447 Bundesliga matches, 213 goals - figures that count for themselves. The lad was simply successful: Manni Burgsmüller. He was a legend at Essen's Hafenstraße, in Dortmund's Westfalenstadion and in Bremen's Weserstadion for more than two decades, although he managed just three caps for Germany.
40 euros a month
In 1969, 19 year-old Manni Bürgsmüller burst on to the scene for Rot-Weiss Essen. "I enjoyed some very useful years there. I signed my first professional contract at the end of the 60's. I can say now that I received something like 40 euros a month. I was so proud of that! So I signed my contract and was part of Essen's Bundesliga squad", Burgsmüller remembers.
Dortmund record goal-scorer
He then left Essen to join local rivals Borussia Dortmund. Between 1977 and 1983 he was a prolific scorer for Borussia, netting an amazing 135 goals. It's a club record that still stands today. "Nowadays you have a situation where players don't stay with a club for a long period of time. I played seven seasons for Borussia Dortmund, and I scored a lot of goals. That's a record for all time. I don't think anyone will play so long for the club and shoot so many goals", the striker says.
Bundesliga comeback with 36
Aged over 30, Bürgsmüller left Dortmund to play in the 2. Bundesliga. But he kept on scoring, attracting the attention of then-Werder Bremen head coach Otto Rehhagel. Aged 36, Manni Bürgsmüller was back in the Bundesliga! "Oberhausen were playing against Wattenscheid. I think we won, and I scored two goals. Otto Rehhagel was in the stadium. He told me later he was in disguise and was in the main stand with the fans. He saw me play a great game, and called me the next day. He asked me if I was interested in playing for Werder Bremen. So I played five seasons for them, and we won the Bundesliga!"
Sole title aged 39
Bürgsmüller's sole German title came in 1988 at the tender age of 39! Naturally the striker was over the moon about that achievement, and was always on hand to help out his younger team-mates on match day. Despite a career in which he netted 213 Bundesliga goals, Manni Bürgsmüller was never top scorer in any season.
"Not any one can say that!"
"It does irritate me that I was never the league's top scorer. I came close two or three times. But my 213 goals made me the Bundesliga's fourth all-time goal scorer. Not any one can say that! If a young kid were to ask me: 'you played in the Bundesliga?', I could reply: 'look in the stat books'. But I'd never do that. Maybe the kids father would say 'look in the book! That's him!' It would make me proud. Nobody will do what I did." After retiring, Bürgsmüller went on to play in the NFL Europe, eventually hanging up his boots aged 52!
by www.bundesliga.de
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