Brych faces record in Frankfurt v Stuttgart match
Top referee Felix Brych will set a record in the Bundesliga this weekend. The 48-year-old will referee his 344th Bundesliga match in total in the clash between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart on Saturday (18:30/Sky), drawing level with record holder Wolfgang Stark.
"I'm proud, of course, because this number also expresses a certain longevity," said Brych in a statement from the German Football Association: "Because we referees can never really win anything, we define ourselves through records like this."
He himself would not have expected "that Wolfgang's record would ever be broken. What he has achieved is just as important as my performance - regardless of whether I end up with a few more games."
Stark, on the other hand, is less surprised. "It was always clear to me that the only person who could break this mark was Felix," said the 54-year-old. However, he is not sad that he will soon be rid of the record for good: "I'm relaxed about it. Many people think that the referees are just competitors. But that's total cheese."
Brych, who has ended his international career, celebrated his Bundesliga premiere on August 28, 2004 in the match between Hertha BSC and 1. FSV Mainz 05. The greatest achievement of his career was "the long time as a professional referee," the two-time World Referee of the Year had previously told the German Press Agency.
Source: www.dpa.com
