Rudi Völler has been in charge of Bayer Leverkusen since 2005.
The conversation with the former national coach and world champion from 1990 takes place on Friday morning, less than ten hours after the final whistle of the game against Bern (0-2) - and the associated bitter departure from the Europa League.
Question:
There is a lot of hatred against footballers, especially on the Internet, against which professionals are now publicly fighting.
How was that when you were active?
Völler:
At that time there were no cell phones. That was done in direct exchange. What do you think I had to listen to when I played on the Betzenberg, in Naples or with Marseille at PSG? But that never bothered me, it motivated me even more. I just yelled back - louder and with swear words that were even more below the belt. Problem solved! Today the players are different.