Listen tactfully through the tough times and you might hear it: “Menze is to blame” (Menze ist Schuld)

It’s an old and impulsive expression coined almost two decades ago, when Menze missed the penultimate penalty kick in the relegation play-off loss to VfL Osnabrück in 2000. Sure, emotions were high after falling short of the 2.Bundesliga on such fine margins, but the term is ironically used and still audible to this day. After all, the supporters remember Menze’s five-year association with 1. FC Union Berlin with great affection.

A tall and dominant defender, Menze enjoyed perhaps the strongest period of his career in Köpenick. Stops at Hannover and Eintracht Frankfurt preceded his move to Union, who were in Germany’s Regionalliga at the time. His scoring record — 40 goals in 166 matches — stands out as somewhat remarkable for a player that held his own in defensive roles. “We made a lot of out of set-pieces and that’s where my sized helped me,” said Menze, aged 29 when he arrived at Union.

In the season 1999-2000, Union qualified for the relegation play-offs with Menze scoring 14 goals in the regular campaign. Osnabrück and Union, the two favourites for promotion, drew 1-1 on both occasions, leading to a penalty shootout in the second leg. With the penalties going to the wire, Osnabrück goalkeeper Uwe Brunn reacted quickly to keep out the spot-kick from Menze. 

A year after the Osnabrück miss, Union secured promotion and then went on an incredible journey to the DFB Pokal final, where they would eventually lose to Schalke. Menze scored a penalty kick in the semi-final shootout win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, dusting off the previous disappointments to secure one of the greatest achievements in the club’s history.

The next 12 months following the German Cup final defeat brought the best out of Menze. He featured for the Köpenick club in the UEFA Cup — the first appearance for Union in continental tournaments following the problems of 1968. In season 2001-02, he scored six goals in 32 2.Bundesliga matches and helped cement Union’s position in the second division.

This was Menze’s shining season at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. His determination and professionalism endeared him with the Union crowd. In 2002, he was given the distinguished title of “Unioner des Jahres” — The Player of the Year prize, the award which is given annually by the club and fans. He wore the captain’s armband with pride and helped the club finish ninth in his final season in the capital.

A certified coach by the German FA, Menze left the club in 2003 to pursue avenues off the park. He coached for a time at various clubs, while working as Sporting Director at Waldhof Mannheim and Dynamo Dresden up until 2014. Voted the eighth MVP in Union history at the club’s 40-year anniversary, Menze will all but be remembered for his success — and legacy — as a Union player.