20 years Golden Goal: Bierhoff's Monument

As the June 30 1996, changed the lives of Oliver Bierhoff fundamentally. With his golden goal in the European Championship final wrote today Team Manager history and secured Germany the third European title after 1972 and 1980th

Joachim Loew is his team manager Oliver Bierhoff currently prefer to avoid. ". I'll be glad when I do not hear the The Oliver told often enough," the coach said at the beginning of the week - and he grinned broadly. Already goalkeeping coach Andy Köpke had the team in a speech asked whimsically during Euro 2012, but please finally take the title: "I do not have to constantly talk about Germany's last European Championship victory."

Löw and Köpke speak of 30 June 1996 on which Oliver Bierhoff with his golden goal in the European Championship final against the Czech Republic (2: 1) has secured a firm place in German football history. Even today, 20 years later, the last German European title is inevitably linked with the name Bierhoff.

"Having achieved this goal, of course, an honor of which I am proud," the 48-year-old said a few days ago in the EM-quarters of the German national team in Evian, for the umpteenth time he talk about his feelings of that time should. "But," he intended to, "sometime after 20 years it is enough then. It is about time we write a new story."

Bierhoff's rise is closely linked to this goal

But as a story, it will no longer exist after the abolition of the rule in the year of 2004.Bierhoff, hitherto only reserve player, advanced from one to the other second hero."The Golden Goal has changed my life. Only then I have been fully recognized in Germany," he told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", after he had grown up as a footballer in Italy. He was pleased, "I had this good fortune to experience such a crucial moment in the history of football".

He did not "felt the great trust" under German coach Berti Vogts to the final, he recalled. But Vogts brought Bierhoff in the 69th minute for Mehmet Scholl and proved a golden touch. The scorer was like initially the Czech leadership by Patrick Berger (73), before in the 95th minute followed at London's Wembley Stadium the really big moment: a cross from Jurgen Klinsmann landed in the penalty area with Bierhoff, who turned left on its own axis and fired. He had "not thought in life that, goes in the ball."But goalkeeper Petr Kouba let slip the slightly deflected by Kullerball hands - Germany was the third time European champion.

Blackout the goal

He had a "three-minute blackout" after the hit, Bierhoff said later. It was something "incomprehensible". Such incomprehensible that Bierhoff "first time and last time" in his career, the jersey ripped from her body in ecstasy-mode. He had the "getting a bit ridiculous" found in other, yet somehow the "whole ballast ceased and there was pure joy" is. Only the next morning had become him realize "what effect our victory had".

Especially for Bierhoff himself. The angular and header strong striker who played in Italy in Ascoli, Udine at AC Milan and Verona, was now in his home country a large number. According to the 1998 World Cup took Bierhoff (70 matches, 37 goals) in the national team even the captaincy in 2014 he served as team manager for world titles at. But will remain forever a golden goal by 1996 - although Löw the story may not hear.