Schalke: That's how Heribert Bruchhagen thinks to Günter Eichberg – S04

Gelsenkirchen .. When the call came with the news of the death of the former president of Schalke Günter Eichberg, his friend Heribert Bruchhagen was touched, but not surprised. Eichberg died Sunday afternoon at the age of 72 in a hospital in Gütersloh, where he had been treated for two days because of renewed health problems.

"I had met Günter 14 days ago for coffee, as I have already estimated that it has significantly reduced overall," reveals Bruchhagen, who was CEO of Hamburger SV until this March of this year.

Eichberg was also in this last conversation with Heribert Bruchhagen still very interested in football and even talked about the vision of joining his friend to the second division Arminia Bielefeld Eichberg as president Bruchhagen as manager Attack together As in the time of Schalke

Günter Eichberg was elected president of Schalke in January 1989. Half a year later he brought Bruchhagen as director of the Royal Blues. "I already knew Günter Eichberg since my time as a coach at FC Gütersloh. At that time he was vice-president at Gütersloh, but was not as important as later at Schalke, "recalls Bruchhagen

Eichberg was officially drawn to the limelight at Schalke. The former owner of a clinical empire (specialty: varicose veins) was driven by a driver in the Nobel bodywork and enjoyed with his partner Christa Paas at the time the big football scene. Eichberg was named "Sun King" by the boulevard. He really shined. Under Eichberg Schalke experienced a boom in the Second Division relegation battle. In the penultimate round of the 1988/89 season, 67,000 fans celebrated a 4: 1 Berlin-Schalke blue-white. 1991 was the return of the Bundesliga.

The number of members increased in the four and a half years from Eichberg, from 6000 to 16 000. In April 1993, Eichberg brought Rudi Assauer back to the head of Schalke 04. Heribert Bruchhagen was already with the Hamburger SV at that time because he did not feel at home anymore.

"It was an exciting and wild time on Schalke, which would not exist anymore today," says Bruchhagen in retrospect. He still remembers the transfer of Dan Bent Christensen. Bruchhagen flew to Copenhagen in 1991 to bring the Danish striker to the Royal Blues.

"I came here with the goal of spending two million marks on Christensen, while Frankfurt manager Klaus Gerster made an offer of 2.5 million marks. 39 called Günter Eichberg and informed him He said: We make three million marks Christensen then pbaded to us.It was very unconventional, as it was then " says Bruchhagen. And smiles.

After his Schalke period, which ended in October 1993 with the premature resignation, Eichhorn, become financially bored, escaped to Florida for ten years. He remained a football fan. His last match of Schalke, he saw in the spring against Eintracht Frankfurt (1: 0). During this visit to the stadium, Eichberg, who was already dependent on the walker because of a hip operation, fell and had to be operated on the patella afterwards. Subsequently, rehabilitation was planned

. In addition to the physical problems, organic damage (cirrhosis of the liver) weakened his body. Because Günter Eichberg 's health recently worsened significantly, he was treated for two days in the hospital but was not cured. Heribert Bruchhagen: "Günter was very alive until the end, but he was just exhausted." The date on which the former president of Schalke is buried in Gütersloh has not yet been determined.