60 years of Bundesliga
When talking about a goal quite like no other, Moritz Stoppelkamp was certain it would take a miracle for his feat of 2014 to be repeated. The former Paderborn man sits with bundesliga.com to remember his record long-range effort.
There has never been a goal quite like this. On 20 September 2014, Moritz Stoppelkamp found the net from almost 90 yards to put Paderborn 2-0 up against Hannover. Having already caused something of a sensation at the start of the 2014/15 campaign, Stoppelkamp's long-range jaw-dropper was the icing on the cake for the team from North Rhine-Westphalia, who at one point led the division.
Now 36 years old and plying his trade with Rot-Weiss Oberhausen in the Regionalliga West, the memories of that September afternoon are still as fresh today as they were almost 10 years ago for Stoppelkamp. As part of the Bundesliga's 60th birthday celebrations, bundesliga.com spoke to the attacking midfielder about his iconic, record-breaking goal.
bundesliga.com: Moritz Stoppelkamp, your name sits alongside those of Gerd Müller, corner-king Bernd Nickel and Bundesliga legend Robert Lewandowski in terms of our 60th anniversary moments to remember. Does the record make you proud?
Moritz Stoppelkamp: "Yes, definitely. It's not part of my everyday life [to be among such company], so I am very happy to be mentioned alonsgide those players."
bundesliga.com: What do you remember of your record goal?
Stoppelkamp: "It was the fourth matchday and we were 1-0 up against Hannover. The game was going well for us, but as it was still close in the closing stages, Hannover threw everything into attack. At one point, their goalkeeper came up for a free-kick. We defended the situation well and the ball bounced in front of my feet. My thought at that moment was that we didn't have anyone forward so I just cleared the ball out of the danger zone. I thought, with a bit of luck I might score but if not, it would at least allow us to reposition ourselves and defend again."
bundesliga.com: But the ball went in...
Stoppelkamp: "Exactly. Fortunately I got it that far downfield that the ball rolled into the net. It decided the game and, of course, turned out to be a spectacular goal that I will remember for the rest of my life. It was also the goal that gave us the lead in the standings. We then headed to face Bayern Munich as league leaders. Those were great moments for Paderborn."
bundesliga.com: Were you immediately aware of just how iconic the moment would become?
Stoppelkamp: "I didn't think about that when I was celebrating, that I had just scored the goal from the longest distance. It wasn't until the week after that that I was asked about it and as a result I received an award or two. The goal was voted Goal of the Month, but it wasn't the Goal of the Year because Mario Götze scored for Germany to win the World Cup in the same year. Of course, I didn't have that much of a chance compared with that goal."
bundesliga.com: Had you tried any long-distance shots in training prior to netting against Hannover?
Stoppelkamp: "No, it was just one of those things. It makes no sense to train for something like that. It was due to the situation we found ourselves in. Everything happened very quickly at that moment; you don't think about whether you're going to score from there. It was my intention to shoot the ball towards the goal, but I had no idea that it would get that far."
bundesliga.com: You've always been known for your powerful shooting. How much of that is down to training and how much is natural talent?
Stoppelkamp: "You can sense a certain talent for it, but it definitely requires a lot of training. You have to improve your shooting technique over and over again."
bundesliga.com: Records are meant to be broken. Do you expect that at some point a Bundesliga player will score from an even greater distance than you managed?
Stoppelkamp: "I think I can say with some confidence that it will be difficult to break my record! A lot of stars would have to allign for that. It takes a tight game in which the goalkeeper is thrown forward before the end. Then, the player would have to hit the ball perfectly and get a lot of power behind the shot. There are certainly many Bundesliga players who have what it takes, but I'm sure that nobody will repeat the feat anytime soon."
Interview: Tim Müller