A victory would transform Hearts’ start under Neil Critchley, which the manager has described as “reasonably decent,” into something that borders on remarkable.
Naturally, Bayern Munich is not Heidenheim, the team that Hearts will play in the Conference League at Tynecastle tomorrow night. However, they are now on equal footing. That was definitely not the case in February 1989, when a Bayern side that included players like Olaf Thon, Klaus Augenthaler, and Johnny Ekstrom travelled to Gorgie for the Uefa Cup quarterfinals. Heidenheim had not yet begun their incredible rise up the German pyramid system and were still playing in the amateur levels.
In contrast, Hearts were the only remaining representatives of British football in Europe. Even though English clubs were still prohibited after Heysel, Alex MacDonald’s team had advanced past Rangers, Aberdeen, Dundee United, and Celtic. The last-named team had lost to Werder Bremen in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup the previous November.
Earlier this week, the Parkhead team had a better experience versus German opposition; today, Hearts are trying to pull off an unusual double. Critchley teased, “What game are you referring to?” in reference to Celtic’s thrilling 3-1 Champions League victory over RB Leipzig the night before.
“I don’t know!Well.No, I felt Celtic was excellent when I saw that game last night. That game was entertaining to watch. I felt Celtic played really well that evening, and they deserved their win. I hope we can defeat German opponents and become the next Scottish side to do so.
At Tynecastle, Hearts have a very respectable record versus German opponents. When they arrived in 1976, Lokomotive Leipzig was an East German team. On a memorable evening, they were defeated 5-1. Hearts did this to overcome a 2-0 loss on the road and advance to the Cup-Winners’ Cup second round. It was “a performance which will rank with the best in a long tradition of Tynecastle triumphs,” as The Scotsman reported the next morning.
Although Hearts did lose to Schalke in the Uefa Cup at Murrayfield 20 years ago, their participation in the tournament was terminated by an 8-3 aggregate loss to Hamburg in the next round, and the 4-1 home loss stands as their lone setback against German opponents at Tynecastle to date.
The record is one of pride. It should be mentioned that after huge first-leg victories over Stuttgart in 2000 and Bayern Munich, the latter on a night that has since become legendary, they were unable to finish the tasks.
The probable reward for defeating the most recent German team to visit Tynecastle is what might make a victory on Thursday stand out. In the recently redesigned Conference League, a spot in the round of 16 would virtually be assured. For the first time since 1989, when they nearly defeated Bayern Munich and secured a spot in the semi-finals against Diego Maradona’s Napoli, Hearts would be able to enjoy European football after Christmas.
Critchley, who assumed leadership only last month, has been given the information. He said that he had previously heard about a Bayern Munich match. “Is it Iain Ferguson? I know.
At the age of eleven, the new manager was already employed by Crewe Alexandra, a local team. Martin Tyler, a pundit on BBC 1’s Sportsnight program, was heard squealing, “Boy, did he hit that one!” He may not have been allowed to stay up to see the highlights.
This kind of excitement was not surprising. Ferguson’s goal in the 1-0 triumph at Tynecastle’s old school end is still worth watching on YouTube. Following a sandwich incident that resulted in Mikey Galloway winning a free-kick, Tosh McKinlay pushed the ball to Ferguson, who launched it from 25 yards out with his reliable right foot. The ball flew past Raimond Aumann and into the net.
The striker, who began because John Robertson was recovering from a pelvic injury, proved to be another well-known winner. Two years prior, Ferguson had also scored for Dundee United in the Nou Camp against Barcelona.
Even though Hearts, like today, were having trouble in the league, those were great times for Scottish football. Critchley, who has at least helped Hearts get off the Premiership standings for the time being, stated, “So far, we’ve made a reasonably decent start together.” “Hopefully, on Thursday night, we can advance further.”
Frank Schmidt, who has managed Heidenheim for 17 years and guided the team from the fifth division of German football to the Bundesliga, is at the other end of the spectrum from Critchley.
“I believe that time is something that every manager and coach would desire,” Critchley stated. Heidenheim’s head coach has undoubtedly had that, and with good reason—based on their journey, it’s quite amazing where they’ve come from and where they are today. The journey has been incredible.
He said, “I was just mentioning this morning that I watched a documentary, and I’m pretty sure Frank Schmidt was on that. It must have been about ten years ago now.” Heidenheim was one of the four teams that were being followed in the background. Because it showed you the club’s story, where they were, and where they were attempting to get to, it was quite enjoyable.
“The fact that we are meeting ten years later demonstrates how small the world of football is and how well he has performed.”
It didn’t seem conceivable that the managers would meet on the side of a pitch in Gorgie even ten weeks ago, when Critchley was unemployed and worried about his future. The idea of Critchley searching YouTube for video of a Hearts goal from more than thirty years ago that still has power in these parts is equally absurd. “Not bad, was it?” grinned Critchley, who was impressed. “Hopefully, someone will be remembered for a very long time and score a goal of that kind for us.”
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