Sengewald built like a Berlin Well

THE now-defunct East Germany may well be the national team that time forgot, but one can still unearth those who mourn its passing from the football digest. That certainly appears true of Daniel Sengewald, who clutches close to his bosom images of his father Dietmar rampaging around Europe with those mechanical East German sides of three decades ago.

"I loved football from a young age because of my dad and started playing it when I was only three years old," he recalled. "He was a good player for East Germany in the 1970s, and he took me down to play with the football on the beach."

Being informed of his "inspiration" on an frighteningly-chilly July afternoon at Motherwell’s Fir Park feels surreal, but in modern football fascinating characters tend to be discovered in the most unlikely venues. To most Motherwell fans, Sengewald is one of three new signings - alongside Bosman frees David Partridge and Khaled Kemas - but there are always worthy stories behind supposed bland names.

If the Berlin Wall had not thundered to the ground in 1989, Sengewald could never have played professional football. "For me, it was great to see the wall coming down, because before that you couldn’t move from the east to the west or anywhere in Europe."

With no more boundaries, players began to move freely. He remembers such as Matthias Sammer and Ulf Kirsten snag juicier salaries, and longed for his own adventure. Over the past few years he has played for 1860 Munich and Royal Antwerp, but a lack of first-team bows persuaded him to come to Scotland.

"My friend, Alen Orman, plays for Hibs, and he is always telling me about the football and the noise," he revealed. "If you have 8000 people in a stadium here, then it must be better than Germany, because the grounds are smaller and will hold the atmosphere."

His new manager, Terry Butcher, has added credibility to the notion that great players do not always make wondrous coaches. It is interesting to note that Butcher - who wallowed in baubles with Rangers and captained England to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup - has won only 35 of 105 competitive games in spells running Sunderland, Coventry and Motherwell. But Sengewald has faith in his ability.

"It’s excellent that Terry Butcher wanted me. He has played three World Cups, and it’s terrific for me that he has also played in my position. You need a manager like that to tell you and help you. If you can’t learn from someone like that, then who can you learn from?"

Whatever fate holds for Motherwell, it surely cannot get any worse than last season. The departure of John Boyle - the holiday tycoon turned football proprietor - was a galling affair for all concerned. In attempting to apply the Midas touch to Motherwell, he got his fingers badly scalded, and the fall-out was felt throughout Fir Park: 6m of his personal investment evaporated and, while the club were placed in receivership, a handful of performers were rendered desolate and broken.

It was a bad time, and one gets the impression in visiting Fir Park that it is still a shell of its former self. Sengewald has not been tainted by witnessing grown men slumped on the main entrance of Fir Park, clutching their P45s like death certificates, and that can only have a regenerating effect.

After downing Birmingham City 2-1 in Wednesday night’s pre-season friendly, the squad spent the next day drifting down the River Clyde on the Waverley paddle-steamer enjoying high tea. It is perhaps Butcher’s own form of team-bonding, and one that’s markedly different from those infamous beer-swilling evenings he spent at Rangers.

Sengewald hopes Motherwell can revel in their new-found sobriety. "I know the club almost went down, but we must look forward and try to be successful for this season...and forget about what happened. There is a great spirit and some really good players."

Before meeting Sengewald, I asked a fairly-rotund club official where I could find him to be told: "The Big German? You’ll know him when you see him." Aged 26, and standing 6ft 3in, Sengewald is a towering figure, and certainly appears to possess the correct equipment to deal with the pugnacious nature of life in the SPL.

Karl Ready and Greg Strong were sometimes brutal contestants, but perhaps the man from East Germany will add more silk. During his time in Munich he trained alongside Thomas Hassler, but he was always devoted to stealing glimpses of Bayern in free moments. "I support Bayern - my heart is always with them, but no-one from 1860 Munich should know that," he chuckles. "The clubs’ training grounds are only 400 metres apart, and my flat was between them. When I was off in the morning, I’d go over to watch Bayern training."

If FC Hollywood, as Bayern are dubbed in Germany, impress Sengewald, so does their biggest star. Sprinkling names into the conversation lets one know that he revels in the game. German football’s ‘golden boy’ Michael Ballack signed a four-year deal worth 9m with Bayern Munich this summer, and Sengewald vividly remembers playing with him. "Me and Michael were together at Chemnitzer FC. He was a nice guy, and I am pleased for him that his career has gone well. We are almost the same age, and we came up together. It is great to see him doing so well, but it also shows me there is not so much difference.

"You need a little bit of luck along the way, and Michael got that. He was already on top, but he was lucky with injuries, and you need that to make it right to the top."

At Motherwell, Sengewald is unlikely to be on top of anything, and he will get plenty of practice at defending. Bookmakers never get odds far wrong, and Motherwell are not 2500-1 to win the SPL because they possess burgeoning talent. The loss of top-goalscorer Stuart Elliott to Hull City during the close season was galling, but the club’s security comes first when receivers are still wandering around the place.

Aficionados of Scottish football will not be surprised if forward Jamie McFadden gleans most of the plaudits as they try to avoid becoming embroiled with Partick in what looks ripe for a duel to avoid relegation. Sengewald is adamant that he can oblige his personal mandate. "My qualities are in the air. I can win a lot of balls in the air, but I like to play football. The ball is my friend, and I feel comfortable on the ground.

"We must not fear anyone because there is not a massive difference, and on their day Motherwell can beat a club like Celtic or Rangers. You see a small team in the Bundesliga beat Bayern Munich, and it happens everywhere."

He has an idea of what to expect having already visited Celtic Park, and proclaimed it a cathedral for any footballer. How would he feel if he whacks the prodigious Henrik Larsson in the air in front of 60,000 of his adoring fans? "It will be normal to play against players like that, and I won’t be scared of coming up against him," he says. "In Germany we say he’s just cooking with water, nothing else. I know he is a special player, but there is no point in being scared of him or anyone else."

There no longer is an iron curtain separating Sengewald from his footballing destiny, but whether he can fulfil it at Fir Park is open to some debate. At least Motherwell, with their backs to the wall, can call on an individual projecting the required mettle.