Bundesliga champion. Club and international level European champions. World Cup hero. Jürgen Kohler is called the "God of Football" for a reason. The fearless German defender has played for Bayern Munich, Cologne and Juventus, but in Dortmund, he is most missed.

Kohler was born in Ramsheim, about 300 kilometers south of where he ended his legendary career in 2002. But after leaving the local team to join Mannheim Waldhof, the central defender started the game 20 minutes away from home.

Today, as a third-rate team, Waldhof became a Bundesliga club in 1983-the second year after Kohler joined the Bundesliga. The teenager made his debut in the league in April 1984, which was a very helpful experience for him.

"In our 2-0 win, I played a two-minute cameo against Kaiserslautern," he once explained to bundlesliga.com. "No less than [72 times German international] Hans-Peter Briegel gave me the impression that I learned a lifelong lesson."

Kohler learned quickly. In the last five games of that season, he started four games. During his career, he played 95 times for Waldhof and 398 times in the Bundesliga.

It didn't take long for his performance to pay off. Kohler played for West Germany for the first time in a 2-0 victory over Denmark in September 1986.

After four seasons as a first-team player, the defender with a unique moustache moved north to Cologne in July 1987 for three hours. Prior to their new signing, they ranked tenth this season, and the two-time Bundesliga champions ranked third in the league and then second. Kohler spent two years there.

During that time, he learned another painful lesson. In the semi-finals of the European Championships in 1988, West Germany led the Dutch team 1-0. The 6-foot-1 goalkeeper mistakenly tackled Marco Van Basten with 16 minutes left in the game and won Penalty kick. In the 89th minute, the Dutch striker scored at half a yard from Kohler.

The Netherlands won that game, but the German got revenge by beating the same opponent in the last 16 games of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Kohler was brought to the team in that game in Milan, and-after restraining Van Basten-the accomplished man started the game in every game thereafter. His team defeated Diego Maradona's Argentina team in the final.

The encounter that summer was just one of several epic battles between Kohler and former World Player of the Year Van Basten, which was also played in Italy, and later they faced each other while playing for Juventus and AC Milan.

"In a way, Van Basten is the foundation of my successful career," Kohler told the German Football Association website in 2004. "In 1988 I realized that I still had a lot to learn. Two years later in Milan, the door to the top clubs in Europe opened to me."

After transferring to the club in 1989 and winning the Bundesliga in his first year there, Kohler participated in the World Cup as a Bayern Munich player.

However, Bayern was cancelled the German championship in the following season. Kohler scored 6 goals in 55 league games and entered the last four European Cups for the second year in a row. He decided to move on.

In the summer of 1991, Italian club football entered a golden age, and Kohler did the same at Juventus. His star-studded team-captained by Roberto Baggio, future Dortmund player Andreas Möller also started-defeated Dortmund to win Europe 1992/93 UEFA Cup final.

Two years later, the UEFA Cup semi-final between the two sides was closer. However, in the first round, Kohler encountered a cross at the back post and used his weaker left foot to equalize the score in the 88th minute to equalize the soon-to-be club teammate Stefan Kloss.

Juventus lost to Parma in the deciding game, but they won the league and cup double titles in Italy that season. This will be Kohler's last game in Serie A. He moved to Dortmund-the latter just won their first Bundesliga title in the 1994/95 season.

Mueller, the attacking midfielder who made the same move a year ago, described in 2021 what it's like to play with this tough but fair defender.

"If you have someone like Jurgen Kohler on your team, you always enter the game with a very good feeling," he told bundlesliga.com. "He is as strong as a rock."

When he returned to Germany, Kohler was close to his 30th birthday, but he was not in danger of ending his career. Not with his mentality.

"If you are satisfied with second place, you will eventually lose the game," he told bundlesliga.com after he retired. "I became so motivated that I said that I must always be number one and win every training session."

"He is always the first to speak in the dressing room," former Dortmund coach Otmar Hitsfeld explained in 2021. "He exudes confidence."

Fortunately for Kohler, many of his new teammates have a similar mentality. With 5 games left in the 1995/96 season, 1 point behind Bayern, the defending champion won the championship by 6 points. Kohler scored his first goal against Uhldingen-one of five of 29 league appearances that season-on the day Heathfield's team took the lead.

That summer, he also became the European champion with the German team. Started in every game and defeated Denmark as runners-up at the European Championship in 1992. Kohler led the national team in the first game of the European Championship against the Czech Republic in 1996. His game ended due to injury only 14 minutes later, but the German team came to lift the trophy.

An active and energetic central defender will achieve greater success. Kohler is known for his bravery and timely sliding challenges, he can sense when the opposing team is vulnerable to counterattacks, and-after winning possession-he often rushes into the opposing half with the ball. He is also an aerial threat, scoring 18 goals and 13 assists in 250 games in Dortmund.

The day he became "Fussballgott"

However, Kohler is best known for his serious and never give up defense. Italian goalkeeper Angelo Peruzi recalled that he was in awe of how his Juventus teammates "eaten" opponents.

"He is friendly and polite, even though he doesn't know friends on the court," Hitzfeld said many years later.

Kohler did not seem to lose any reason, a special intervention has become a legend. It happened at Old Trafford, when Dortmund played against Manchester United in England, in the second leg of the 1996/97 UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Kohler missed the first leg and thanks to René Tretschok's goal, Dortmund (BVB) won 1-0. Among the players absent from the return game-Julio Cesar, Stephen Freund, Matthias Summer and Paul Souza-were the key defensive elements of the winning team last season.

Captain Stefan Reuter was also forced off the field due to injury after playing for 24 minutes in Manchester, but according to reports, Kohler was absent from the trip due to a stomach ailment, and he was a surprising starter.

When Lars Ricken grabbed an important away goal eight minutes later, Dortmund made a perfect start, but the away team was then ready for the onslaught. Manchester United has a talented team with David Beckham, Eric Cantona, Andy Cole and Solskjaer, while Giggs and Paul Scholes can serve as substitutes.

The swift reaction of the English champion will allow Dortmund to spend a long night, and in the 17th minute, Alex Ferguson's home team seemed to equalize the score. However, Kohler has other ideas.

After Klose’s touch made Cole a low pass, he lay on the ground and watched Manchester United captain Cantona stretch his body to control the ball behind him. Only four yards away, the iconic French forward seems certain to score. But Kohler-still lying flat on his back-stretched out his left leg to make a spectacular blockade.

This is the latest in the German's long list of brilliant goals and clearances-and one of three games he completed in that game. Despite the tremendous pressure, Dortmund insisted on advancing to the final with a total score of 2-0.

However, what made this performance even more compelling was the story that emerged later. It turns out that Kohler's wife had a miscarriage before the game.

Only Heathfield knew the truth, and with the consent of Kohler's wife, the experienced central defender went to Manchester on the day of the match. Dortmund's No. 15 player remembers-given the circumstances-he "resolved" to go all out.

"That game must have been a nightmare for him," Kohler said of Cantona in the book "50 Legends of German Football: Fußballstars erzählen". "For me, this may be the game of my life-and only slept for a few hours and ate very little."

Of course, after what happened next, this victory became more to be celebrated. With Summer regaining the role of team captain and joining his three-guard, Kohler met his old club Juventus in the final. Dortmund won 3-1 in Munich with Karl-Heinz Riddle's double play and Ricken's unforgettable lob, becoming the European champion for the first time.

Kohler's anticipation, composure and quick response helped BVB make history. He was named the German Footballer of the Year in 1997.

"He didn't back down," Hitzfeld said of him years later. "He is not afraid. He has so much will and ambition. The crowd feels it. The fans feel it."

Inevitably, Dortmund's supporters had accepted Kohler long before they succeeded. For a team in the Ruhr area of ​​Germany-where people are known for their hard work-he is the most suitable candidate.

"Jurgen embodies this," Mueller said when discussing how his teammates complement the people the club represents. "Willing to work. Strong stealing ability. Dedication. Diligence. Enthusiasm. The fans immediately felt this."

The revived Bayern-soon led by Hitzfeld-ensured the end of Dortmund's domestic dominance. But after winning the top three twice, Kohler will win the final title. Although the 2001/02 season was not always the regular season, he still played in 22 league games in the final season of seven seasons with Die Schwarzgelben. With three games left, he won the 89th minute penalty against Cologne, as Dortmund defeated Leverkusen by one point to win the championship.

However, the 36-year-old player's last game of his career ended in a disastrous defeat. In May 2002, he lost to Feyenoord in the UEFA Cup final. After 31 minutes, he conceded a goal and was sent off with a red card. However, this does not spoil the story of one of the most successful football players of his generation.

"A fairy tale, when you see everything he has achieved," Summerer-Dortmund's head coach at that stage-said after the game.

Kohler scored two goals in 105 games for Germany, including three World Cups and three European Championships. People remember him as a loyal team player or, as Hitzfeld described, a person who "always sacrificed himself." He will also be remembered as one of his most determined players.

"Jurgen Kohler may have to work for everything in his football career," said the former Dortmund coach. "Nothing was handed to him."

"When you work hard for yourself, many things are possible, and-if you are willing to do this-you can also learn a lot," Kohler once told bundlesliga.com.

"I think I have proved this very emphatically. Basically, I have been developing, not only as a football player, but as a person. This is where football has helped me a lot."

Kohler often talked about the enthusiasm of the supporters of the city that became his second hometown. In the farewell match at the Westfalen Stadium in Dortmund, when 68,000 fans paid tribute to him, he received proper respect.

"Jurgen Kohler. Forsbogot. I will never forget you!" A banner was read in the crowd that day.

The retired guard couldn't help but burst into tears.

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