“Anything's possible for us”: Brinkhoff‘s Ballgeflüster celebrates 50th anniversary | OneFootball

Prior to the first edition on 14 December 2011, the omens were anything but positive. After all, only a few days earlier, then reigning champions BVB had lost their lead at the top of the Bundesliga following two 1-1 draws against Mönchengladbach and Kaiserslautern, and had been knocked out of the Champions League after a 3-2 defeat by Marseille. The team did not lose another competitive match until the end of the season, however, lifting the first double in the club's history. All the anniversary guests on Wednesday evening saw this as a fitting start to what has turned into a success story.

Today, just like back then, BVB Managing Director Carsten Cramer accepted an invitation from Dickel and took his place alongside the former BVB player on the podium. They were joined by Kevin Großkreutz, who officially joined the ranks of the BVB legends last week, comedian Matze Knop and goalkeeper Alexander Meyer, who all made for an entertaining evening featuring various highlights from the 49 previous editions shown on screen. Dickel was filled with pride by the many anniversary congratulations sent by former guests via video message such as coach Jürgen Klopp, actor Dietmar Bär and current Dortmund pros like captain Emre Can and the recovering Nico Schlotterbeck.

Cramer praised the merits of the 63-year-old talk show host and stadium announcer: “Without you, Brinkhoff's Ballgeflüster would not be what it is. That's why I hope we can celebrate a few more birthdays together. Regardless of whether you soon wish to slow down a bit or not, I hope you say you'll continue with Ballgeflüster.”

The marketing expert believes the talk show with stars has proven its worth: “It is important that such formats reveal inside information, that there is a feeling of closeness and that encounters take place. We cannot hold a public training session in Brackel every day because it is simply no longer possible to organise it. We are now a large club.”

Cramer promised more evenings with high-profile guests and was a fan of Matze Knop's suggestion to invite former cult players Stéphane Chapuisat and Flemming Poulsen next time: “I can already promise you now that Ballgeflüster will continue in the coming years. It has a permanent position in our programme,” said the Managing Director, who subsequently extended an invitation to the anniversary talk show guests in attendance to join him in Marseille for a weekend.

The fact that Dickel passed a quiz prepared for him shortly before the end with flying colours, answered all five questions about former shows correctly and even expertly tapped a 50-litre barrel of free beer he won as a result earned him extra applause.

In light of the anniversary celebrations, the usual sporting topics took a back seat on this occasion. BVB will kick off the new season with an away trip to FC St. Pauli on Saturday (23 August at 18:30 CEST). The narrow 1-0 victory over third-tier opponents Rot-Weiss Essen in the first round of the cup at the beginning of the week is not curbing Cramer's confidence: “We can all go into the new season with our heads held high. This negativity that occasionally creeps in is not what sets Borussia Dortmund apart. I believe we have a really good season ahead of us and can be a bit more confident.”

The other guests in attendance had similar expectations for the opening match of the season. “I'm optimistic and believe that we will win in St. Pauli and get off to a good start,” said Großkreutz. Meyer does not share the concerns of some fans that the compressed pre-season due to the club's participation in the Club World Cup in the USA could have a negative effect, especially at the beginning. The goalkeeper recalled the team's impressive form in the season run-in last term, in which they picked up 22 out of a possible 24 points: “We can continue this good run. Anything's possible for us.” His closing words at the hip harbour venue were particularly well received by the audience: “This is now my fourth year here. Kevin has experienced it a few times. Now I finally want to take a bus around Borsigplatz too.”