding Bierhoff – who later claimed that he was "ridiculed out of the Bundesliga" – were amplified by his less humble origins. Faced with a young striker who is only 21 years old, one would expect a point of view to evaluate his performance, while for Bierhoff many scornfully questioned whether he could have had his chances in the game if it were not for his father's influence.
When his confidence was crushed, Bierhoff seriously considered the idea of giving up football altogether and returning to his studies. Although he later earned a degree in economics, he has now temporarily curbed the urge to return to school in order to restart his career in Austria.
At the beginning of the 1990/91 season he signed with Salzburg, Austria, where Bierhoff grew up again away from the media attention of his home country. In the first truly prolific season of his career, he scored 23 goals to help the team finish fifth in the league. Bierhoff has also regained his confidence and ability to score on the pitch, once again setting his sights on going to The Top European League to prove himself.
Inter threw an olive branch at him and they bid £400,000. Unfortunately, the transfer proved to be a false start, and his first year in Italy would have been a huge character test that would have made his time in the Bundesliga look like a peaceful and happy time.
Bierhoff did not appear in coach Orico's plans after signing with the Nerazzurri, who was sent to the newly promoted Ascoli in the 1991/92 season. The performance of the team throughout the season was a disaster, the club was once again relegated to second division and Bierhoff scored only two goals in the whole season. By the end of the season, Ascoli fans had made the missing goal shoe a scapegoat, a feeling of disgust that reached its peak when he was labeled a coward when he missed the game with an injury.
Ascoli fans seem determined to kick the striker out of their club. Bierhoff recalled: "When I arrived at training camp, the fans would boo me from the beginning to the last minute and I really thought my career was over. At that moment, the closeness with teammates, especially Macado and Bennetti, is very important. ”
However, the next three seasons Bierhoff spent in the second division, and his persistence slowly paid off. Bierhoff quickly went from scapegoat to savior, with the German's goal proving his help to the team and Ascoli's fans changing their attitude towards the German. He scored an impressive 38 goals in two seasons, but he was powerless to stop Ascoli from being relegated to the first division in 1995. This time, however, the mood of the fans was very different, and the relegation was considered to be in the case regardless of how Bierhoff performed, not because of his performance.
Bierhoff's contribution to the team caught the attention of Udinese coach Zacheroni. With the club promoted to Serie A, Zaccheroni signed the German for £1 million. Few could have predicted that the young coach would have such a huge impact on the striker's career.
Obviously a confident player, but the trough of Bierhoff's career always coincided with a time when he felt the coach was underestimating or the fans didn't like him. At Zaccheroni, the striker has a coach with an unshakable belief in his abilities and he will soon reciprocate the Italian's trust with the best performances of his career so far.
Back in Serie A, Bierhoff is different from the crappy striker last time, with the German's sense of position improved and his athleticism improved, helping the team to 9th in the league. He scored 17 goals during the season, including a famous close-range win against Lippi's Juventus. And then, there are more wonderful things.
With Euro '96 approaching, German boss Ferguts was still unsure who to call for as Klinsmann's strike partner, so Germany gave Bierhoff a chance in a series of pre-match friendlies. He scored twice against Denmark to win himself a spot on a flight to England.
In the first group match between Germany and the Czech Republic, Bierhoff came off the bench and although he led the way in the next game against Russia, he was not impressed by the 3-0 win, which many thought would be his last appearance in this cup.
In the next three matches, Bierhoff watched from the sidelines, and with Summer's excellent defense and Klinsmann's forward lethality, germany struggled to advance to the final. Germany's opponent in the first match of the group stage, Germany in the final against the Czech Republic, Bierkhov continued to sit on the sidelines and waited in the shadows, and in the 59th minute of the game, Czech Patrick Borg used a penalty to break the deadlock on the field, and the Czech Republic led 1-0.
The German was desperate and Vogts replaced Bierhoff in the 69th minute. In the world of football, nothing creates a legend more than the final of a major international event. Within half an hour, Oliver Bierhoff completed his transformation from an obscure national team player to a national icon.
Less than four minutes into the field, Ziggy's free-kick found Bierhoff, whose powerful header bounced off the lawn and into the goal guarded by Kuba, his first touch. Germany's momentum then grew stronger, with the previously unpopular substitute coming across as he scored a decisive goal in the 5th minute of extra time. The moment couldn't have been sweeter for Bierhoff, who was thrown to the ground by his teammates while celebrating in front of the German fans. The man who almost got ridiculed and retired early is now king.
Although he is nearly thirty years old, the European Championships of '96 were only the beginning of his peak, and Bierhoff is determined not to become a one-on-one final hero. Over the next six years, he scored 37 goals in 70 national team games, represented Germany in two World Cups, and became captain after Klinsmann retired – a great fit for a player who hadn't made a single national team appearance at the age of 27.
In Serie A, Udinese has also become increasingly powerful, with Zacheroni's 3-4-3 formation allowing Bierhoff to lead the devastating attacking big three of himself, Paulo Poggi and Marcio Amorosso. The three complemented perfectly, and Amoroso's speed, creativity, and all-round talent were reinforced by Poggy's tirelessness and Bierhoff's predatory nature. Over the next two seasons, the trio scored a total of 80 goals, while Udinese finished fifth in the league.
By 1997/98, Bierhoff was a world-class target player, a ferocious workhorse reminiscent of the england striker's outstanding performances: tough, with a keen sense of position and an atomic bomb head. The 27 Serie A goals also helped him beat people like Ronaldo, Inzaghi and Piero to become the Golden Boot winner of the season.
Despite his privileged upbringing, Bierhoff's story is a story of triumph over adversity, and football itself is a sport that deals with adversity and setbacks. When his career was in a dangerous downward trajectory, he spent more than half of his twenties turning the tide and becoming a national hero and a Legend of Serie A. Lacking the talent of his predecessors such as Gad Müller or Waller, Bierhoff overcame his limitations with his wit and perseverance, and his efficient and diligent style can be reflected in his many successors, such as Klose and Gomez.