Matthias Herget celebrated two victories for eternity with Bayer Uerdingen. In the national team, however, he was always unlucky. Today he turns 70 years old.
Matthias Herget was one of the last great liberos in Germany football. The elegant defense chief impressed not only the Bayer Uerdingen fans with his game. In the national team he was considered the most promising successor to Franz Beckenbauer. However, his DFB career was extremely unfortunate.
Herget, who will celebrate his 70th birthday on November 14, 2025, does not mourn the missed opportunities. “Football was my hobby, I was never interested in making a career out of it. That’s why I’m very grateful for everything that football has made possible for me and continues to make possible today,” said Herget to the magazine “11Freunde” in autumn 2024.
How Toni Schumacher robbed him of the World Cup
Herget was born in Annaberg-Buchholz in what was then the GDR. In total he played 39 times for Germany. A respectable number, but not one that puts him at the top of the statistics. Maybe he could have made significantly more stakes, but his big tournaments went extremely badly.
Before the 1986 World Cup he was used as a libero, then Toni Schumacher kicked him in training – intentionally, as he later admitted. “Toni obviously had a problem with the way I played football,” said Herget, who was ultimately only allowed to take part in the 2-0 defeat against Denmark in Mexico.
At the Euro 1988, Herget played poorly at the start against Italy (1:1), and in the semi-final defeat against the Netherlands (1:2) he had to go out injured at halftime. And he was no longer taken into account for the 1990 World Cup triumph because he had previously moved to the second division club Schalke 04 – Uerdingen’s coach Rolf Schafstall had no longer planned with the veteran.
Herget is still a legend in Krefeld today
In Krefeldwhere Bayer’s fame has long since crumbled to dust, the goal-scoring Herget still enjoys legendary status today. With Uerdingen he sensationally achieved promotion to the 1st Bundesliga in 1983 in the relegation game against FC Schalke 04. It was the beginning of a golden era in Krefeld.
In 1985, Herget won the DFB Cup with Bayer Uerdingen with a 2-1 win over Bayern Munich. And Herget also played a decisive role as captain in the “Miracle of Grotenburg” in March 1986, when Uerdingen turned the game against Dynamo Dresden into a 7-3 win in the European Cup after a 0-2 first leg defeat and a 1-3 half-time score.
In total, he scored 26 goals in 237 Bundesliga games for Uerdingen and was top scorer of the month three times. In 1990 he had to end his career due to injury – after only 19 games for Schalke. But his outstanding technique and the way in which he really celebrated football are still unforgettable today.
Our sources:
- SID news agency
- Herget interview with the DFB
- Statistics on transfermarkt.de
