FC Bayern Munich vs. Hamburger SV – Jimmy Hartwig on the 4-3 win in Munich: “We’ll win anyway”

This interview first appeared in 2010 in the series “Games of Our Lives.”

Jimmy Hartwig, a few years ago, the 11FREUNDE editorial team ranked Hamburg's 4-3 victory against FC Bayern on April 24, 1982, 27th among the 100 greatest games of all time. Where does this game rank in your personal list? Which game was ranked first?

Bayer Uerdingen's 7-3 win over Dynamo Dresden. Another great game. In my top 100, the Bayern vs. HSV match would be among the top ten. Did you know that all the goalscorers in that game started with the letter "H"? Hoeneß, Horsmann, von Heesen, Hrubesch...

...Hartwig. Strange, isn't it? Be that as it may, the game was, besides the 5-1 win against Real Madrid in the 1980 European Cup, the greatest HSV game I've ever witnessed.

When was the last time you watched it? It's been a while. I remember a friend standing on my doorstep once, holding a videotape in his hand: "Jimmy, we're going to watch this now," he said. And then I rewatched my header, which I welded into the goal for Junghans – like a shot.

Are you nostalgic? Not at all. I prefer to look forward. Still, it's nice to see the pictures from back then again. Or to think about them. I still remember a lot from that time. Including the evening after the game. I was invited to the "Aktuelles Sportstudio" (Current Sports Studio) in Mainz. On the plane, on the way there, I met the then national coach, Jupp Derwall. He was also a guest that evening.

What did you talk about on the plane? I wanted to convince him that I belonged in the national team. Even today, I still believe there was no better player in my position back then. I scored fourteen goals in 30 games in the '82 season. As a defensive midfielder! Today, any player with a similar percentage would be a regular in the national team.

Was Jupp Derwall persuaded? Oh, Jupp. That was simply a different time. Back then, it wasn't enough to just save the ball three or four times. Not even those fourteen goals were enough. I played for youth national teams, captained the German B team, and I consistently performed well. But Jupp Derwall saw things completely differently.

How did it feel to receive such a rejection after that game, your goal, and the championship almost assured? I was angry, of course. I reiterated my criticism of him on "Aktuelles Sportstudio." But Derwall remained stubborn. He told me he had a surplus of good German defensive players. Bernd Förster would supposedly play in my position. I replied: "Well, unfortunately, I don't have a brother and I don't have blond hair." Derwall swallowed hard. Despite the icy atmosphere, I didn't let that evening spoil the win against Bayern.

This game was later often cited as a reference for "good old football." What was it like: good old football? Of course, there were tactical tricks back then, and there were teams that played defensively. But when the stakes were high, the approach was usually offensive – not like today. The crowd was supposed to be on their feet, speechless. Games could end 3-3 or 5-5. That's football for me. Who wants to see a 1-0 win?

In the game, almost everything was at stake. HSV's lead would have shrunk to a single point had they lost. Nevertheless, an open exchange of blows began from the first minute. Was that also a bit reckless? Absolutely not. That was Happel's signature. And to call Happel reckless would be an insult to the majesty. For Happel—and for me, too—there was nothing worse than defeats. But the games that ended 1-0 were especially cruel. I always thought: If you're going to lose, you're going to lose it hard.

So the attacking approach of both teams didn't surprise you? No. Bayern couldn't defend in their own stadium; they had to win to preserve their last chance of winning the championship. We knew that beforehand. And Happel's motto was always: We want to become German champions. And that's why we'll play a full-on offensive. No one becomes champion by sitting back. Happel didn't care whether the opponent was Darmstadt 98 or FC Bayern.

They won that game, but HSV weren't yet champions. Why was this match on Matchday 29 still the anticipated finale of the season? Because after the game, we knew: That's it! What else could happen to us? The following week, we walked through the streets with such confidence that pedestrians crossed the street in fear.

HSV remained undefeated until January 1983. Was the 4-3 win at Bayern Munich also part of the myth of the invincibles? Yes, definitely. Everyone had respect for teams that beat Bayern Munich. But we didn't win 1-0 or 2-1 there; we beat them 4-3 after being 3-1 down! In the weeks and months that followed, many teams were in awe of HSV, winning in such a way at such a stage of the championship, against such an opponent, after such a deficit. Most of them were scared shitless just by seeing the three letters H, S, and V on the fixture list.

In Hamburg, no one even thought about possible defeats anymore? You might think that's arrogant, but yes, that's exactly how it was. Our women were already prepared to go shopping on Monday morning with their prize money. I sometimes said, "Honey, you can buy that coat today, we're going to win anyway." After that year, she had a few coats in her closet.

Would HSV have buckled in the final stages of the championship if they hadn't won that April afternoon in Munich? Perhaps everything would have turned out differently. A championship flop, a European Cup flop, the entire era might be viewed in a different light today. But it's pointless to dwell on that. I'm also firmly convinced we would have won the championship anyway. Maybe not as convincingly, maybe we would have been a bit nervous at the end, but we were simply far too consistent in our performances this season.

How does a team actually manage to fight back from defeat with such determination after being down 3-1? We were a team. That was incredibly important for this game and for all the Happel years. I wouldn't even call us friends, but a close-knit community. Everyone pulled together. Whether it was players like Hrubesch, Stein, or Wehmeyer, or even manager Günter Netzer. Of course, we were all very different. But Happel, who somehow hovered above everyone else, held us together. And in games like these, when it was on the verge of losing, that was incredibly important.

What was your relationship with Ernst Happel like? Very good. I was a kind of foster son of his. And he always had a good read on me; he knew I was a hothead and accepted that. For me, Happel is the best coach I've ever played under. In terms of football knowledge, no one could match him, and he was also outstanding as a person. Even Franz Beckenbauer says so. I'm sometimes in Vienna on business, and I like to go to Ernst Happel's grave and talk to him.

What are you talking about? I'm having dialogues with him. About life.

It's said that the success of the Happel years was primarily due to the Kaltz-Magath-Hrubesch axis. Your name rarely appears in retrospectives. Does that bother you? No. I know what I achieved; I was one of the team's greatest pillars. And I also know that people know me today. And above all, I know what Happel thought of me.

Did Ernst Happel speak to you personally before the games? I often had special assignments. Happel often came to me in the locker room and said, "Jimmy, just take out the playmaker. And if you go forward and score goals, you can go to the Reeperbahn again tonight and have a drink."

What advice did he give you before the 4-3 match at FC Bayern? He knew I was invited to the gym. The Reeperbahn was canceled.

Did you have a special assignment? I was supposed to take out Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

The decisive duel of the game? Perhaps. He didn't score a goal.

At halftime, HSV were trailing 2-1. What did Happel say in the locker room? He grumbled in the finest Viennese humor. "Let's go!" he shouted. But he motivated us, he spurred us on.

In the 64th minute, Bayern made it 3-1. Uli Stein let a perfectly saveable header from Dieter Hoeneß slip through his gloves... Yes, that's true. Uli has made a lot of mistakes sometimes. But he'd already won so many games for us that season. It didn't faze us. We kept going. The absolute madness, of course, was Thomas von Heesen's goal to put us back in the game. He was only 20 years old at the time, and then he marched the length of the pitch and hammered the ball into the corner. That was a typical HSV goal.

In what way? At HSV back then, it was like this: A player, no matter how old he was, whether 20 or 35, would grab the ball and off they went. Always forward. Always aiming for the goal. Or looking for Horst Hrubesch's wooden ball. Like the goal that made it 4-3.

Was this victory also a source of satisfaction for you? After all, you had beaten all the players who were preferred over you in the national team? I wouldn't call it satisfaction. Of course, it's always a great feeling to win in Munich, because Bayern were the benchmark back then, too. And I was also secretly pleased that Paul Breitner didn't play at all in this game.

Why? We were never the best of friends. In the months leading up to the 1982 World Cup, he repeatedly spoke out against me to Jupp Derwall and in favor of Hansi Müller's nomination. Ultimately, I wasn't named to the World Cup squad – Hansi Müller, who was still struggling with the effects of an injury at the time, was actually preferred over me. That was pretty bitter. Breitner essentially stole a World Cup from me.