If we were being mean, we might claim we got the reflections on the following historic events from well-informed old-timers. But anyone who meets Lothar Huber can only marvel at the physical and mental vitality of the now 74-year-old BVB legend. And so his memories of HSV’s legendary visit in January 1977 come pouring out of him. No wonder, since with an own goal, an assist and a goal of his own, he was one of the main protagonists in this memorable match. “It was one of those games where you could feel that something could happen at any moment, and of course the people loved that.”
From 1974 to 1986, the right-back earned cult status around the old Westfalenstadion in the black-and-yellow shirt. With 372 competitive appearances for Borussia Dortmund, he is still listed in the BVB top ten records today. He won promotion with BVB from the second division to the Bundesliga, led our Borussia onto the pitch there for several years as captain, and was the very definition of reliability.
What was extraordinary, too, was that throughout his entire career as a defender, he was never sent off even once. Between 1974 and 1979, he played in 177 consecutive matches for BVB – an exceptional run for an outfield player, one that would be almost unimaginable today in times of rotation and periodization. It was during this spell that the unforgettable match against the Rothosen took place, a game that still marks a unique record in Bundesliga history.
We are talking about the opening match of the second half of the 1976/77 season. As a promoted side, Borussia Dortmund had already made a statement on the opening day of the campaign with a 4–3 win away to reigning runners-up Hamburger SV in their Bundesliga return. Then came the return fixture in Dortmund on 15 January 1977. “Compared to today’s carpets, we were basically playing HSV on a plowed field back then, and yet it still turned into such an outstanding game,” Huber enthuses in retrospect. “Otto Rehhagel never really focused much on other teams. He always told us: We’re good, and we can beat anyone, even as a promoted side. And that’s exactly what we tried to put into practice.”
But in the ninth minute it is initially the outstanding Hamburg man Manfred “Manni” Kaltz who sets up the visitors’ opener with a cross from the right for Willi Reimann. “Our style of play back then was always euphorically attack-minded, which is why we kept conceding goals on the counter too,” says Huber. The 42,000 spectators in the not sold-out Westfalenstadion then witness six insane minutes: first Manni Burgsmüller does what he always did – he’s sly as ever. When HSV keeper Kovacic parries a header from Lippens in the 20th minute, Burgsmüller is there to pounce on the rebound for 1–1. “Manni just had that instinct for situations like that.” The cheers have barely died down when BVB are behind again. Once more, there is no remedy against one of Manni Kaltz’s legendary banana crosses. This time Steffenhagen benefits with a header. “I was already pretty furious and asked the lads how on earth he could be standing there completely unmarked.” But practically straight from the restart, Peter Geyer converts a corner directly to make it 2–2 for our Black & Yellows.
Less than a minute later, Lothar Huber scores a truly spectacular own goal. Volkert gets the ball on the penalty spot and squares it to Bertl, but then Lothar Huber comes charging in from behind, gets to the ball ahead of Bertl, tries to clear it for a corner – and smashes it hard past the bewildered Horst Bertram into the near corner. “Wonderful goal! I was completely surprised myself, but there was nothing to be done about it. Unfortunately, it really looked stupid, and after the game I had to listen to quite a few jokes.” That made it 2–3 going into the dressing rooms. But there was no sign of a bad mood. “We were also lucky to have the stadium that had been built for the 1974 World Cup. That was a real trump card and gave us extra motivation. We had an incredibly strong-character team, great camaraderie and a coach who always let us go full throttle.”
In the 56th minute, Huber lofts a free-kick from the right high into the penalty area. After an aerial duel, who does the ball drop to in the six-yard box? Exactly – Manni Burgsmüller bundles in the rebound for 3–3. The stadium is still announcing and celebrating the latest equalizer when once again Manni Kaltz has all the time in the world on the right wing to cross, and in the middle Bertl converts a headed layoff for 3–4. Who knows how many international caps Lothar Huber might have earned in his outstanding career as a right-back if Kaltz hadn’t been around. As it was, Huber only made a few appearances for the German Olympic team. The two of them also rank among the most reliable penalty takers in Bundesliga history. Kaltz converted 53 of his 60 (!) Bundesliga penalties. Lothar Huber, for his part, scored 32 of 39 for Borussia Dortmund in the first and second divisions. One of them came in this crazy game against Hamburg.
“After the game, we were full of emotion and proud of that performance against such a strong opponent.” – Lothar HuberIn the 85th minute, BVB are awarded a penalty after Kovacic fouls Meyer. Huge pressure just before the end of the game. “I didn’t have any fixed routine. I always picked a corner at short notice when I had the ball in my hands, and then I shot there with total conviction.” No run-up with hops, pirouettes or changes of pace – just full blast. This time low to the right. Unstoppable. “Most of the time it worked. I missed one or two as well, but in that game it mattered especially to me because I had scored that own goal and I didn’t want to be standing there as the loser in the end.”
What nobody realized back then, and what only very few people know even today: in this game, BVB set a Bundesliga record that still stands – never before, and never since, has a team come back from behind four times in a single match! Unique across what are now 19,220 matches! Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga’s moral champions! “We weren’t really aware of that at the time. And in the end, we almost even topped it all off and won.” In the final minute, Erwin Kostedde heads the ball against the inside of the post, from where it rebounds onto the arm of the astonished Kovacic standing on the line and back into play rather than into the net for 5–4. But even so, it was a game for the ages. “After the game, we were full of emotion and proud of that performance against such a strong opponent.”
2003: From 0–2 to 3–2 – Koller turns the game aroundFour months later, HSV win a European trophy. Memories of this match return 26 years later – on Matchday 11 of the 2003/04 season. However, the circumstances have changed by then. This time BVB, German champions in 2002, are clear favorites in fourth place against Hamburger SV, who have only nine points after ten matchdays. Our Borussia’s left-back at the time: Niclas Jensen, who had joined the Black & Yellows from Manchester City at the start of the season. The now 52-year-old Dane also looks back: “Psychologically, the situation was clear. A team like BVB has to win every home game at Signal Iduna Park. Whether it’s Bayern, Leverkusen, HSV or Bochum, it doesn’t matter. In your head it’s simple: you have to win at home, every single time.”
But: BVB never really get into the game at all and once again have to prove themselves comeback kings – this time in a very different way. At the break, Matthias Sammer’s team trail 0–1 after a dreadful and completely uninspired first-half display, and deservedly so. Jensen: “Of course he was angry and raised his voice. But he was immediately analytical too: What’s the problem? Do we maybe need to switch things around? And play more down the wings?”
After an hour, Romeo makes it 0–2 against a BVB side that seems to have no answers at all that day, effectively pulling the plug on the game. Sammer looks like he urgently needs to breathe into a paper bag. “Mentally, it was a brutal blow. At first it was really hard even to convince yourself that we could still win this today.” So they urgently needed a spark – and quickly. It is Niclas Jensen himself who provides it just three minutes later with a cross for Jan Koller. “His headers, even with his back to goal – that’s world-class.” Koller’s 1–2 breathes life back into the game. “That turns everything around in your head again. Then you say: Okay, now we’re still going to win this. That’s why football fascinates everyone everywhere. Because it can swing in any direction so quickly.”
“What sudden euphoria can do!” – Niclas Jensen
Just three more minutes later, Ujfalusi fouls Fernandez – penalty, and Koller grabs the ball. “It’s important for a striker to score goals and gain confidence. Whether it comes from open play or from the penalty spot doesn’t matter.” Koller converts, and by the time it’s 2–2, the stadium, which had previously been more grumbling than roaring, is fully awake. Lars Ricken hasn’t done much right in this game so far. But three minutes after the equalizer, he brilliantly sets up Ewerthon. The Brazilian completes the turnaround with the 3–2. “The atmosphere in the stadium exploded.” In the end, Borussia Dortmund win 3–2 in a game where, after 60 minutes, you could have bet a kilo-heavy lump of osmium on the opposite outcome. “What sudden euphoria can do! Of course, it was still only three points. Whether you turn around a game like that or beat Bochum 1–0, it’s still three points – but psychologically, it was a huge boost.”
2026: Super-subs Bensebaini and Guirassy make the differenceAlmost 23 years later, on Matchday 27 of the 2025/26 season – and therefore still fresh in everyone’s mind – comes the next explosion against Hamburger SV. This time the Hanseatic club arrive at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK as a promoted side. For eight years, during which the former Bundesliga dinosaur had turned into a second-division dinosaur, we had had to do without visits from the Hamburg side. Our Black & Yellows wear the special “100 Years of Rote Erde” shirts for the first time – and at first everything goes wrong. After 38 minutes, it’s 0–2, and just before half-time, to make matters worse, Felix Nmecha also misses a penalty awarded for a foul.
Niko Kovac makes two changes at the break, bringing on Ramy Bensebaini and Serhou Guirassy. BVB play a magnificent second half and barely let HSV breathe anymore. And yet, with 20 minutes left, it is still 0–2. Then, within just eleven minutes, it becomes 3–2 – and it is indeed the two half-time substitutes, Ramy Bensebaini and Serhou Guirassy, who score. Bensebaini’s two ice-cold penalties mark a first: never before had our Borussia been awarded three penalties in a Bundesliga game! In the end, the shot count reads 24:4, with an expected goals value of 6.00 – the highest since this data began to be recorded!
“We gave everything and never gave up.” – Waldemar Anton
The high-energy display in the second half once again unleashed that incredible force in the stands that has made our stadium world-famous. “There are games like that where nothing seems to come off for a long time. But then it becomes a question of character,” dictates a very upbeat Waldemar Anton into the journalists’ notebooks after the final whistle. “The character was there. The mentality was there. We gave everything and never gave up. In this stadium, with these fans behind you, you have to believe until the very last second, because there is an aura in this stadium that the opponent feels. And then you can still turn games like that around.”
Comebacks are no coincidenceLothar Huber, Niclas Jensen and Waldemar Anton have shared their memories of unforgettable matches with us, showing that comebacks are no coincidence, but an expression of mentality and attitude. Some games stay in the memory not just because of the result, but because they explain what a club stands for. And anyone who has lived through stories like these knows: an early goal conceded in the most beautiful stadium in the world is sometimes less of a problem – than the beginning of something unforgettable.Author: Rudi Schaarschmidt Photos: imago, firo, Deckers
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
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