"The game of my life"
Mon | 30/03/20 | 13:15
Turin 2009: Butt becomes the first FCB goalkeeper to score in regular time
Even though he was a goalkeeper, fans don't just think of great saves when they think of Jörg Butt (illustration by Sarah Matuszewski). The now 45-year-old kept goal for Bayern for a total of 91 matches between 2008 and 2012, and kept 30 clean sheets in the process. But, remarkably, he also scored a goal himself - a really important one at that, thus becoming the first FCB goalkeeper to score a goal (excluding penalties). In an interview with FC Bayern Magazine 51, the 2010 double winner looks back on the Champions League group match against Juventus on 8 December 2009.
Jörg Butt's "game of my life"
"As a goalkeeper, my performance in goal was always the most important thing to me. But in this game I was able to also help my team at the other end of the pitch. We were only fourth in the Bundesliga, our coach Louis van Gaal was under a lot of pressure and in the last group match of the Champions League we travelled to face Juventus. We had to win at all costs if we were to reach the last 16."
A team with character
Cohesion was a great strength of this FCB side. Even though things did not always go well in the 2009/10 season, the team stuck together and achieved great success at the end.
"But we fell behind early on, courtesy of a David Trezeguet goal. It was in this situation - and later in the season, for example in Florence or Manchester - that the team showed its character. We had this uncanny willpower. When the referee blew for a penalty kick, Bastian Schweinsteiger gave me a signal - and I just ran forward."
Keeper Butt equalises
Full concentration and buried. Jörg Butt left Gigi Buffon without a chance and converted to make it 1-1.
"At my previous clubs, I had already taken on responsibilities when no one else felt confident enough. When I stood over the ball, I didn't know which way I was going to go. I went based on the reaction of the goalkeeper. Gigi Buffon dived right and I went the other way.1-1. Ivica Olic then took the lead after the break. And at that point we were in control."
Win against Juve the turning point
A successful season: On 9 May 2010, Jörg Butt celebrated the league title with FC Bayern fans at Munich's Marienplatz. One week later, the side also won the DFB Cup. In the Champions League, Bayern missed out on a famous treble after losing against Inter Milan in the final.
"In the end, we won 4-1 and the tension was released - on the pitch, but also off the pitch, we resolved a lot of tension between the team and the coach. At the end of the season we won the double, reached the Champions League final and I even went to the World Cup. The starting point of this very successful period was in Turin."
Roy Makaay remembers a special game against his fellow countrymen in the "Game of my life" series:
Topics of this article