I never regretted Liverpool transfer - beer was thrown at me during wild party where strange things happened

I never regretted Liverpool transfer - beer was thrown at me during wild party where strange things happened

Karl-Heinz Riedle has recalled how he ended up joining Liverpool, earned the wrath of one team-mate on his debut and saw his Reds initiation cut short at wild Christmas party

Zinedine Zidane (L), former football player and head coach of Real Madrid CF, and Karl-Heinz Riedle, former football player of Borussia Dortmund, smile prior to the UEFA Champions League final football match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid CF (Image: © 2024 Nicolò Campo )

Karl-Heinz Riedle has recalled how his Liverpool initiation ended with his team-mates pouring beer over his head at a wild Christmas party. The German joined the Reds from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 1997 when 31 years of age.

The striker would go on to spend little over two years at Anfield, scoring 15 goals from 76 appearances, before leaving for Fulham in September 1999.

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When joining Liverpool, Riedle became the first German to play for the club in the Reds’ history. And when it was time for his initiation at the first team squad’s annual Christmas party, he decided to sing a song from his homeland.

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But the now 59-year-old has admitted he did not last long on stage as his team-mates brought his initiation song to an abrupt end.

"It was a tradition that every new player had to sing at the Christmas party," Riedle explained . "I don’t remember the song I sang – I think it was a Bavarian song.

“But it didn’t last long, because after not even 30 seconds, I got all of the beer over my head. That was it!

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"It was a very wild party anyway, where a lot of strange stuff happened. I think that was the last Christmas party Liverpool had at that time…"

Riedle had already been given a rude awakening on his Liverpool debut the previous August against Wimbledon.

Ahead of the game, his team-mates had warned him about their midfield hardman, Vinnie Jones.

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But while the striker clashed earlier on with Jones, he actually earned the wrath of one of his own team-mates during the 1-1 draw as he learned a lesson he would never forget after moving to England.

"The players came to me before the game and said, 'Listen, we’re playing against Vinnie Jones,” he told FourFourTwo . “‘He’s completely nuts'.

"I knew his record and even the video tape he had released: Soccer’s Hard Men.

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“In the end, it was funny for another reason. Jones fouled me straight away, but there was another situation where I dribbled, had slight contact with a Wimbledon player, fell on the floor and shouted for a penalty.

“Seconds later, somebody pulled me up and said, 'Don’t do that in England.' It was Steve McManaman. He was like, 'You should never cheat to win penalties in England.' From that day, I never did it again!"

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Riedle was actually a European champion when he joined Liverpool, having scored two goals for Borussia Dortmund when they beat Juventus 3-1 to win the Champions League in 1997.

But that meant little after Nevio Scala replaced Ottmar Hitzfield as manager, as the striker quickly fell out of favour before moving to Liverpool.

"After winning the Champions League, we went to a training camp during pre-season,” he said. “And there had been rumours that Dortmund were struggling financially and were looking for money.

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"For me, it was a good time to make a move, as I was already 31, and maybe the club also thought that it was the right time to sell me if they wanted to get some money for me.

“Then my agent called me to ask whether I would be keen to go to Liverpool. It sounded special and I was happy to go.

“Also, I wasn’t really getting along with our new coach at Dortmund [Nevio Scala], who had replaced Ottmar Hitzfeld after the final.

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"It was quite strange from the beginning, because I had maybe my best pre-season ever in Switzerland – I was on fire – but I continuously ended up in the reserve team. There was a striker who had never played before and he was playing in my position.

“That made me think that something was going on. In hindsight, the decision was really good for me: it was an incredible experience to go to Liverpool and later Fulham. I spent the last four years of my career in England, so I never regretted it."

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