Schmadtke Goalkeeper-Striker Game

Jorg Schmadtke officially begins his three-month stint as sporting director at Liverpool on June 1, months after announcing his ‘retirement’. The 59-year-old arrives on Merseyside with experience in official roles at Alemannia Aachen, Hannover 96 and Wolfsburg, but he is also known in Germany from his playing days. A goalkeeper by trade, Schmadtke played 419 times during spells at Fortuna Dusseldorf, Freiburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach. Known for his eccentricity and his skill with the ball at his feet, he was even given a chance to play outfield in a wild clash between Freiburg and Dortmund in 1996. With Dortmund on course for the Bundesliga title and Freiburg staving off relegation, both managers made interesting decisions with their squads. Dortmund were a goal up midway through the second half when Freiburg manager Volker Finke made two changes, including goalkeeper Stefan Beneking coming on for centre-back Maximilian Heidenreich. This saw Schmadtke, then 32, move from his role between the sticks to join the attack. In a makeshift outfield shirt, with tape covering the name and number to only show his No. 1, Schmadtake joined Paschalis Seretis in attack with 16 minutes left to play. Four goals were scored in the space of eight frantic minutes – including one from Dortmund’s Karl-Heinz Riedle – with Schmadtke laying on an assist as Seretis made it 3-2 late on. Immediately after, Dortmund manager Ottmar Hitzfeld made a shock change of his own, sending on goalkeeper coach Toni Schumacher, who briefly came out of retirement at 42. With the fates of both sides sealed, it was a bizarre end-of-season clash at the Westfalenstadion, which also saw a young Patrik Berger come off the bench for the hosts. It was not the first time in Schmadtke’s career that he had assisted a goal – his other coming in a draw with Gladbach in 1993 – but it was the most memorable.