The Marcus Steegmann chants from the
Yellow Wall – it was unbelievable.
Season 2004/05
Matchday 14, BVB - SC Freiburg
It’s what every BVB fan
dreams of:
celebrating a Borussia Dortmund
goal on the pitch.
Marcus Steegmann experienced
that exactly once.
A goal in the world’s ultimate football
temple for Borussia Dortmund.
Just being part of it was a
wonderful experience for me.
Marcus Steegmann was a new signing
for BVB’s U23s that season,
and he had already scored
8 goals in the Regionalliga.
In the week leading up to the
game against SC Freiburg,
head coach Bert van Marwijk gave the talented
striker his first chance to train with the first team.
When I was included
in the squad,
I thought “Unbelievable – I’m part of it,
one of the 18 in the squad!”
We were in the Hotel Lennhof,
a place rich in BVB history.
I can’t remember which big painting of which
BVB star was hanging up in my room,
maybe Jürgen Kohler,
but there’s a special aura
when you’re part of it.
I had met my then girlfriend,
now my wife, in Hamburg,
where she was studying physiotherapy
during the week,
and she wasn’t sure whether
she should come or not.
My brother said “You don’t need to
come, he definitely won’t play.”
But she said “No, I know
that he’s going to play.”
So she travelled down from
Hamburg to watch the game.
I didn’t sleep very well, to be honest,
but I just couldn’t wait.
Normally the warm-up isn’t
particularly enjoyable,
but I think I had a big smile on my face
throughout the warm-up,
because it was a dream
come true for me.
In the 79th minute,
it happened:
Marcus Steegmann became
a Bundesliga player.
It was my first Bundesliga game and he
was a big Czech and European star,
so it was nice that he came over to help me,
and he told me to watch out for this and that.
I thought that was
a great gesture.
Straight away the debutant got
stuck in and made his mark.
The best thing about
that day?
I think it was the Marcus Steegmann chants
from the Yellow Wall – it was unbelievable.
There was a bond
straight away.
It sounds silly to say I
was a fan favourite,
but I think the fans recognised that I identified
1000% with the club and gave everything.
And then came his
big moment.
In the 83rd minute,
Madouni made it 2-0.
I’m getting a bit emotional,
but that was why I’d played football my
whole life: to experience moments like that.
And to do that with the club that for me is the
best and most emotional club in Germany…
Playing for this club, and
experiencing that,
is something no-one can
take away from me.
There were one or two tears in my
eyes after the final whistle,
because as I say it was
a dream come true.
I had worked so hard to experience
something like that.
And who knows what might
have happened if,
after coming off the bench on
Matchday 14, 15 and 16,
the 23-year-old hadn’t pushed
himself so hard.
There was this fire
inside me,
and I thought “The winter break
is overrated, I don’t need it”.
I don’t think I’ve ever talked
publicly about this before,
but I went along to this sprint training
over the Christmas period in Mannheim
to try and improve
my speed.
I tore some muscle
fibres really badly,
and I remember that I was
in tears as I came home.
BVB didn’t know that I’d done
this extra training,
and on the first day back I had
to tell them that I was injured.
I could have played another
10, 15, 20 games.
Then they signed Alex Frei and
Nelson Valdez up front.
VfR Aalen really wanted to sign me, and they were
pushing for promotion to the second division,
so I took the decision to take a step down so
that I could then play in the second division.
Back then his Black & Yellow
shirt number was 39.
Today Marcus Steegmann is 39 years old and sport
director at third division side Viktoria Köln.
In total he made 5 substitute
appearances in the Bundesliga for BVB,
but that 2-0 win against Freiburg
proved to be his only win,
and Madouni’s goal was the only
goal he got to celebrate.
I was, and still am, incredibly grateful for every
substitute appearance I made for BVB.
I remember that I came close
to scoring against Schalke,
and then I really
could have said
“I’ve made it, I’ve scored a Bundesliga
goal for Borussia Dortmund”.
I think my header hit the bar,
so it didn’t quite work out.
But I made the most of every minute.
I enjoyed every game,
because I knew that at that level, as a striker for
Borussia Dortmund, you’re in an exclusive group.
So ultimately he was left
with that one game,
that one win,
and that one goal
celebration.
That one moment he’ll
remember for ever.
