Chancellor leaves early: BVB fan Merz misses last-minute winner | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund sparks ecstasy at Signal Iduna Park in stoppage time. Chancellor Friedrich Merz misses the late penalty-winning goal because he leaves the stadium early.

The most prominent spectator of the evening missed the dramatic climax: Chancellor Friedrich Merz left the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC St. Pauli (3:2) before the end – and thus missed the spectacular winning goal in stoppage time.

Merz had watched the match on Saturday afternoon at Signal Iduna Park from the stands. Next to him sat BVB president Hans-Joachim Watzke, with whom the chancellor shares a long-standing friendship. Both hail from the Sauerland region, and Merz was a member of Dortmund’s supervisory board until 2014. The chancellor was thus clearly visible to the TV cameras, which caught him several times in the VIP stands.

Sportingly, the match developed into a game of two halves. Dortmund took a 2-0 lead through goals from Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi, but then noticeably dropped off. St. Pauli took full advantage of Dortmund’s mistakes, with James Sands and Ricky-Jade Jones equalizing to make it 2-2. After the equalizer in the 72nd minute, Merz left the stadium with his security team.

Criticism despite BVB victory: Kovac laments many mistakes

The decision came very late. In stoppage time, referee Harm Osmers awarded a penalty after a foul by Jones on Maximilian Beier. BVB captain Emre Can kept his nerve and converted in the 96th minute to make it 3-2 – Signal Iduna Park went wild. The chancellor missed out on the “BVB madness.”

Nevertheless, Merz was enthusiastic after the match. “What an exciting game!” he wrote, adding that he was “finally back as a guest at my BVB.” The chancellor’s visit also had an official reason. Beforehand, Merz was honored in Dortmund by the West Bakers’ Guild Association with the “Großer Stutenkerl,” the association’s highest award. The laudation was given by Watzke – also from Sauerland – near the stadium.

However, hardly anyone was satisfied with the team’s performance. Coach Niko Kovac openly criticized after the match: “At the moment, we simply have too many passing errors, too many inaccuracies in our game, which ruin many situations for us.” In the end, it was enough – at least for the fans who stayed until the very last second.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.