Günter Kutowski: “Borussia Dortmund will always be my club”

Günter Kutowski, did you know that Mehmet Scholl would have liked to play on the same team as you? He never liked playing against me. That could be one reason. Mehmet and I have a very good relationship. We always treated each other fairly and had a lot of fun together.

Are you pleased by such praise? Absolutely! For me, Mehmet was one of the best footballers in Germany. When he says things like that, I'm naturally very happy.

Why does someone become a fan favorite? Either through their outstanding skill or through dedication. When the audience senses that someone is sacrificing themselves for the club, it registers.

They were and are a crowd favorite in Dortmund. I lacked the playing opportunities. But maybe people noticed that I give everything for the club. Borussia Dortmund was my only professional stop in the top division. People felt that sense of belonging.

Do you remember which team you played your first Bundesliga match against? Of course I do. It was against Bayern Munich.

What memories do you have of that match? We were supposed to have a rescheduled match in Mönchengladbach during the week. I was supposed to be in the starting lineup for the first time there. Unfortunately, the game was canceled due to fog. The match against Bayern was brilliant. In Dortmund, we played in front of a sold-out crowd, of course. Back then, there were 54,000 spectators, but they made just as much noise as 80,000 today. We drew 1-1. That was a success.

You only scored three goals in your entire career. Did you not want to or were you unable to? That's obviously also due to the distribution of tasks. I was needed more at the back than at the front.

So, tactical instructions? I wasn't the tallest player either. So, I didn't get involved in attacking moves from set pieces. And very few defenders score from open play.

You made a few appearances for the U21 national team. Why did you never get a senior international? If only I knew. You'd have to ask the national coach at the time. During the time I was performing at my best, things weren't going so well at the club. Unfortunately, players from Dortmund weren't in demand at the time.

There was a lot of unrest at the club back then. How did you experience that time? Overall, I had a great time in Dortmund. I've never regretted the move. It was very intense back then, with some real lows. After my first three months, I was given a new coach. The club was doing very poorly, and salaries were being cut. In 1984 and 1985, we were close to the end. Those are times that shape a person. I learned a lot back then. As a team, we emerged from that situation very well and were able to lead the club into better times.

The good times began in the early 1990s. During this time, however, your playing time also declined. Previously a regular starter, you only made eight appearances in the 1994/95 championship season. Isn't that ungrateful? You feel removed from the team in such situations. That's not a nice feeling. At the time, Ottmar Hitzfeld was the coach, and I was also a regular starter at first. That changed then. Ottmar Hitzfeld wanted big defenders, but unfortunately, that didn't work out. That's why I called it quits in 1996.

You played in Paderborn, Dortmund, and finally Essen. It wasn't exactly a big football world in the early 1990s. Why didn't you make the jump earlier? After all, you were regular starters in the Bundesliga. I really enjoyed playing for Borussia Dortmund. Besides, you're confident in yourself. I never thought I was worse than others who played. This is also reflected in my time playing in the UEFA Cup during that time.

The 1992 UEFA Cup match against Zaragoza, when you finished the game with a blood-soaked turban, is unforgettable. Why didn't you leave the pitch earlier? I really wanted to win the game. It was going quite well. It was clear to me that I wanted to finish the game. The first turban quickly turned blood red again. The referee didn't want to let me back on the pitch. Our physiotherapists helped me out a bit so that at least there was no more blood flowing. You don't walk out of a game like that.

At the end of the 1990s, Borussia Dortmund's financial situation was quite precarious. How did you experience that time as a former player? Borussia Dortmund will always be my club, first as a player and now as a fan and spectator. You tremble along with them. But of course, your hands are always tied. The late 1990s were bitter, that's for sure. But you also heard people in Dortmund back then saying: "Then we'll have to go to the Oberliga; we'll just have 50,000 fans in the Oberliga." People are simply behind Borussia.

In the early 1990s, the Niebaum/Meier duo was celebrated as the duo that finally brought calm and respectability to the club. How do you assess their work today? That's not entirely easy. I believe the great successes are firmly linked to the names Niebaum and Meier. The two also led us to the top in Europe. On the other hand, perhaps the situation was misjudged somewhat later on. It was heaven and hell.