I was flying by car seat of my pants when I arrived at Dortmund – but I was determined to fit right in and become a champ
Lambert survived run-in with traffic cops to play key role as German giants conquered Europe
PAUL LAMBERT has memories that will last a lifetime after winning the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund.
But one of the things he recalls most vividly from his journey to glory 20 years ago was being pulled over by the police.
The former Scotland midfielder’s brush with the law – on the night the German club secured their place in the 1997 Champions League Final – was because he didn’t have a proper child seat fitted in his car.
Borussia Dortmund had just triumphed 1-0 at Old Trafford to knock Manchester United out of the semi-finals 2-0 on aggregate.
Lambert raced up to Scotland that same night because he had a national team get-together the next day which led to him being stopped by the police.
He said: “The night Borussia Dortmund beat Manchester United I drove home immediately after the game with my family.
“I got stopped by the police for not having a proper children’s car seat. Amazingly the police officer actually recognised who I was.
“He was also aware of the game I had just played in. He then gave me a police escort to the nearest shops where I could purchase a child’s car seat!
“I thought I was in serious bother when I got flashed but the policeman couldn’t have been nicer. He even wished me good luck for the Final.”
Lambert had been honing his craft for the best part of 10 years with St Mirren and Motherwell before being invited for a trial at Borussia Dortmund in 1996.
Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld spoke fondly of him impressing for Motherwell during a UEFA Cup tie against the Germans in 1994.
The Scot admitted he needed a double take as he lined up for a trial alongside a galaxy of stars including the likes of Stefan Klos, Matthias Sammer, Jurgen Kohler, Andreas Muller, Paulo Sousa, Karl-Heinz Riedle and Stephane Chapuisat.
But Lambert bit the bullet and decided to throw himself into the German football culture, both on and off the field.
He said: “I went to Dortmund on trial and I pinched myself. They said they wanted to sign me. I thought, ‘Great, even if I don’t get a game then at least I will learn.’ That was my mindset. I was so keen and eager to learn.
“From the moment I signed I became one of them. I wrote everything down. I wrote down what we did at training, what I ate, everything I did.
“I completely immersed myself in German football. I forced my way into the team on the opening day of the Bundesliga season and was never out of the side.
“I think if you asked the players they will say they respected the fact I did that and they liked me as a person for it. People talk about world-class players flippantly but that Dortmund dressing room was crammed full of world-class stars and they brought my own game on so much.
“I fitted in to the point where I felt great in their company. I grew up quickly in Germany and became mega professional.
“I learned more in my stint with Dortmund than I did in my whole 20 years playing football.”
It’s almost 20 years to the day since Lambert became the first British player to win the Champions League with a foreign club after Dortmund defeated a star-studded Juventus 3-1 in the Olympiastadion – home of their German rivals Bayern Munich.
Lambert is rightfully proud of the achievement but has never watched the full match back – only because the memories still burn bright.
He said: “I don’t really think about it to be honest. I remember everything about the game but I haven’t watched it since.
“I just have really good memories. It was a huge occasion for the club and the supporters.
“The Juventus team we were up against were a great side. They too had world-class players like Alessandro Del Piero, Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps, Alen Boksic, Christian Vieri, Vladimir Jugovic and Ciro Ferrara.
“But we won and I am immensely proud I was the first Scot and Briton to lift the trophy with a foreign team.
“I am also proud of the fact I joined some elite company and my name is up there alongside the likes of the Lisbon Lions, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and John Robertson.
“It was an incredible achievement. It is all well and good playing in the group stage but you can’t explain how good it is until you win it.
“It was a fantastic night and it
is amazing to think it was 20 years ago now.”
The competitive nature within the Dortmund squad left Lambert in on doubt that Hitzfeld’s unfancied side could upset the odds against overwhelming favourites Juventus in Munich.
The 47-year-old, now manager of Wolves in the English Championship, said: “I reckon everyone remembers the 1997 final because Lars Ricken scored an unbelievable goal with his first touch when he lobbed Angelo Peruzzi from 25 yards.
“The great thing for me about the Final was that it was a real spectacle because two world-class sides were competing for the ultimate prize in European football. “Nobody gave Borussia Dortmund a chance before the game because Juventus were supposedly that good. “But we had some unbelievable players in our squad. I felt if we all played to our potential we had players who could hurt them. “I knew that the Dortmund players were going to give everything they had to win the Champions League. Thankfully we did just that.”