Of the people

German football died in the year 2000. Correctional measures since then have led to its rebirth, even as the authorities ensured that the great game remained with its custodian —the German fan

- ANTONY JOHN/Dusseldorf, Dortmund & Cologne

I first met the German football legend Lothar Matthäus last December. I had seen him before that. On television, in 1986, when Diego Maradona conjured up unforgettable goals and assists at the World Cup in Mexico. Matthäus was part of the West German team which had stalwarts such as Rudi Völler and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Yet, he was the one who scored against Morocco in the pre-quarters. And, in the final against Maradona’s Argentina at the Azteca, coach Franz Beckenbauer entrusted him with the task of reining in the man who stood between them and the cup. He stopped Maradona from scoring, but could not stop the winning pass from the great man as his team went down 2-3.

Two years later, Matthäus, veteran of two World Cups by then, led West Germany to the Euro Championship semi-finals. He became a World Cup-winning captain in Italy 1990. East and West Germanys became one the same year, and Matthäus played two more World Cups for unified Germany. He was the first recipient of the FIFA World Player of the Year award, in 1990, and remains the only German to have won it. Moreover, his participation in five World Cups is a record he shares with Mexico’s Antonio Carbajal and Rafael Márquez.