Happy 80th birthday to BVB legend Hans Tilkowski!

The ghost goal did not just decide the course of the match, which England went on to win 4-2, but also made its mark on the life of Hans Tilkowski, a legendary ex-BVB goalkeeper who turns 80 today.

For almost 50 years now, the former Germany shot-stopper has been repeatedly questioned about what is considered by some to be one of the most controversial incidents in football history. It was a defining moment for the irreproachable Tilkowski, who was born in a coal mine colony in Dortmund-Husen in 1935. The young shot-stopper came through the ranks at SV Husen 19, where he played between 1946 and 1949, before moving to regional league outfit SuS Kaiserau and then signing for Fritz Langner's Westfalia Herne side in 1955. The "black panther", as he was known, became a top-class goalkeeper, making his international debut in a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in Amsterdam on 3 April 1957 (together with Aki Schmidt). He went on to represent his country 39 times, breaking the appearance record for a Germany goalkeeper in the process.

National team coach Sepp Herberger liked the level-headedness of the Westphalian, who might have drawn comparisons with Paul Newman but certainly could not disguise his feelings quite as well as the talented actor. He certainly had trouble hiding his frustration at the 1962 World Cup in Chile when Herberger dropped him as first-choice goalkeeper in favour of rookie Wolfgang Fahrian. But despite his best efforts to leave early, Til was unable to get a flight home. Tilkowski and Herberger did not speak for over two years!

Herberger reconciles with Tilkowski

In the meantime, "Hannes" signed a contract with BVB and made a series of impressive saves in the first leg of the club's European Cup last-16 encounter with reigning champions Benfica to keep the Black and Yellows in the tie. Tilkowski and Co. lost the first leg 2-1, however Borussia's finest hour came in front of 40,000 spectators on the evening of 4 December 1963. It might have been bitterly cold, but the men wearing gold silk shirts were in red-hot form as they demolished a genuinely world-class opponent by a 5-0 scoreline. Germany coach Herberger got in contact with the shot-stopper again, and eventually won him over.

The following years brought a lot of success for Hans Tilkowski. He won the 1965 DFB Cup courtesy of a 2-0 win against Alemannia Aachen in the final and became the first goalkeeper to win the "Footballer of the Year" award that same season. In 1966, he was part of a BVB team that beat Liverpool 2-1 after extra-time to win the UEFA Cup and a Germany team which reached the World Cup final. In 1967, Til left Dortmund for Eintracht Frankfurt. In total, he made 121 Bundesliga appearances and never received a red or yellow card. On 17 October 1970, he passed his coaching qualification at the Sports University of Cologne and later enjoyed spells at the helm of Werder Bremen, 1860 Munich, Nuremberg, Saarbrücken and AEK Athens.

Huge social commitment

For many years, Tilkowski - a family man who has been married to his wife Luise for 56 years and has three children (Susanne, Ralf and Uwe) and four grandchildren (Elisabeth, Paula, Antastasia and Alexia) - has been helping others, including multiple sclerosis sufferers, the Marianne Herzog Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and SOS Kinderdorf (SOS Children's Village) in Oberhausen. He has also played in charity football matches to raise a lot of money for children with leukaemia, tumours and cancer. Charity is a big part of his life and will certainly be in the foreground at Tilkowski's birthday celebrations in the Hohensyburg casino - just as it was at his 70th birthday party ten years ago.

Hans Tilkowski has always remained true to himself. A down-to-earth and determined individual who likes to engage in critical discussions with modern contemporaries, Tilkowski has over the years maintained a special friendship from the golden era at Borussia. And that special friend, Dieter "Hoppy" Kurrat, a small player with a tenacious fighting spirit, will be joining the celebrations to pass on his best wishes. We would like to follow suit and are delighted that "our Til" has always remained an outstanding ambassador for football, remaining in good health and full of boundless enthusiasm.

"The Wembley goal that will live forever"

In Herne, the hometown of many years where he played his part in a great era for Westphalia up until 1963, Tilkowski has had a school named after him! The Sportsschule Kaiserau (Kaiserau School of Sport), once his "second home", has just set up a "house of sport" for the Football and Athletics Association of Westphalia which bears his name. It is a level of recognition that a sportsman can be well and truly proud of.

His biography "Und ewig fällt das Wembley-Tor" (The Wembley goal that will live forever), written by long-term friend and journalist Hans Ost, tells the story of a man who embodies Westphalian virtues like no other.

Many happy returns, dearest Til!
Fritz Lünschermann