Borussia Dortmund Legends: Andreas Möller

Borussia Dortmund have had their fair share of players that went on to become club legends. This post focuses on former Borussia Dortmund playmaker and (my favourite BVB player at the time) in the glorious 90s, Andreas “Andy” Möller.

Andreas Möller was born in Frankfurt and fittingly began his professional career with Eintracht, playing for two seasons at the club before making the switch to Borussia Dortmund for his first stint with the Schwarzgelben. He also played two seasons for the Black and Yellows and won the DFB Pokal in 1989 with the famous side that also featured Nobby Dickel.

He then returned to Frankfurt for two seasons before heading south to Italy to Juventus. Several German players at that point had moved to Italy to ply their trade most notably including Bierhoff, Klinsmann, Brehme, and Matthäus. It was for Juventus where he would face his former and future club Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Cup final, where the Old Lady from Turin thrashed the team from the Ruhrgebiet 6-1. This was arguably Möller’s greatest achievement with Juventus.

In 1994, he would return to Dortmund and this is where he would start to form his reputation at the club. During this time, Ottmar Hitzfeld was the Dortmund manager and he deployed Möller as a playmaker who would pull the strings in midfield for Dortmund with his long passing, distribution, and creativity. He would be the key to Dortmund’s success in the mid 90s. His most important assist(s) came in the Champions League final in 1997 against his former club Juventus, where he delivered a corner that Karl Heinz Riedle met with his head past Peruzzi in goal. A through ball to Lars Ricken later in the match and Ricken’s subsequent lob over Peruzzi sealed the deal and crowned Borussia Dortmund European Champions for the first and so far only time. Möller was announced Man of the Match.

Möller stuck around with BVB until 2000, where he joined the eternal archenemy from Gelsenkirchen…Schalke 04. At the time of his switch, Möller was practically public enemy number one in Dortmund, but over time, more Dortmund fans view him favorably than not. Möller finished out his playing career with Eintracht Frankfurt and retired in 2004.

Internationally, Möller was part of Germany’s 1990 World Cup winning side as well as a key player to Germany’s 1996 Euro Championship winning side. Möller put in a great performance against England in the semi final, scoring the final penalty, and then celebrating by mocking Paul Gascoigne’s celebration from earlier in the match.

Möller’s contributions to Borussia Dortmund’s success in the 1990s were immense. Möller was not without controversy, such as the aforementioned direct switch to Schalke or his dive against Karlsruher in 1995, which led to a penalty that was converted and practically sealed the title for Dortmund. Möller was the first German player to be fined and suspended for his dive.

Of course other incidents have endeared him to the Dortmund faithful such as important goal against Hamburg at the end of the 1995 season or him wiping away Matthäus’ imaginary tears during a clash with Bayern in the 1990s.

Football history will remember him as a controversial player from within and without of the Dortmund’s faithful, but ultimately a Dortmund legend that was the puppet master in the midfield in the successful Hitzfeld era. Andy Möller, we salute you!