Photo gallery: Hitzfeld, Schäfer and a record number of visitors
Exciting anecdotes and interesting opinions: once again in September, the FIFA World Football Museum in Zurich was a lively meeting place for fans, history lovers, culture vultures and familiar names from the most popular of all forms of sport.
German veteran manager Winfried Schäfer stopped by on Wednesday, 13 September 2017 and thoroughly enjoyed his long walk through the exhibition. The former coach of the Cameroon, Thailand and Jamaica national teams then took to the stage for the popular Anpfiff panel discussion. This time, the event was about different footballing cultures and the question of: "Second home or just passing through? What makes players want to switch to another country?" Schäfer, who took part at the 2002 FIFA World Cup™, then took some time for fascinating talks with several visitors.
Visiting the permanent exhibition, Schäfer's heart began to beat a lot faster as he stood in front of the 2002 World Cup showcase. "The finals in Korea and Japan were certainly a highlight of my career as a manager to date," said Schäfer, who is now 67. The eight-minute film in the panoramic cinema showing scenes from all of the World Cup finals gave him goosebumps. After his one-hour journey through footballing history, Schäfer promised to come back soon: "All of these great pieces and their histories... And, on top of that, the films and interactive stations. This is a wonderful and unique place for all football fans!"
One week beforehand, another famous manager was on the stage. At the première of the talk show "Coach's Corner" on Thursday, 7 September 2017, Ottmar Hitzfeld spoke about tactics and mentalities in front of an audience of 150 in "The Rainbow" area of the museum. The former manager of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich and former coach of the Swiss national team also spoke about his memories of taking part in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and 2014 edition in Brazil.
Both the Anpfiff discussion panel and the "Coach’s Corner" talk show are regular events as part of the cultural programme of the FIFA World Football Museum. Click HERE to see the events calendar.
At the start of the month, the museum set a new record for the number of visitors. During Zurich's "Long Night of Museums", some 2,450 inquisitive people visited the home of football history. Several of them joined the numerous guided tours on Saturday, 2 September 2017, which were held in German and English, or played against each other in the various interactive challenges in the "Fields of Play" area of the museum.
The visitors also took the chance to take a look at the special photo exhibition "Sold out! Fans. Africa. 1959-1979.", which included captivating images from the collection of the former Tunisian journalist, Faouzi Mahjoub. No ball. No players. No game. Just people watching football. Fans in Africa in the 1960s and 1970s were the focus of the pictures that were on show in the museum’s new event hall until 10 September. It was also possible to have a caricature of your favourite star drawn by the famous Argentinian cartoonist, Germán Aczel, who was at the exhibition in person.
