Exclusive:Lowdown on Hibs Euro throwback opponents as former Easter Road favourite breaks down Rot-Weiss Essen
Matty Jack played for both clubs - and is back for friendly clash
Don’t let their lowly league status fool you. If they weren’t so proud of their working-class roots, Rot-Weiss Essen might just qualify as German footballing aristocracy.
So what do Hibs fans need to know about this 3. Bundesliga from the Rhur area? Who better to ask than Mathias Jack, who will be guest of honour at Easter Road tonight.
Jack, who played with distinction for both clubs, is pleased to see two of his former teams reuniting for a replay of that historic European Cup clash way back in 1955. It’s fair to say that Hibs and Essen have enjoyed contrasting fortunes in the decades since.
“Essen is known as a very, very hard-working, working-class club in the middle of the Ruhrgebiet,” said Jack, the former defender adding: “You need to understand you have clubs like Borussia Dortmund, only 20 miles away, Schalke, You have VfL Bochum, the club I played for as well.
“You have so many clubs in and around this area. It's a very compact area.
“But Rot-Weiss Essen, they have a following that's amazing. Once Rot-Weiss Essen, always Rott-Weiss Essen, that’s how the supporters feel.
Centre-half played for Essen in German Cup Final
“I played for them in the German Cup final in 1994 in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin in front of 76,000 people and Essen brought 30,000 people to this game. Absolute, yeah, crazy, positive crazy.
“And even before I came here on Saturday, the media guy from the club gave me a call as well and he told me that Rot-Weiss Essen is bringing to this game 2,200 fans. I know, it's a lot of fans.
“Obviously, they are now in the 3. Bundesliga. Thankfully. They used to be in the regional west, they were stuck there for 12 years - and still attracted crowds to games, five figure numbers.
“Why? They were very, very famous. You know Helmut Rahn, who scored the winning goal in the 1954 World Cup and Germany became, surprisingly, world champion against Hungary in Basel in the Wankdorf Stadion.
“Everyone in Germany knows this story, him scoring in the rain. And he was a legend with Rot-Weiss Essen. He scored the winning goal for Germany. There were other players, Horst Hrubesch grew up there, Manni Burgsmüller. One more famous guy is Otto Rehhagel, the coach.
“Essen is, I think if I'm not completely mistaken, the fifth or sixth biggest city in Germany. So it's Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich. I think then comes Essen. So it's really big.
“And the big companies, they're settled there. But obviously when they were playing in the Regionalliga, you know, it's hard to attract sponsors.”
Bundesliga clubs can drop down ladder quickly
It’s a testament to the mobility within German football, not to mention its willingness to impose punishments on even major ‘brands’ found guilty of breaching strict financial rules, that so many big clubs do end up sliding down the divisions. Having already played HSV Duisburg in pre-season, Hibs are doing their own personal tour of significant clubs gone wrong.
“So it happens in Germany, yeah,” said Jack. “Duisburg is just halfway to Essen. That's another very big traditional club. They have an unbelievable following as well.
“And yeah, that's the beauty of this area. Even, you know, I live 30 miles away from Essen. And we have Cologne, we have Leverkusen, we have Gladbach, we have Fortuna Düsseldorf. So we've got loads of people flying into Düsseldorf International and then go and see football games, you know, the football crazy people.
“And football in Germany is, compared to England, English prices, ticket prices, very, very cheap. I know Scots fly over to see games, maybe Cologne is popular.
“Düsseldorf is even nicer, not because I live there, but Düsseldorf is nicer. And we have the better beer. They drink Kölsch, we have Altbier!
“And yeah, Leverkusen, you can see Champions League games. Sometimes they cannot even fill their stadium for Champions League games. And they won the double last year with, yeah, the season before.”
Hibs will be embarking on their own European adventures this season, of course. And Jack, always a favourite among fans, is hoping to be part of the journey.
“I went to see Hibs in Luzern when they played in the Conference League,” he revealed, adding: “I went on my own, arrived on the Monday, I think, for the game on the Thursday.
“So on Tuesday the first Hibs colours were seen. More on Wednesday, and then on game day, it was crazy, 1200 Hibs supporters, and again, half of them, they knew who I was, and they were singing my songs and my name.
“I think it's not so hard to explain why I had such a good relationship with Hibs fans. Obviously I could stop the ball and pass it to the next one, but obviously there were more high-skilled players in our team.
“I mentioned only Russell Latapy or Franck Sauzee. And that's the beauty in football, you cannot have 10 players like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch; I don't think you're going to win a football game, it has to be the right mix.
“I was not the only hard-working guy on the pitch, when you see our centre-halves over the four years we had, they've done a fantastic job, the full-backs. And then obviously you give the ball to the more forward-oriented players, Mixu, David Zitelli, Russell just in behind.
“But I always said to myself: ‘Leave it all on the pitch, and hopefully you can look in the mirror after the game.” You don’t want to be leaving 10% out there.
“OK, sometimes it's also a team sport, so I can have the best game of my career, or a very good game, if six or seven let us down, or not showing up from my team-mates, so that's the thing.”