Whether young or old, everyone in the stadium, indeed everyone in Cologne knows Overath the footballer. He had a sweet left foot and was a genius in possession, the driving force, the brains of the team, a battler, a rebel, a leader and an oppressor.
He was a superstar whose career peaked with victory in the 1974 FIFA World Cup”. Overath also played in the 1966 final at Wembley, and in Mexico four years later, his goal against Uruguay sealed victory in the play-off for third place. His international career drew to a close with that memorable win over the Netherlands in 1974, Overath explaining his decision to retire with “there’s nothing else left”.
His decision to quit the national team was impeccably timed, just like his retirement from club football three years later. Overath actually took a while to heed the warnings of Cologne’s rather unpopular coach Hennes Weisweiler but in the end he jumped before he was pushed, although as it turned out, he could have said farewell in rather more spectacular style. As fate would have it, in 1978 – one year after his retirement – Cologne, led by their new heroes Heinz Flohe and Herbert Neumann, finally clinched their long-awaited second league title.
Overath had retired from the game, but he had not said goodbye to the sport altogether. “In my heart and soul, I am a footballer,” he would often say, proving it on an almost daily basis. In scenes rather reminiscent of Groundhog Day, people would forever cross paths with Cologne’s former number 10, a man with dark shaggy hair, an ascetic figure, bright eyes, nimble feet and a sharp reply. As the years went by, Uwe Seeler put on weight and Gunter Netzer lost his pace, but Wolfgang Overath barely changed.

One of the best footballers that Germany has ever produced, Wolfgang Overath is currently grabbing the headlines as president of his beloved Cologne, a club that the 63-year-old wants to lead back to the German top flight in the 2007-08 season.
It is fair to say that Wolfgang Overath is not a huge fan of the pre-season, a football-free period without any goals or points to play for. No chance of making amends for a poor result by winning the next match. All he has to look forward to are meetings with fans and crisis talks with the club board. All well and good, but not exactly what a man like Overath craves.
Overath is actually already yearning to throw himself back into the battle for points, goals and promotion. “Battle” is the correct word because Overaths entire life seems to have been one long battle, whether as the youngest of eight children whose older brothers never returned home from war, as the smallest player on a pitch with bigger boys, or as the teenage star who scored Cologne’s first ever Bundesliga goal. And so on and so forth.
His battles are showing no signs of letting up, this time as the president of his beloved club. His current battle is to win promotion to the German top flight, which in a way is also a battle to save his reputation. Overath has always been known as a one-club man, having only ever played professionally for the “Billy Goats”, but that has not shielded him from criticism. Those who once chanted his name are now pulling his decisions to pieces. Those who once bowed at his feet now want to pull the rug from underneath him.
Back in the days when political correctness was unheard of, Overath was known as “the gypsy”. His biography, published in 1970, was called “Yes, my temper”. These days, his temper is something reserved for journalists who pen articles that he does not agree with. When that happens, Overath’s voice becomes strained as he curses and complains before deciding whether to forgive and forget.
These days Overath can usually be found in the stands, sitting rigid and expressionless as he watches the all-too-often substandard performances of those that have followed him in a Cologne shirt. Yet those who know him are all too aware that he is actually about to explode.

WOLFGANG OVERATH
Born: 23 September 1943 in Siegburg (Germany).
Nationality: German
Current position: president of Cologne (since 2004).
Playing career: 1953-1962: SV Siegburg 04. 1962-1977: Cologne
Honours as a player: World Cup winner 1974; World Cup runner-up 1966; third place in 1970 World Cup (voted best midfielder in competition); German league champion 1964; German cup winner 1968. 765 matches for Cologne. 81 international appearances for Germany, 17 goals.
Miscellaneous: married to Karin since 1962; two sons (Marco, 38, businessman; Sascha, 36, artist), one adopted daughter from Brazil (Marcina, 15, still at school).