It remains to this day the most memorable press conference in Bundesliga history. Everyone says so. Especially those who were there — and some of whom, even years later, still can't believe it. Munich, 10 March 1998. When Bayern coach Giovanni Trapattoni, in a red training top, stepped up to the lectern in the press room two days after a 0-1 defeat at Schalke, nobody suspected a thing.
No wonder. The Italian began his monologue — which would enter German football history and everyday language — quite calmly and composedly.
"Es gibt im Moment in diese Mannschaft, oh, einige Spieler vergessen Ihnen Profi, was sie sind! Iss klar, diese Worte, ist möglich verstehen, was ich sage gesagt? Ein Trainer ist nicht ein Idiot! Ein Trainer zeigen, sehe, was passieren in Platz! In diese Spiel, es waren zwei oder drei Spieler, die waren schwach wie eine Flasche leer."
Translation: "There are at the moment in this team, oh, some players forget they are professionals! Is clear, these words, is possible to understand what I have said? A coach is not an idiot! A coach sees what happens on the pitch! In this game, there were two or three players who were weak like a bottle empty."
For those who don't speak the Italo-German mix: Basler, Scholl and Strunz simply couldn't be bothered! "These players," lamented Trap, "complain more than they play." True: when it came to personal demands, this trio was always at the very front of the queue. One player in particular drove the Italian to distraction: Thomas Strunz. "Strunz ist zwei Jahre hier, hat gespielt zehn Spiele, ist immer verletzt. Was erlauben Strunz?" ("Strunz has been here two years, has played ten games, is always injured. What allow Strunz?")
It became a catchphrase, as would later become clear... Trapattoni had had enough: "Ich bin müde jetzt Vater diese Spieler, eh verteidige immer diese Spieler." ("I am tired now father of these players, always defending these players.") In plain German: he was dropping them, and probably rightly so. "Ich habe immer die Schulde über diese Spieler, einer ist Mario, andere ist Mehmet. Strunz hat nur gespielt 25 Prozent diese Spiel." ("I always take the blame for these players, one is Mario, other is Mehmet. Strunz has only played 25 per cent of this game.")
And he closed with: "Ich habe fertig." ("I have finished.") — another phrase that entered everyday German. At season's end, Trapattoni was indeed finished. At least he departed over the Alps with the DFB-Pokal. The 2-1 winning goal in the final against Duisburg was scored, incidentally, by Mario Basler...
