Nuremberg’s goalkeeper Raphael Schäfer and Bremen’s creative midfielder Marko Marin exchange a few words during their sides’ 2-2 draw on Saturday.

(Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Frankfurt’s Marco Russ and Maik Franz celebrate after the match against Bochum (2-1).

(Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images)

A fairly easy one to solve I think.

Referee Knuth Kircher shows Tim Wiese a yellow card after a foul on Hoffenheim’s striker Maicosuel.

(AP Photo/Joerg Sarbach)

Hoffenheim’s Vedad Ibisevic, Carlos Eduardo and Luiz Gustavo put on their football boots.

(Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Louis van Gaal gives us an idea what Donald Trump could look like, if he cared to invest in a better wig.

(Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Daniel “The Belgian Bull” van Buyten feasts on something which could have been a Belgian bull itself at some point.

(Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Dear mom and dad,

Many, many greetings,
Philipp

(Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Baby Müller with a heart shaped pretzel and his love interest. Now you know how Bavarians symbolically break up. The ones with a sense for drama.

(Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Danijel Pranjic kept a straight face while taking his look away from the beer for a photo.

(Alexandra Beier/Bongarts/Getty Images)

This post sets out to tell its’ story.

Season 1965/1966 to 1966/1967

Here’s the template from which to start. Notice the single curl over his right eye. Great things will eventually grow from it.

For the time being though, Netzer focused on perfecting his football skills. His Borussia Mönchengladbach side had just won promotion to the Bundesliga and would soon be synonymous with great attacking football. The team finished its’ first two Bundesliga seasons 13th and 8th respectively. Netzer also made his first steps in the German national team debuting in October 1965 in a friendly against Austria.

Season 1967/1968 to 1968/1969

Netzer started to add some depth and integrate the single rebelish curl into the system. At this point he can pass as the perfect son-in-law.

Netzer was in the process of testing the potential for commercial exploitation of his profession. Back in 1965 he had already started the publication of a stadium newspaper called “Fohlenecho” (still published today). His conservative hair style clearly indicates that he was overall still tapping in the dark though. His rise to prominence and the performances of his team would soon make him see the light. After finishing 3rd in 1968 and 1969, Borussia Mönchengladbach were ready to shape the Seventies and Netzer was ready for stardom.

Season 1969/1970 to 1970/1971

His trademark special side parting is starting to shine through, as does his marketing prowess. By 1970/1971 it’s becoming clear that he has intentions to go for length.

On the pitch things couldn’t go much better. Mönchengladbach won back to back Bundesliga titles – a first in the young league’s history and Netzer was starting to get more game time in the national team. A business plan also started to come together, which included complementing his work-in-progress hair with a ready-to-go Porsche and a night club called “Lovers Lane”. The Porsche ended up being an invaluable indicator for groupies hoping to catch a glimpse of Netzer at his night club.

Season 1971/1972 to 1972/1973

By 1971 every single hair had fallen into place, so all that was left to do was adding just that little bit of extra length to perfect his signature look. A task completed in time for the 1972/1973 season.

Netzer eventually connected all the remaining dots. Off the pitch he was dating a supermodel/abstract artist and did just about little enough to deny rumors of an affair with an actress to stay relevant in the boulevard. On the pitch his Borussia Mönchengladbach side had to temporarily make way for a certain Bayern Munich. But the two teams combined would end up strolling to Germany’s first European Championship title in 1972 – and beating England for the first time at Wembley along the way. Netzer would finish third in that year’s Ballon D’Or awards – behind Gerd Müller and Franz Beckenbauer. By the end of the 1972/1973 season, Netzer felt he had done and seen it all in Germany and decided to move on to Real Madrid. Borussia Mönchengladbach had reached the DFB-Pokal final against Cologne, which ought to be Netzer’s last game for his club. Just that the team’s coach Hennes Weisweiler wasn’t too enthused about his player’s latest career decision and benched him. The final turned out to be end-to-end stuff and one of the best in the competitions history, yet neither side could score the winner. The game, tied at 1-1, went into extra time. Then Netzer decided he had enough of it, substituted himself and scored the winning goal three minutes later. His legend was complete.

With Franck Ribery running the show against Dortmund, Arjen Robben was free to take some time off and practice his Air Sitar skills.

(JUERGEN SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Bayer Leverkusen striker Stefan Kießling has enjoyed an excellent start to the season, scoring one goal in each of the five matches he played. Neither Germany coach Jogi Löw nor Kießling himself seem to fully trust his run of good form yet though, with the first not inviting him to the national team and the latter turning to male specific rituals. He’s following in the footsteps of a growing line of Jogi Löw rejects there.