Frank Ordenewitz

Frank Ordenewitz (born 25 March 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Club career Ordenewitz scored 68 goals in 272 Bundesliga matches.

In a league match against 1. FC Köln on 7 May 1988, the Werder Bremen player admitted to a handball in the penalty area to the referee. Köln went on to win the match 2–0. For his sportsmanship he won the FIFA Fair Play Award that season.

Three seasons later, now playing for 1. FC Köln, Ordenewitz received a yellow card against MSV Duisburg in the DFB-Pokal semi-final on 6 May 1991 (final score: 3–0 for Köln). That would have blocked him from playing in the final against his former club, Werder Bremen, and so his coach, Erich Rutemöller, advised him to get himself sent off, since this would allow him to instead serve his suspension in their next Bundesliga game. As asked, Ordenewitz intentionally knocked the ball away and was sent off. In an interview after the game, Rutemöller admitted the plan, saying: "Otze came to me, and I think you shouldn't take the chance away from him, and so I said: 'Do it!'". This request, in various modifications, later became the dictum “Mach et, Otze!”. In response, the DFB changed the rule and banned Ordenewitz from playing in the final anyway, which FC Köln went on to lose on penalties.

International career Ordenewitz was capped twice for the West Germany national team in 1987.

Career statistics

Club

International + Appearances and goals by national team and year

Individual J-League Top Scorer: 1994 (30 goals) 1988 FIFA Fair Play Award