Horst Blankenburg: A tale lost in time

(L-R) Willem van Hanegem of Feyenoord, Horst Blankenburg of Ajax during the Dutch Eredivisie match between Feyenoord and Ajax on april 15, 1972 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)

Blankenburg though, puts it down to the sheer boldness in him that was too much for Schon to cope with -

“Maybe I was too inconvenient for the national coach; I always said what I thought,” “It is partially my fault. After I won the European Cup with Ajax for the third time in a row (in 1973), a journalist told me that Schön had said ‘I’ve never noticed Blankenburg. I don’t know why I should select him.’ Of course I was angry and said to the journalist ‘Schön can lick my arse!’ That didn’t go unpublished – and that was the end of my dreams of the national team.”

The retirement of Willi Schulz cleared the path for Franz Beckenbauer to take up the sweeper’s position in the national team. Der Kaiser went on to represent his country for 60 consecutive games between 1970 and 1977, dashing any hopes of Blankenburg to put on the white of his country in an international match.

Naturally, the thumping dished out to Bayern in the 1973 European Cup came as a sweetener for the defender. It would suffice to say that Blankenburg played like a man possessed with the aim of outshining his national team ‘counter-part.’ There was no question as to who the better libero was, and it wasn’t Beckenbauer.

He recollects his playing days at Ajax -

“The team was so strong that it made playing a lot of fun. We played five meters behind the halfway line. At Ajax they don’t just forget what you’ve done for the club.”

After 5 years of living his dream, Blankenburg moved back to Germany after signing for Hamburg. After that, he never really got going, and swapped clubs frequently before finally hanging up his boots at the age of 38. The defender reminisces that he “missed the relaxed attitudes of the Dutch and Johan Cruyff“, since moving away from Holland.

Fair to say, Horst Blankenburg never really achieved anything exceptional, leaving aside his Ajax days. Hennes Weisweller, the mastermind of the great Gladbach side of the early 70′s, describes him as the ideal libero any manager would love to have. The sturdy character was a unique combination of attacking flair and defensive solidity, and provided the backbone of solidity that the genius of Johan Cruyff necessitated.

Such was the talent of Blankenburg that he was asked to unanimously represent the Oranje in the 1974 World Cup by Cryuff himself, but he did not budge in to the temptation, hoping that Schon would eventually call him up for Die Mannschaft.

The bad blood between Germany and Netherlands during the 70′s had a common point of interest – Horst Blankenburg. The Dutch courted him, and the Germans did not need him. In the end, one cannot blame the Ajax legend for feeling more Dutch than German.

The disappointment of making it to the national team still lingers around Blankenburg. With a sense of regret, he says – “I am not happy. I am content.”

However, three European Cups and an eternal sense of affection in his adopted home, where a bridge is named after him, still brings a smile to Blankenburg’s face.