Ewald Lienen and the note: the hippie with the ball on the neck

athletic

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

By Ben Redeling

Ewald Lienen represents the peace list, they call him "Öko" and "Paper Tiger", Jupp Heynckes compares him to President Ronald Reagan. "Awareness of German Football" celebrates its 65th birthday and is a perfect fit for FC St. Pauli.

The Cartomancer Medusa once described Cologne coach Ewald Lienen in the following terms: "Sooner or later he will fail everywhere – an excellent fighter, but he often puts himself in his way." This man does not find peace because he wants to do everything at 1000%. He is never content with anything, has a lot of enemies, he just can not forgive mistakes. "What Lienen knew from Medusa professionally, Alfred Biolek and Mikhail Gorbachev were among their clients, allegedly not, because of football" they do not understand anything ".

It has always been very different with Lienen. Once he said, "Sometimes I think what I have in my neck is that a huge football." They called him "Paper Tiger", "Pastor Albert of Football" and "Zettel-Ewald". His colleague Felix Magath even refuted this information when badyzing a game: "I'm going to make a fool and contradict Ewald." He wrote down everything exactly. "

Blasphemy Max Merkel was sitting on it, describing Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock's man: "Ewald Lienen sat on the bench with a pencil, a block and a face like he was completely arrested . " Older football fans are particularly reminiscent of a young, talented football player with apparent hair and a long mane, who has not always lagged behind his appearance.

Sepp Maier once described it as follows: "Ewald Lienen, from Borussia Mönchengladbach, has always had a tendency to the left – not because he's playing on the left – Lienen has beaten against professional bans , against trafficking in human beings in football. " In 1985, Lienen even entered the election campaign. However, colleagues were less interested in the political goals that he advocated, but more by the potential gains of a future member of parliament. Former coach Jupp Heynckes saw the issue a bit more differentiated. On the one hand, of course, he did not want his protégé to slow down in his performances on the pitch, on the other hand, he supported Lienen in his ambitions. In the United States, where Ronald Reagan came to power four years ago, he said: "If a cowboy and an actor can be president of the United States, a politically engaged man, like Ewald Lienen, could well be under the jurisdiction of the state legislature, a candidate ".

A sweater spoils the "goal of the month"

The wife of the president of the Mönchengladbach club, Helmut Beyer, knew Lienen anyway on his side. Having saved Borussia from a home defeat by scoring a last-minute goal, she joins him and thanks him: "Eco, you're a love." Even otherwise, Lienen seemed more likely to inspire political work. After a 3-2 win at Gladbacher in Stuttgart, Lienen ("you can ask me everything about the Easter march") is a good reason for his success: "In the national election, my list of candidates for the peace got 0.7% of the vote, my constituency was 1.2, so I had to thank you for that. "

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But his commitment has not suffered well everywhere. When Lienen shot the "Goal of the Month" in October 1985 during the match between Gladbacher and Lech Posen for the Uefa Cup, the editors of the ARD sports show wanted to know in advance what he would wear when the awarding of the medal. Lienen was irritated. Did people on TV really want to dictate his clothes? And why It soon became apparent that it was very worrying that Lienen, as recently on another occasion, is wearing his jersey bearing the mention "Athlete Against Nuclear Missiles – Athletes for Peace". The editor of WDR informed the professional Gladbach of the intense internal discussions that took place after the live broadcast. He badured Lienen that most of his colleagues would have had no problem with his sweater, but the director's instructions would be clear: political advertising on clothing or anything else would have no place in public issues. And advertising for peace would be political according to the WDR design.

"The dork, this hippie"

If he could badure in this way, please, that his pullover in the closet, the TV publisher wanted to know it finally. Lienen hung up angrily. For him, the question was now settled at a higher level: it was the principle. He argued that the channel would not have done theater if his jersey had been stuck with commercials ("… with advertising, television has no problems").

Years before, Lienen actually wanted to stop playing football and finish his education studies. But he could not stop it and suggested to the club: "If Borussia gives me more money, I could quit my studies because I have no period of time. regular studies. " And indeed, the club tried to make the link with Lienen with unusual ideas on the season 1980/1981. Coach Heynckes had developed a special argument for budding social worker Lienen: "If you play another three or four years, you'll have enough money to buy a house and work with people with disabilities." so that you can complete the Heimleiterfunktion.Because you can work independently anyway! "

At that time, the professional was driving in the summer with a camper and 20 disabled children to the Baltic Sea. The cost of the bus that he paid partly from his own pocket. Some players in the Bundesliga Lienens seemed more and more strange. Werner Lorant, the great defender of Eintracht, could not hear the "costume" of Gladbacher: "The dork, this hippie, he should just shut up, after all, he wins like us all his money with football " From the beginning, Lienen was definitely a special type. His wife, Rosi, tried to straighten his outward appearance: "Many fans do not want to understand why my husband does not sign autographs, they take this for arrogance, such nonsense, Ewald's Sits and talks to people about their problems. " His opinion at that time, which provoked many controversies over and over again: "I will not pose for photos, for an odious personality cult that I hate like the plague."

Lienen is a special type

Heynckes speculated at the beginning of his career at Lienens: "Ewald is finally not one who would be happy after his career in a sports agency." At that time, no one would have guessed that Lienen would remain loyal to professional football throughout his life. And even though he's always been at the center of his concerns, he should keep his critical eye on the area: "If you're going into the pedestrian zone today, you have to be careful about what's going on. one in three does not address you and does not want to turn you into a player. "

And since it means living well with Lienen, he chose the preliminary end point very carefully. His current engagements with FC St. Pauli were long overdue. Cartomancer Medusa could have predicted it even then. Although he has now ended his career in the Hanseatic city. It could not have been better. Also for this article on his 65th birthday. Because a text on himself without the thigh split that he has now really won. Happy birthday and good luck, dear Ewald Lienen!

Source: n-tv.de