His tremendous presence made Erhard Wunderlich the first handball millionaire – and later the German player of the century. He impressed, winning almost every title. This is one of the reasons why Wunderlich enjoyed generous privileges on his last station.
Nobody sits in their seat in the Wuppertal university hall anymore. Two seconds left until the final siren, time is stopped. In the second division game between LTV Wuppertal and VfL Bad Schwartau the score is 26:26. The 4,000 spectators stare spellbound onto the field, where a four-man block has formed, behind which the superstar is getting ready for the free throw: Erhard Wunderlich.
The referees blow their whistle, Wunderlich gets the ball, rises up and fires it into the far corner from 14 meters with the final whistle. The bullet whizzed past friend and foe like a rocket. Hard to see, untenable. As a 19-year-old at the time, I, the reporter, was standing in the gate of LTV Wuppertal and witnessed it firsthand.
I fluctuated for 60 minutes between awe, respect and pride at being able to play against this exceptional handball player. I still ask myself today how this throw found its way into the goal in 1989 for a 27:26 victory for Bad Schwartau. Wunderlich, almost 33 years old at the time, was already in the autumn of his career, but could still decide games when it mattered most.
In 1978, I cheered for him in front of my grandparents’ color television during the live broadcast of the Germans’ World Cup final against the USSR. The West German outsiders won 20:19. During the sensational title win, Wunderlich was the youngest player in the German team at 21. Although he only scored once in the final, he had a tremendous presence – thanks to his impressive height of 2.04 meters and his inimitable eye for his teammates.
“There will never be a better one”
The coach of the then world champion was Vlado Stenzel (91), nicknamed “the magician”. Stenzel told Sport Bild: “There was no better player before and not later either. There will never be a better player again.”
Stenzel was particularly impressed by Wunderlich’s offensive versatility. “When he was still in Augsburg, he played basketball as a secondary sport. This gave him an even greater understanding of the game and a better overview of handball. He was a great passer, but also unique with his precise throws. He was so strong that he could play in any position in the backcourt.”
Just like in the 1978 World Cup final, when Wunderlich – nicknamed “Sepp” because of his Bavarian origins – initially played in the right back, while Jo Deckarm, who tragically died in an accident the following year, played in the left back.
The Augsburg native moved from FCA to the big VfL Gummersbach in 1976. In the same year, the then 19-year-old made his debut in the national team, which he soon became an integral part of and with which he won Olympic silver in 1984. With VfL Gummersbach, the most successful handball club in the world at the time, Wunderlich became German champion twice and cup winner four times. He won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983, the European Cup Winners’ Cup twice and the European Club Championships, and the IHF Cup once.
His constant companion in the club and in the national team was legend Heiner Brand. The only handball player to become world champion as a coach and player says of Wunderlich: “Sepp had extraordinary attacking skills. He had the great talent to recognize situations.” But Brand also says: “In defense he was only useful on the outside. His disadvantage: he wasn’t always in top shape. He always carried around a bit of excess weight. Otherwise he could have been the best handball player in the world.”
It was also Brand who encouraged Wunderlich to move to FC Barcelona in 1983. “If you have the opportunity, do it,” Brand said at the time and adds today: “I fully understood his move.”
Especially since Wunderlich was able to become the first handball millionaire. He was supposed to receive 2.5 million marks (1.3 million euros) for three years in Barcelona. After a cup victory and winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup, the Spanish chapter was already over. Wunderlich was never really happy at Barça. The birth of the first child was scheduled for August 1984. “And I would rather be in my homeland. That’s where it should be born,” he said at the time.
Another argument: The second division team TSV Milbertshofen lured him with a decent salary and a job with sponsor Minolta. Wunderlich stayed with Munich for five years, with whom he was promoted to the Bundesliga in 1986. It was supposed to end in 1989. Actually.
His old world champion coach Stenzel, then under contract with second division bottom club VfL Bad Schwartau, asked his favorite student for help. The “magician” wanted to hold the class and Wunderlich was supposed to help. Stenzel secretly got the acceptance. Nobody in the Schwartau team knew about the prominent addition. Only shortly before the debut at the beginning of February 1989.
Suddenly the cabin door opened
Thomas Knorr, father of current national player Juri Knorr, was in the Schwartau squad when he was 17 years old. The 83-time national player remembers: “The time we spent together with Sepp in Bad Schwartau was awesome and absurd at the same time. We had to play for LTV Wuppertal, which was in a promotion spot at the time. We were sitting in the locker room, mentally preparing for the game. Suddenly the dressing room door opened and Erhard Wunderlich came in – with a sports bag in his hand. Vlado had secretly signed him up. It was unbelievable to me that he suddenly played for us. He never trained with us, always traveled directly to the games and flew back to Munich the day after. We didn’t lose a point with him at home for two years. A great guy, outstanding.”
According to the European Handball Federation, Wunderlich died of cancer in a hospital in Cologne, Germany, on . He was 55 years old. He was buried in his hometown of Augsburg, as was his last wish, on .
In 1999, he was voted German Handballer of the Century. He won four European Cups and two German Championships during his club career. He played 140 international matches for Germany, scoring 504 goals.
