Christoph Kramer and the Gladbach own goal that defied belief
In an interview with bundesliga.com, the Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder talks us through one of the most bizarre own goals scored in 60 years of the Bundesliga.
On November 9, 2014, the oddest of own goals was scored in Germany's top division. On that evening, in a game between Gladbach and Borussia Dortmund, Tony Jantschke played a pass to teammate Kramer. The 2014 world champion with Germany chose to knock it back to his goalkeeper Yann Sommer, but his attempt failed, spectaulary. The pass flew into the air and looped over the head of Sommer, who could only turn his back and watch in horror as the ball bounced into the net. The blunder - an o.g. from almost 45 yards - gave BVB a 1-0 lead.
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bundesliga.com sat down to chat with Kramer about his unwanted feat which, let it be said, was just one moment in a career filled with plenty of highs for the, at the time of writing, 32-year-old. Kramer explained what was going through his head on that fateful night back in 2014 and outlines the reactions of those around him at the time.
bundesliga.com: Christoph Kramer, were you secretly hoping that your own goal against Dortmund would be quickly forgotten?
Christoph Kramer: I expected it to come up again at some point. I'm asked about it at various times. It's only really a thing in the media; no one mentions it to me in everyday life anymore.
Would you mind describing the own goal to us from your point of view?
I get the ball and I wanted to pass but the moment it left my foot, I thought to myself, 'That might have been a bit hard.' It dawned on me fairly quickly what was going to happen. I thought and hoped for a split second that in might hit the post. It actually felt as though the ball was in the air much longer than it actually was. Then I realised it was unfortunately going to go in.
What happened then?
Sebastian Kehl, and I think Sven Bender too, consoled me, which I found very nice. In this type of situation, you need that [although] I could have used a stiff drink. The reaction from [our] fans was really cool and they chanted my name. But then the game goes on and you try to forget it.
What was it like to be lifted by both sets of players afterwards?
I think when something like that happens, everyone is quick to lift their opponents too. It's always about winning and losing, but everyone knows that something like that doesn't feel good. It's normal to get words of encouragement.
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It was par for the course that you would receive a bit of good-natured stick on the training ground after that, right?
There were a few words said in the weeks afterwards, but it was never meant in a bad way; it was always tongue in cheek. It got old sooen enough though. So much happens in football and the famous saying is true, that nothing is as old as yesterday's newspaper. That is why other things were soon talked about.
Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp said of you at the time: “For him, that goal will remain in inconsequential blip in his career. ” Are you happy that he was right?
Yes, definitely. Jürgen Klopp is generally 99 per cent right with everything he says, so it shouldn't be any different in this case.
Do you think that a player will score an own goal in the Bundesliga from an even greater distance than you managed one day?
Something like this can happen again, I wouldn't rule it out. There is no specific player I would imagine doing that, but I wouldn't have thought I could do it myself either. An own goal like this is simply an accident that can happen.
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