Katsche - Kaiserai??i??s Bodyguard : Bayern Munich's Unsung Hero

Rewind the memories to the days of Bayern Munichai??i??s phantasmagoria. Three consecutive then European Championships Cup (Champions League), six Bundesliga trophies in the decade and many more. Who were the architects of that memorabilia? Without much difficulty one can easily remember the leader in Franz Beckenbauer, the Bomber – Gerd MA?ller, the midfield maestros Paul Breitner and Uli Hoeness and the attacker Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and there is no way one can forget about the custodian, Sepp Meier.

Amidst all these coruscating jewels in Bayernai??i??s crown, just as it happened in the 60ai??i??s and 70ai??i??s, to this day one name keeps escaping all the ignited minds. One footballer, an able accomplice to Beckenbauer, who was nicknamed as the ai???Kaiserai??i??s Bodyguardai??i?? for his role in the team, has always given media and mass a miss. Ladies and gentleman, lets raise a toast for the unsung hero of his generation ai??i?? Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck aka Katsche.

One of the rare breeds, a one-club-footballer, Katsche will always remain an ideal idol for the modern day footballers. At the age of 12, KatscheAi??joined an amateur local club Sportfreunde MA?nchen in Sabenerstrasse in Munich but was soon picked up by the Bayern youth scout. Financial situation for professional footballers had not yet seen itai??i??s heydays. As a result of which KatscheAi??took to apprenticeship as a typographer. Soon a time came when he had to choose between football and typography and the rest is history.

KatscheAi??was soon called up to represent the youth national team. This first outing in national colors, however, inspired a smattering hope for the future, for he was to blame for a penalty and was also the culprit behind an own goal. But the fighter in him stood firm and turned the tide on his own when Bayernai??i??s then manager Tchik Cajkovski came calling the 18-year old rookie to represent the senior team, in 1966.

In his first two seasons, the rough and tough defender was made to play in the left-back position. In his very second season, he played

(c)Schwarzenbeck_Planet_Wissen(dot)de — Schwarzenbeck – The Iron Foot

an important role for the squad to lift the German Cup and European Cup Winnerai??i??s Cup, though he was ruled out of both the finals. Branko Zebec, who succeeded Cajkovski as the head coach, soon realized the virtuosity of this no-nonsense defender and played him alongside the Kaiser as his centre-half partner. That was the beginning of a centre-half partnership that lasted for 11 straight seasons before the Kaiser set off to play for New York Cosmos.

The physically imposing Iron Foot was poles asunder to his coeval defensive partner, Beckenbauer, when it comes to playing style. While the latter was technically unmatched, the cleanest tackler around and was the harbinger in making Libero an incarnation rather than a mere football jargon, the former was no simulacrum as man-marker and ball-winner, sitting deep to cover his partner and to intercept and dislodge any attack approaching the Bayern or German goal. Carving an alcove in an era of the legendary Kaiser is no partie de plaisir but one must not forget that in every generation of football, for every John Terry there exists a Ricardo Carvalho.

No matter how different their playing styles were, they complemented each other well at the club level as well as on the international front. Their partnership became the rudiments fruit vert for the team as one kept hogging the arc lights with his flamboyance in ball-playing duty as well as that of a leader, the other one kept doing the dirty clean-up work effortlessly, earning him the nicknames ‘Water Carrier’ and ‘Cleaner of the Emperor’. And even though the Kaiser adumbrated his less-touted defensive partner, as the fleet-footed tackler led his club and country to its footballing summit, Katsche was humility personified,

“Franz reminds me of my old teacher in the printing office. He handled printing ink all day long but still his hands always were clean. I, however, only had to look at the printing machine and I already would get dirty!”

Katscheai??i??s moment to eternity came in the season of ai??i??74, a season where the centre-half scored seven goals in all competitions. The goal tally of a defender does become important if they come at crucial junctures, helping his club define history. Flashback again, to 15th May, 1974. It was the final of the European Champions Cup, against Atletico Madrid. The Bundesliga champions found it difficult to break down a resolute Spanish defense and the result was a goal-less stalemate in normal time.

The extra time became folklore. Six minutes to time and KatscheAi??committed a tactical foul outside the box. The resultant free-kick taken by Luis Aragones might have shot through the hearts of the Bayern players and fans alike. But all was not over yet. KatscheAi??paid in full for his macabre mistake in the proverbial nick of time, when he nailed a howitzer from 25 yards out, earning his side a lifeline to replay the final in two daysai??i?? time in Brussels. KatscheAi??remained humble in hisAi??soliloquy, ai???I wish MA?ller had scored that goal!ai??? Bayern thumped Atletico 4-0 to win their first ever Champions League trophy in the replay. That was the beginning, a feat Bayern repeated twice over. To many fans, had that Goal not gone in, Bayern’s European history may have remained much less attractive than what it is today.

Katscheai??i??s role was never likely to earn him stardom, but the stalwart always managed to put his team over personal achievements. By the time he decided to hang his boots in ai??i??81 due to the chronic injuries, at the age of 32, he won anything and everything a German footballer could win. A European Championship medal in ai??i??72, a World Cup in ai??i??74, three European Championsai??i?? Cup, an Intercontinental Cup in ai??i??76, six Bundesliga trophies (ai??i??69, ai??i??72, ai???73ai??i??, ai??i??74, ai??i??80, ’81), three German Cups ( ai??i??67, ai???69ai??i?? and ai??i??71) and one European Cup Winnersai??i?? Cup in ai??i??67. KatscheAi??has represented Germany in two World Cups ( ai??i??74 and ai??i??78) and in two Euro Championships ( ai??i??72 and ai??i??76 ), 44 international appearances between ai??i??71 and ai??i??78 apart from representing Bayern in 416 games in the Bundesliga between ai??i??66 and ai??i??81.

Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck — Katsche in his recluse

After retiring from the game, KatscheAi??kept living a simple life, running a stationary shop inherited from his aunts, located in the Munich suburb – Au OhlmA?llerstrasse. On the occasion of his 60th birthday, in an interview he opened himself up to the fans and explained why he refused to take any managerial job to stay in touch with his club.

“I do not like hype, 60 is a number like any other. I will as always be in the store and enjoy the evening relaxing with the family.”

Katsche turned his back towards any kind of media hype throughout his career. He kept a low profile even after retiring from the game, living in quietude redolent of the quiet approach with which he stealthily approached the Atletico penalty box on a certain 15th of May. Noted author Wolf Wondratschek dedicated a missive to Schwarzenbeck.

Two legs, with no interest in genius,
simplified mechanism, not Brazilian,
no star reaches, no cheering in the ankles,
leg, kicking leg, not for the connoisseur,
and yet one whose people
saw him play, remember.

A large thorn that pierced and held tight,
which the assailants had drowned, trampled the fire,
they were ready to ignite.
no way, I work, I’m from the suburbs,
I was born for the simple.
Not even winning it at the end that counts.

Jurisdiction for all artistic!
No dribbling, no never before seen trick
Instead, air for ninety minutes
and necessary for the extension, if the tortured colleagues cramp.
Strange yet true, this story is
like an empty square in a box of chocolates.

Katsche – Kaiserai??i??s Bodyguard : Bayern Munich’s Unsung Hero

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