60 years of the Bundesliga - that means 60 years of influential figures, both on and off the pitch. Faces that are like close friends to every fan. Quotes that have become part of common parlance. In short, enough conversation topics to fill entire evenings with the regulars at the pub and in living rooms. To mark the anniversary, a big quiz was held at the German Football Museum in Dortmund to find out who has the best memory and could also show off their in-depth knowledge of the game.
Effenberg present as an FCB Legend
"The Bundesliga has produced many epic stories and I'm proud to be a part of them," said Stefan Effenberg, who was present on the occasion as an FC Bayern Legend and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. As did Michael Hellstern from the FC Bayern Museum team, who summed up the occasion: "A tricky quiz that covered every decade of Bundesliga history. The focus on odd topics in particular was exciting because even unknown anecdotes came up." The duo, along with FC Bayern fan Martin Kummer and FC Bayern employee Harry Krüger had competed against teams from 20 other (former) Bundesliga clubs, in which equally prominent faces joined in the fun. Among others, Hermann Gerland for VfL Bochum, Stefan Kießling for Leverkusen, Mike Büskens for Schalke 04 and Nils Petersen for SC Freiburg were among the candidates who competed in the familiar "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" format.
The atmosphere was excellent, the questions tricky and the ambience special. The partners DFL and Sky, who broadcast the quiz on 24 August, had joined forces with the German Football Museum to provide a set-up befitting the occasion. The round quiz tables were decorated with exhibits and articles from the past 60 years of the Bundesliga.
Of course, exhibits from the FC Bayern Museum also brought back memories, such as the match ball from the championship finale of the 2000/01 season against HSV. Schalke 04 already believed they were champions and were celebrating at the end of the parallel match, which had finished just a few minutes earlier, when Patrik Andersson clinched the title for FC Bayern with a goal from an indirect free-kick in the last second of the match. "I believed right to the end that we could still do it," said Effenberg, who had laid on the ball for Andersson. "We knew Patrik had the hardest shot out of the team." The Swede's first Bundesliga goal for FC Bayern garnered him a place in the history books for the ages. Moments like this will never be forgotten. The anticipation is huge - for the next 60 years of the Bundesliga.
Photo credit: @fussballmuseum/Stephan Schütze
Bayern have set many a record in 60 years of the Bundesliga. fcbayern.com with an overview:
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