A great striker, then manager, Kalle turns 70. “Trapattoni’s press conference at Bayern ended up on the news. In the 1980s, the world was a happier place.”

“When we were kids, we built our own pitches in Lippstadt; we cut the grass, assembled wooden goals, and when schools closed for six weeks for the holidays, we played soccer every day.” Karl-Heinz Rummenigge turns 70 on Thursday and has been involved with soccer for seven decades: from a young “soccer craftsman” to a star player, then an internationally renowned executive: “I still enjoy soccer.”

And what do you enjoy about soccer?

“Football itself, because I see new things, which sometimes work and sometimes don’t, but football has always been my life since I was a child, I enjoy watching it. When I played as a young man, it was the best thing, even in a stadium like San Siro, where a goal was met with explosions of joy, for the fans, for myself and for my teammates.”

Speaking of goals, what was your best one?

“The one they disallowed, an acrobatic effort in Inter vs. Rangers in 1984. I saw a photo where my foot was half a meter away from the defender. Then I scored another goal, an easy header, but the other one was a masterpiece, stolen by a German referee.“

The toughest opponents?

”There were quite a few, especially in Italy. But among the toughest, I’d put Beppe, I mean Bergomi, as in the 1982 World Cup final. Claudio Gentile wasn’t a close friend on the field either. And then, strangely enough, a German, Karl-Heinz Förster, who was very fast and focused; but in my last season at Bayern, I scored twice, and he was furious. Then I remember a pretty tough match with Franco Baresi.“

What kind of match?

”The Milan derby, we were playing without shin guards, a tackle by a Milan player, a cut on my shin. In the locker room, Dr. Benazzi wanted to give me a painkiller injection, but then I wouldn’t have been able to play in the Cup in Cologne the following Wednesday. I had it stitched up without an injection, with a towel in my mouth for the pain. On Wednesday, I played with a special shin guard, scored two goals, and we won 3-1. The stitches had done me good.“

When did you realize that Italy was your destiny?

”I arrived in 1984, but even before that, I had Italy in mind if I left Bayern. Barcelona wanted me, alongside Maradona, but I had been on vacation in your country and really liked it. I was also in close contact with Mr. Boniperti, who would occasionally come to Munich to have coffee with me and my wife. He was a gentleman of great class. He wanted to bring me to Juve, and I told him that if I decided to leave, I would let him know.“

And how did you betray him for Inter?

”No, I didn’t betray him. I always behaved professionally. Sandro Mazzola came to Monaco to offer me a contract with Inter, so I informed Boniperti. He needed time because he had to talk to Avvocato Agnelli, but he told me, ‘If you want, we’ll find a solution.’ In the meantime, however, I was already in contact with Ernesto Pellegrini. I made my decision because I liked Milan as a city and Inter as a club, and I immediately felt at home thanks to how the fans welcomed me at the stadium.”

Then there were Mazzola’s famous roses for his wife, according to legend. Is that true?

“Sandro was clever. He came to my house, went to my office to call Pellegrini, then came back to the living room and said, ‘The president agrees, we can do it.’”

And how did you convince Trapattoni, at a time when Italian coaches didn’t go abroad, to come to Bayern in 1994?

“Franz Beckenbauer, Uli Hoeness, and I went to his house in Cusano. We talked, then he asked me to go with him alone into the kitchen. He explained that he didn’t understand my behavior, because he was my coach at Inter when I injured my tendon and missed out on a contract extension, even though there was already a preliminary agreement. He felt responsible and asked me if I was angry with him. I replied that I wasn’t, because it was a professional decision. He said that an Italian wouldn’t have behaved that way. We shook hands and he came to Bayern.

It was a modern idea for the times.

“Yes, he struggled with the language, he came to me and told me he couldn’t cope with German, and as vice president I stepped in to help him as an interpreter, I understood that he was struggling. It went well with him, especially in his second spell at Bayern. And he became a fan favorite because of that famous press conference.”

Of course, the one about “Strunz” and players like “Flasche leer,” empty bottles. Were you at headquarters?

“Yes, the press officer came and told us to turn on the TV because Trap had given an incredible press conference. Franz was there too. It was the first time that a coach’s press conference was also broadcast on the news. We laughed a little, but we also said: finally, someone who speaks clearly to the players.“

Which players did you like the most?

”The forwards are the salt in the soup, as we say. Especially the wingers, like Ribery, Robben, and now Olise. And the center forwards. Luca Toni too. He wasn’t so convinced about coming to Bayern.”

How did you convince him?

“We went to Brescia, to his agent’s house, and in the end we all laughed a lot, even Beckenbauer, who didn’t understand Italian. We left happy. Luca was the right player, for his goals and his attitude in the dressing room.”