I still remember my first day at Eintracht, when I was allowed to train with the professionals for the first time, with the big three Jürgen Grabowski, Bernd Hölzenbein and Bernd Nickel. I just couldn’t believe how incredibly good they were on the ball. During the 5-on-2 warm-up game, I was in the middle for minutes because I just couldn’t get to the ball. Bernd was the friendliest, most sociable of the three adults, a person who always wanted to help others when he wasn’t experiencing frustration. Then he withdrew into himself, became a loner, then didn’t care about anything until he had dealt with the anger.
Bernd was the one who showed me everything at Eintracht as a 17-year-old and explained how things worked in the dressing room. I will never forget him coming to my wedding in my hometown of Dossenheim in 1974. He was a newly crowned world champion and a young professional who was not even 20 years old. Over 800 onlookers came, it was a highlight for the whole of Dossenheim.
You can hardly say anything better about a professional footballer
The first thing that comes to mind is his card deals with Eintracht. He bought tickets at the office for his father, who ran a bus company near Limburg, and his brother Albert, who organized trips for fans. Once they miscalculated; in the 1970s, not all home games were sold out. He stood in front of the main gate of the stadium until an hour before kick-off and tried to get rid of the tickets, but in the end he gave them away. I also remember that he organized over 100 tickets for friends and acquaintances for the explosive derby with the Offenbacher Kickers, when both clubs were facing relegation.
For me, Bernd was one of the very best in Germany in his heyday, on a par with the offensive players from Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach, the dominant teams at the time. He should have fought more for his place in the national team, perhaps made demands, then he would certainly have won significantly more than 40 international matches. But he lacked that last bit of self-confidence. He always doubted himself; when he got stuck dribbling three times in a row during the game, his head went down.
Eintracht icon diedBernd Hölzenbein and a life for the ball
His skills were enormous; Bernd could create a chance or score a goal out of nothing. You can hardly say anything better about a professional footballer. Today Bernd would be described as a “difference player”. He was a rascal who thought of things and did things that no one else would think of. An instinctive footballer. Like Thomas Müller today or Manni Burgsmüller back then. He was a sneaker who always managed to get behind the defenders, I was able to experience that myself many times in training.
The “most classic” Bernd Hölzenbein goal came about by chance, as he simply slipped. In the UEFA Cup game against Steaua Bucharest, the ball fell on his head while sitting. A short nod and the ball was in the goal. But everyone said “typical Hölzenbein”, which means that he was capable of anything.
“Holz” had great shooting technique, a good header game and could control the ball excellently. He also had an exceptional understanding of the game, which complemented the skills of Jürgen Grabowski and Bernd Nickel. On good days, the three outplayed every defense at will.
Together on the field, even in 2010: Karl-Heinz Körbel (left) and Bernd HölzenbeinPicture Alliance
The “Grabi” was the star, the diva who also didn’t like it when someone outshone him and enjoyed more attention in public or in the media. Bernd always said that it didn’t matter to him, but I don’t really believe that. There was always slight tension between the two, but Bernd Nickel balanced it well. Their wives, Bernds Jutta and Jürgens Helga, also got along well and always made sure that their husbands got along. The two women attended many games together, and when their husbands were criticized, they sometimes defended their honor in the players’ wives block with an umbrella against gossiping fans.
But Bernd never shook “Grabi’s” throne; he always recognized him as boss. When we won the UEFA Cup in 1980, his biggest concern was getting “Grabi” involved. He sat in the stands during the finals due to a serious injury. “Holz” had him brought down and immediately handed the trophy to him.
The “swallow” accusation was false
Bernd was perhaps better known abroad as “Grabi” because of the penalty he won against the Netherlands in the 1974 World Cup final. Many accused him of having made a “swallow”, after which he gained a reputation as a penalty cheat. But that was wrong. 99 percent of the penalties for him were justified. Bernd was one of the very few players who became faster and faster with the ball at their feet instead of slowing down because of their incredible ball control. The defenders miscalculated their tackles. Bernd was also a fundamentally honest person; he would have been ashamed to have been unfairly awarded a penalty. He suffered from his bad reputation.
His career as Eintracht vice-president and Eintracht sports manager was also very successful at the beginning, as long as he relied on his football sense and instincts. When Jupp Heynckes was hired as “world coach,” to whom he gave a lot of responsibility for sporting development, he lost his way. Which wasn’t good for Eintracht.
Heynckes left behind a pile of broken glass, Bernd no longer had the same level of luck when cleaning up that he had before and his confidence in himself had also suffered. I don’t want to hide the fact that I also had a falling out with Bernd for a while during this phase, but luckily our wives sorted out that argument. Because Bernd was always a person who meant well to everyone, who wanted good things and who did a lot of good things.
