Völler exactly recalls the set-up back then. "The benches used to be on the other side," said the departing sporting managing director as he sat down. And what he also immediately recognised – or perhaps not: "Oh yes, the huge video cube above the pitch has gone."
His first encounter with the legendary Estadio Azteca, up to now his "favourite stadium", came in the 1986 World Cup finals – against Argentina in front of an impressive 114,600 spectators. "It's impressive that a stadium of that dimension was built so long ago," said Völler looking into the vast expanse that was opened in 1966 and now "only" has 81,070 seats due to rebuilding of the stadium.
After an indifferent group stage, Germany went through to the Round of 16 in second place with four points and the team under the then Germany coach Franz Beckenbauer did not cover themselves in glory in the 1-0 victory against Morocco in the last 16 or in the win on penalties against Mexico in the quarter-finals. "We more or less scraped through," admitted Völler in retrospect.
The best performance by Germany was the 2-0 win against France in the semi-finals. Völler, who again and again struggled with minor knocks over the course of the tournament, scored the second goal. Germany were through to the final – and they faced Argentina with Diego Maradona. Völler started the game on the bench but came on for the second half. Shortly after that, Germany went 2-0 down but fought back to level at 2-2 with Rudi Völler scoring again.
The 62-year-old is now standing in front of the goal where he scored. "It was also very hot in the final," remembers Völler taking a walk down memory lane. Germany ended up losing 3-2 to the South American opponents – the dream of winning the title Mexico was over.
Völler's final official trip as a member of the Werkself management ended with a visit to the legendary venue in Mexico City – also where he made his last appearance as a player for Bayer 04. Völler played his final game on the end of season tour to the USA and Mexico.
The Werkself played top-flight Mexican club Atlante in a charity match in front of 60,000 spectators at the Azteca Stadium. The proceeds went to support the Mexico aid programme of the German Football Association (DFB) in Querétaro, where Völler also made a stop again this time. "It's a happy coincidence for me to return here to end my career as a club official," said Völler. "That means the wheel comes full circle for me here again for the second time…"
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