The Bayern keeper with an addiction to popularity

All soccer fans of the 1980s have fond memories of Jean-Marie Pfaff. Legendary games and actions have etched the then Belgian international goalkeeper firmly into the collective memory of Bundesliga fans. Even Thomas Gottschalk appreciated his skills. Jean-Marie Pfaff celebrates his 70th birthday today.

Soccer fans never forget someone like Pfaff! When the legendary Belgian keeper joined FC Bayern Munich from SK Beveren in the summer of 1982 for the then record sum of DM 800,000 for a goalkeeper, Jean-Marie Pfaff had already been named "Footballer of the Year" in his home country in 1978. He had also won the title of European Championship runner-up in 1980 with the Belgian national team. When he left Munich after six exciting years, he had won the German championship three times and the DFB Cup twice with Bayern. But all the glory of the trophies was to be far surpassed by the countless stories and anecdotes that the Belgian collected back then like Harry Kane collects goals today.

His start in his very first game in the FC Bayern Munich box is classic Bundesliga history. That day, he scored one of the most curious goals in league history. When the match kicked off, Jean-Marie Pfaff obviously didn't know everything about the man standing on the sidelines in a Werder shirt and making preparations to hand the ball directly into the penalty area. And that's exactly what the player with the sweeping upper arms, Bremen's Uwe Reinders, actually did in the 44th minute on the first matchday at the Weser Stadium.

Because his knee was on strike, Reinders had no other choice

He took a few meters run-up and then threw the leather towards the Bayern goal. Pfaff rushed out of his box in irritation, touched the ball lightly with his fingertips in the five-meter area and deflected the ball into his own goal. The 1:0 for Werder was also the final score on the day. Uwe Reinders was suspiciously praised by Paul Breitner: "Great, Uwe! That was a bomb goal. But you can only score one like that against us!"

Pfaff (r.) is beaten. Wolfgang Grobe (m.) is also unable to prevent the throw-in goal. Rudi Völler thinks it's good.

Reinders took a more pragmatic view at the time, with a smile on his face: "I was severely handicapped by a knee injury. I had to score the goal with my hand." Pfaff was also soon able to take something positive from the spectacular goal: "The goal was positive for me. I was immediately known everywhere. It was repeated ten times on television."

And that was exactly to the Belgian's taste. Jean-Marie Pfaff never missed an opportunity to be in the media these days, no matter how small. Even his neighbor was afraid of the Belgian's urge to present himself. When a photographer once wanted to take a picture of his garden, the good man said: "But it has to be done very quickly. If Pfaff sees us, he'll want to be in the picture straight away!"

How Pfaff outwitted Brehme

In fact, Pfaff's efforts to gain popularity paid off early on. And his family was proud of their famous Bayern goalkeeper. Uncle Camille told the curious German press at the time: "In Belgium, people only call three compatriots by their first names: Baudouin, the king, Fabiola, the queen - and Jean-Marie!" Pfaff himself also enjoyed his fame. He gave every fan his full attention. However, it could happen that he saw people who weren't there. When he honked the horn in his Mercedes 420 SEL and said a friendly hello out of the window, his wife would look at him in amazement: "But Jean-Marie, there was no one out there, was there?"

Of course, the Belgian keeper shone brightest on the pitch. This was also the case in the historic match between FC Kaiserslautern and FC Bayern in the 1983/84 season. With the score at 0-0, Pfaff saved a penalty kick from Andreas Brehme that day. Before taking the penalty, he whispered in the FCK defender's ear: "I'll save it now. You can't win against us with a penalty like that!" Incidentally, Jean-Marie Pfaff had received the final push from his new goalkeeping coach Sepp Maier.

A little side note: The fact that Bayern ended up winning the game 1:0 in Kaiserslautern was due to a colorful curiosity. The always red and white team wore blue and yellow shirts that day. Brazilians on the Betzenberg? The trick worked and Bayern stormed the long-standing fortress! Incidentally, to add to the confusion, Lautern played in green shirts. Which prompted one politically informed spectator to shout at Briegel when he saw him: "Hey, Peter, we don't want to vote for you, we want to see you play!"

When Pfaff was better off keeping quiet

The Belgian keeper was self-confident and funny in the Bayern goal at the time. A real crowd favorite who loved and enjoyed the favor of his fans: "There are many Maiers, but only one Sepp Maier. There are also many priests, but only one Jean-Marie." The Belgian international goalkeeper was simply very popular with the fans, but despite everything, coach Lattek left him on the bench after an injury break. A scandal, as not only the goalkeeper himself thought. The Belgian press in particular was really angry. They had their own reporter reporting directly from Munich on every little detail of the Pfaffs' lives, as Jean-Marie's wife Carmen said at the time: "If a leaf falls from a tree in front of our house, it's in the newspaper in Belgium the next day."

Raimond Aumann now played instead of the Belgian national keeper. And after some initial hesitation, he suddenly really wanted the job, as assistant coach Coordes reported: "The boy ate grass and got ambitious. A while ago, he was still a nobody, someone to whom the most they would say was: Go over to the gym and tidy up a bit!" After a few attempts, however, Pfaff was able to win back the competition with Aumann and regain his place in the box.

The 1985/86 season got off to another unforgettably spectacular start - with Pfaff at the center of it all. In the 34th minute of the first matchday, Bayern professional Helmut Winklhofer overcame his own goalkeeper with a wonderfully curled lob from 35 meters. Only the home club enjoyed the beautiful sunshine that day. Bayer Uerdingen won 1:0 with this "goal of the month", but the last word belonged to Bayern coach Udo Lattek, who took Winklhofer out of the game at half-time, explaining afterwards: "That's our goal scorer now. I wanted to rest him for the next game!" Jean-Marie Pfaff preferred not to say anything that day.

Frank Mill's miss of the century

And another year later, on the first matchday, the Bayern keeper unexpectedly found himself in the spotlight through no fault of his own - because this too is legendary. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund met that day in the Olympic Stadium. New Borussia player Frank Mill had a great game. He managed almost everything. Perhaps that was also the reason why he suddenly got a bit cocky in this match. He ran alone towards the Bayern goal, had already outplayed Pfaff and only had to pull inside and put the leather in the box. But it didn't happen.

Frank Mill remembers: "Suddenly the ball was right between my legs. I could no longer control it properly. Pfaff came storming in again. I had to finish. And that's how this trick shot came about. Instead of putting the ball away, I actually shot it at the near post. Unbelievable. It was the ultimate laughing stock." And the Belgian? He felt sorry for Frank Mill, as he once recounted in Mill's biography: "I saw him standing in front of cameras and journalists and felt a little sympathy at that moment. Soccer is tough sometimes. You can hit your opponent or yourself. The result - and that's the most important thing - is a piece of German sporting history. Great soccer entertainment, a moment for the ages. And nothing to tarnish the fact that Frank has had a wonderful career."

"Boring and full of hackneyed jokes"

Of course, the popularity of Jean-Marie Pfaff was not diminished by all the curious moments in which he was directly and indirectly involved. On the contrary. In 1987, the FC Bayern Munich keeper appeared in the movie "Zärtliche Chaoten" alongside Thomas Gottschalk, Helmut Fischer and Pierre Brice. His role was to catch suitcases full of dynamite and plates flying out of the window. "A gag that is sure to go down well," said Christoph Gottschalk, the star presenter's brother, who found it hard to hide his anticipation.

However, Pfaff wanted to continue to concentrate fully on FC Bayern, because "that's where I earn my money". Probably the right decision, if you read the reviews of the film today: "Sloppily staged 'summer comedy' with talentless actors, boring and full of hackneyed jokes," was the verdict of the "Lexikon des internationalen Films". By the time he left Belgium, Pfaff had already tried his hand at singing. With the record "Denk je vaak aan mij", the Bayern keeper wanted to make a lasting impression on his Belgian fans.

A few years later, he also tried this in Munich. With the smash hit "Jetzt bin ich Bayer", Pfaff conquered the hearts of his red and white supporters and the blue and white festival tents. Want a sample of the smash hit? Here you go: "I was a Belgian and now I'm a Bavarian. I drink beer and eat Leberkäs with eggs. And every Saturday I stand happily in my goal, and no striker can fool Jean-Marie."

In the end, Pfaff loses the goalkeeping war

In his last season, the Leverkusen team teased him in a special way when they came to the away game in Munich in blue shirts - because that was normally the Belgian goalkeeper's standard color. He quickly sent his wife home to fetch him the yellow jersey, because Pfaff didn't like red at all: "As a 13-year-old, I once played in all red and conceded five goals. Since then, I've never worn a red jersey again. Red is blood. Red is traffic lights. Red is simply bad luck." An interesting argument when you consider that his team almost always played in red at the time.

Shortly afterwards, there was a goalkeeping war at FC Bayern. Top dog Jean-Marie Pfaff fought back against his young opponent Raimond Aumann - by any means necessary. After Aumann allegedly said: "You're getting old, Jean-Marie!", the Belgian allegedly punched him. Allegedly because Pfaff, when asked about the accusation, knew how to counter: "If I hit him, the other one will end up in hospital!" In the end, the Belgian still lost. Jean-Marie Pfaff had to leave Bayern after the 1987/88 season. But he refused at first. He didn't think the manner of his departure was right: "You can't get rid of a world-class goalkeeper like Jean-Marie overnight. Everything is destroyed inside. I am a broken man." His wife also reacted sadly at the time: "Pfaff has done his duty. Now he can go."

It was the inglorious end of a keeper at FC Bayern that no soccer fan has forgotten to this day. His constant search and addiction to popularity made him one of the most influential figures of the 1980s. Today, the Belgian celebrates his 70th birthday. All the best and good luck, dear Jean-Marie Pfaff.