Legends reign supreme
Hamburg - Germany and the rest of the world recorded their second-successive 'Day of Legends' win over a Hamburg XI at the Millerntor Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Wörns lands first blow
While the standard of football wasn't quite in line with your average Bundesliga weekend, the legends put on a decent display for the 20,500 fans inside the sun-baked Millerntor, with Christian Wörns and Olof Thon grabbing the goals either side of Sergej Barbarez's leveller.
Three-time Bundesliga winner Karl-Heinz Riedle was arguably one of the more mobile-looking players on the field, the ex-Borussia Dortmund forward twice going close inside the opening ten minutes.
Hamburg's Matthias Scherz rolled back the years with some purposeful runs up the right-hand side, but it was the visitors who struck first as the once-prolific Stephane Chapuisat teed up former Dortmund star Wörns from close range. The lead lasted barely a minute, though, as Barbarez broke into the box, danced round keeper Andreas Reinke and slotted home for 1-1.
Like a pendulum
Chances came and went at both ends, before former Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Maurizio Gaudinho went down under a challenge from Dirk Zander, with ex-Schalke 04 man Thon tucking away the ensuing spot-kick to restore Bernd Schuster's side's lead midway through the first half.
The introduction of Niko Kovac breathed life into the Hamburg cause after the restart, but the Croat found Werder Bremen and Schalke old boy Oliver Reck in determined mood between the Germany sticks.
Slapstick moment
Slapstick comedy gold ensued as legendary trainer Hermann Rieger entered the fray, towed by a pack of husky dogs, to attend to one of the Hamburg players after a collision with the referee. With the heat taking its toll, legend after legend got a piece of the action as the clock ticked down, with Ulf Kirsten going closest to extending his side's lead, before Reck once again foiled Kovac from point-blank range late on.
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