On 11 April 1998, Bayern’s Fußballgott proved he’s also an artful dodger. “We had an attack and I ended up out of play. I tried to lift my body up again. And then I thought that the goalkeeper might try to drop the ball in front of himself – and he’s not seen me. So that’s how it happened,” said Carsten Jancker, who Bayern fans lovingly called a ‘football god’, of his legendary goal in the derby 22 years ago.
Jancker picks Meier’s pocket
On Matchday 30 of the 1997/98 Bundesliga campaign, Bayern were up against city rivals TSV 1860 Munich at a sold-out Olympiastadion. It was the 43rd minute with the Reds already 1-0 up and on the attack. 1860 goalkeeper Bernd Meier collected a cross and then looked to pick out a teammate with the ball in his hand. With no one in blue available, he dropped the ball at his feet preparing to kick it long. But Meier hadn’t thought about Jancker, who appeared behind the goalkeeper, pinched the ball from his feet and tapped it into an empty net.
“Derby goals stay with you”
Jancker himself said he’d “just speculated” for his sneaky goal for 2-0. The fact the record champions went on to win the derby 3-1 simply made the goal even sweeter. “Derby goals stay with you,” the former Germany international added.
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