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Kill Instinct: Meet Holstein Kill who stunned Bayern Munich

She won the championship in 1912 at a stadium that still exists, missed out on the Bundesliga because of Netzer and Hinks, a coach younger than Naglesman, and the entire business is run by a former handball star.

Kiel believes the trophy splash is a step on the road to historic immigration

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• World football

• Holstein Kill

Michael Yochin

Thursday, January 14, 2021, 12:30 p.m.

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Summary: Bayern Munich lost on penalties to Kiel and were relegated from the German Cup (Sport 1)

You could call it the butterfly effect.

In 1965, the German district champions were divided into houses to determine the newcomers to the Bundesliga, which had been established two years earlier, and Holstein Kiel was drawn, among others, against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Gunter Netzer and Joop Hinks, young and unknown players, just then started their careers in the Gladbach uniform, and both scored on a visit to Kill, but the host won 2: 4 and saw themselves as a favorite.

In the last round, she came to visit the ambitious rival when everything was at stake - the winner would promise immigration.

It was a close and stubborn battle, and Mönchengladbach took the whole box with 0: 1 from goal in the 90th minute.

Along with her, Bayern Munich also immigrated from another house at the same time - and they both defined German football in the happy 70s.

And Kill ... she was left far behind.

In fact, this jarring fiasco defined sport in the entire state of Schleswig-Holstein.

It is still the only one of the 16 countries that make up Germany that has never sent a representative to the Bundesliga.

Instead, it boasts a wonderful handball tradition, and the local team, THW Kiel, holds a record number of championships in Germany with 21 in number.

If you will, it is Bayern Munich of handball, and has even won the treble twice - championship, trophy and Champions League - just like Bayern in football.

The boys who choose a sport at the northernmost tip of Germany see mostly popular handball before their eyes, and the situation would probably have been different if that playoff in 1965 had ended differently.

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Watch the summary: Holstein Kiel stunned Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout

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The city's real empire is in handball (Photo: GettyImages, Christof Koepsel)

More goals for the Gerd Müller team

So it's time to get to know Wolfgang Schwanka, a native of Flensburg who is right on the border with Denmark.

He also loved football in his youth, but chose handball, and was revealed to be a star on a significant scale.

He spent almost his entire career in Kill, winning five championships, reaching the Champions League final, playing in the 1992 Olympics, and even scoring 96 goals in national team uniform.

Holstein Kill fans, with their characteristic humor, are amused and say that this balance is even better than that of Gerd Müller.

They are in love with him, because since 2009 Schwanka has served as the commercial director of the football club, and later also for the position of vice president.

He is the living spirit behind the ascent that brought football back to the center of the stage in the city associated with handball.

Schwanka studied business administration at Kiel University, and at one point decided he would not want to work as a handball coach until retirement.

So he gambled on an unconventional move, switched sports, and took the job that was not particularly coveted in those days.

Holstein Kill was then in the fourth division, and its outdated stadium was so dilapidated that the association threatened to revoke its license.

However, the club insisted on protecting and upgrading it, for two main reasons.

First, he had no money to build a new stadium.

Second, there Holstein won the historic championship in 1912, and this legacy was very dear to him.

In the absence of any achievements for many decades, they longed to preserve the sweet memories from before the First World War.

Today, it is one of the old stadiums in Germany, and it is hard to say that the rivals like to visit it.

The living spirit behind the ascent that brought football back to the center of the stage in the city.

Wolfgang Schwanka (Photo: GettyImages, Christof Koepsel)

Klopp hated playing there

Ask Jürgen Klopp.

In February 2012, Dortmund were drawn against Kiel in the cup, enjoyed a quick goal from Robert Lewandowski and won 0: 4, but the coach was furious at the difficult conditions.

"We do not play ice hockey on the grass, and I do not understand why we played football on ice. If you want to have games in the winter, it should be in a stadium with heating," he declared.

When a local journalist wondered if it was possible to compare Kiel, who played in the fourth division, to Hamburg, which Dortmund had defeated by a similar result a few days earlier, Kloppo referred to him with his famous charismatic smile and answered his own question: "Do you work for a humorous magazine?"

Kill, however, already had a long-term plan.

All Germans like order, but the northernmost are the most orderly, and have the most patience and perseverance.

Schwanka and his friends were in no hurry to go anywhere and built the business thoroughly and modestly.

By 2013 they already had a warm-up in the stadium, and they were promoted to the third division.

In 2017 they climbed to the second division, and in 2018 they already finished in third place which gave them a ticket to the playoffs against Wolfsburg.

And perhaps the wolves subdued them unconditionally, but there were also those who breathed a sigh of relief.

They do not want to jump too high too soon just to crash.

Stability is the key word.

"Success and exposure also had a price, because we lost the top players every year in favor of bigger teams than us. For him, playing in the second division is also a huge achievement. We will not resist if we ever get to the Bundesliga, but that is not the goal that drives us crazy,"

The club is no longer known only for its sake.

Andreas Kopka (Photo: GettyImages, Ronny Hartmann)

The coach retired at the age of 20

Indeed, Germany has enjoyed following the northernmost group in recent years.

Until a few years ago, football in Kiel was only known for the fact that the great goalkeeper Andreas Kopka, a native of the city, began his career at Holstein.

Today it is already an intriguing club, which emphasizes offensive play and is not afraid of any opponent.

This is also the motto of coach Ola Werner, who was appointed in September 2019 and at the age of only 31 and became the youngest coach in Germany - even Julian Naglesman is a year older than him.

"We have hard-working DNA, and we are committed to maintaining it," he says.

Werner, who has since established himself as one of the most brilliant coaches of the new generation, knows the club from the inside.

He was born in the area, studied at Holstein's academy, and some saw potential in the back link, because at the age of 17 he was taken to Herta Berlin's young team, where he collaborated and befriended Jerome Boateng.

But the short term in the capital made it clear to him that the chances of success were slim.

He soon returned to Kill, failed in the fourth division and hung up his shoes as early as age 20. It was not a matter of injury, but a conscious choice not to waste time.

Instead, Werner turned to school, and at the age of 25 he worked with Holstein's children's groups.

In 2014, he was promoted to the reserve team, and five years later came the big chance he took with both hands.

Has since established himself as one of the most brilliant coaches of the new generation.

Ola Werner (Photo: GettyImages, Ronny Hartmann)

Go on the attack, but learn from the cello

He got the team at the bottom, stabilized the ship, and by the time the Corona crisis broke out Kiel had practically secured her place in the league.

Towards the new season, he has already aimed for the top, and to that end he invested in the summer precisely in a thorough study of the arrays of Diego Simeone and Jose Mourinho.

Because maybe he's a die-hard follower of adventurous football, but a solid home front is just as important to him.

"We need to get to a point where creative players have a quiet head because they trust the back line," Werner argues.

Studies on the cello have already borne fruit, and Keel is currently showing the best absorption balance in the second division, with 14 mandatory goals in 15 rounds.

Currently, it is third - a point away from the summit - and self-confidence in the sky.

The stars at the top really feel liberated, and it is no coincidence that Finn Bartles scored a marvelous goal at the Nuremberg network a month ago.

Bartles is almost 34 years old and his hair is bleached, but he feels like a teenager, because this summer he is back in his hometown.

He once played with Werner, a year younger than him, in Holstein's children's teams.

Now, after a long career at Rostock, St. Pauli and Berman, his best friend has convinced him to return home, and they are both happy with the connection.

Bartles' last seasons at Werder were ruined due to injuries, and he was considering retiring, but is now healthy - and only sorry the crowd can not predict his performance from the stands.

First goal against the Bavarian Empire at the age of 34. Finn Bartles (Photo: Reuters)

Private victory over Bayern after 12 losses

This is especially true of the big encounter against Bayern in the second round of the Cup, for which Kill has thoroughly prepared.

"There is no doubt that the fans would have helped us on the home field, but that's what it is. This is the best team in the world, and yet it has its weaknesses, and we will try to take advantage of them. I will not say beyond, so as not to diminish the small chance anyway. We are responding, "Werner said.

Sports director Eva Stuber joked after the draw: "Yes, it is possible. Why not?".

And Bartles stated: "I'm tired of losing to Bayern. It's time to put an end to it."

His personal history was really frustrating.

Bartles played 12 times against the Bavarians with his various teams, and 12 times he lost.

Yesterday's meeting was probably the last chance to change the dismal statistics, and the intention gives faith.

Hennessy Flick's choice to bench Lewandowski, who returned to Kiel's cold stadium after nine years and saw snow and ice again, only encouraged the locals.

Even an early goal by Serge Gnabry after the omission of goalkeeper Ioannis Gallius did not bother them.

Maybe he only contributed to the complacency of the treble player, because in the 37th minute it happened.

Bartles scored against Bayern for the first time in his life!

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A post shared by Holstein Kiel (@holsteinkiel)

The handball people are also satisfied

Hence, the script only became more dramatic.

Leroy Sana sent a free-kick into the net early in the second half, but Kiel's fighting spirit could not be broken, and deep in injury time the Oka brakeman struck and to the elevation of the only left-back in the squad, Johannes van den Berg, to make it 2-2.

Lewandowski, who was already on the field at this point, had a hard time believing what he saw.

Bayern really did not want an extension in the freezing wind in light of its crowded game schedule, much less wanted to lose in the penalty shootout, but the writing of this legend could no longer be stopped.

All of Kiel's players were accurate from the last point against Manuel Neuer, and sent the last ball into the net - why not?

Bartles himself.

Thus, Bayern lost their first title this season.

She will no longer win the treble, so in this aspect the equality with Kill's handball team will be maintained.

But who cares now about handball in the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Football is the thing, and having made the biggest headlines since 1965 the club can seriously dream of promotion to the Bundesliga.

They deserve it - and especially Ola Werner.

He will reach the Premier League for sure, with or without Holstein.

Remember the name.

I wonder what Boateng told him after the game.

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