Timo Konietzka passed away

It was a sad day for Borussia Dortmund yesterday. Friedhelm (Timo) Konietzka, one of Borussia’s most popular srtikers during the sixties, passed away in a Swiss hospital. Suffering from cancer he decided for medical assisted euthanasia, which is allowed in Switzerland. Born 1938 in Lünen, a small town, around 10 kilometers away from Dortmund, he played from 1958 until 1965 for Borussia Dortmund. Konietzka got his nickname “Timo” because of his very short haircut, similar to former Sovjet general Timoschenko. As scorer of the first goal in the new Bundesliga, founded in 1965, Timo will be noted for ever. Too fast for TV cameras he shot the 1:0 for Borussia in Bremen, only 58 seconds after the kick-off.

In seasons 1963/64, 1964/65 and 1965/66 he was the second-best scorer in the Bundesliga. In 1963 he was member of Borussia’s Deutscher Meister team and in 1965 his second title with Dortmund was winning the DFB-Cup. In 1966 he switched from Borussia Dortmund to Munich 1860 and became Deutscher Meister again. It was a big surprise for everyone when Timo left Munich in 1967 and joined Swiss club FC Winterthur. For this club he played until his retirement in 1971. In the Bundesliga he totally played in 100 matches and scored 72 (!) goals, awesome figures. Konietzka was capped for Germany nine times and scored three goals as International.

His following coaching career included engagements for various clubs in Switzerland and Germany. In season 1984/85 he returned as Borussia’s coach to Dortmund. But sadly he couldn’t live up to expectations. After 9 matches with only 2 wins Konietzka had to quit the job together with manager Dieter Tippenhauer. He continues his career in Switzerland and in 1988 he took Swiss citizenship.

So rest in peace Timo, we will always keep you in mind as one of Borussia’s most effective strikers.

Editors, 13.03.2012

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