Andreas Brehme has had an eventful soccer career. Bring a variety of new events into your life too, with Slot machines in Uganda. He was the German champion with 1. FC Kaiserslautern when it was promoted, won the Uefa Cup with Inter Milan and then there’s the 1990 World Cup title, which Brehme secured with his penalty kick in the final. Now the 61-year-old has published his autobiography, “Beidfüssig – Von Barmbek bis San Siro. In an interview, the 86-time international talks about Diego Maradona, and why he doesn’t envy today’s professionals and the World Cup.
– Hands on heart Mr. Brehme: Does it also sometimes annoy you to always be asked about the penalty goal in Rome?
Andreas Brehme: No, it still gives me pleasure when I have to talk about it – and that actually happens every day. I’ve played in some important games, but to have scored in a World Cup final is of course something special.
– Have you enjoyed working on the book by being able to look back on your life as a soccer player?
In recent years, more and more fans and journalists have approached me to talk about my career again. The many sports documentaries on the streaming services are proof of an interest in the history of our sport and, of course, in a look behind the scenes. To that end, I also comment on some new developments in soccer, because not everything new is necessarily good for our sport.
-The World Cup ’90 takes up an important chapter in your book. What other moments from your career do you personally look back on with pleasure?
Actually, I had a lot of fun and joy in every station of my career and I still have good contact with all my ex-clubs today.
“The most painful day of my career”
– Are there, conversely, things you regret?
I don’t regret anything, but the relegation from Kaiserslautern to the second league was certainly the most painful day in my career. Fortunately, we were able to make up for that misfortune right away under Otto Rehhagel by winning direct promotion and even becoming champions the following year.
– Do you have any idea what your life would have been like without (professional) soccer?
I wanted to become a professional soccer player from the age of 13. Only my father insisted on a solid education and I did an apprenticeship as a car mechanic. To be honest, I don’t know if I would have become a world champion in that line of work…