A refreshing break like no other! This Saturday, on the occasion of the centenary of the Weserstadion, the legends of Werder Bremen welcomed those of Real Madrid in front of 40,000 spectators. But as the two teams faced each other, the referee interrupted the match in the 32nd minute for a particularly unusual reason. Waiters appeared on the pitch to distribute a glass of beer accompanied by a schnapps to the former players. A rather unusual scene on a football field, which was however nothing improvised. This interruption paid tribute to Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder, a former German referee who created an anecdote that became famous in the club’s history.
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On November 8, 1975, during a match between Werder Bremen and Hannover, Ahlenfelder whistled for half-time after only 32 minutes of play, before realizing his mistake and restarting the game. He then stopped the match again 90 seconds before the real break. The referee admitted to having consumed a beer and a schnapps during his pre-match meal, an association traditionally called Herrengedeck in Germany and since renamed Ahlenfelder in Bremen. Fifty-one years later, the former glories of the two clubs have reproduced this famous ritual. On the pitch, the Germans also put on a show by winning 4-3 against the Madrilenians.
