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After 63 years, Vodafone and German football club Borussia Dortmund (BVB) have recreated the first ever goal in Bundesliga history using AI. It had only existed in people’s memories – but now AI has translated eyewitness memories and news reports, interviews and data into footage.
AI imagination
AI has brought a previously unseen moment in German football history to life. The first goal ever scored in the Bundesliga took place 63 years ago and had only ever existed in people’s memories.
On August 24, 1963, BVB forward Timo Konietzka scored the very first goal ever in the Bundesliga in front of 35,000 spectators in Bremen’s Weser Stadium, during a match between SV Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund – putting BVB up 1-0 in the very first minute of the game. No video footage or photos of this historic moment existed, until now.
Reconstructed from the memories of eyewitnesses, media reports, and data points, AI translated the goal into moving images – enabling football fans to experience the first goal in Bundesliga history in lifelike detail.
Teams from Vodafone and BVB worked for several months analysing archival material to help with the recreation.
The team spoke with eyewitnesses such as Gerd Kolbe, BVB’s Chief Historian and former press officer, Günther Konietzka, the goal scorer’s brother, and Eugen Kraas, Chairman of the largest BVB fan club, Oeventrop-Freienohl, to incorporate their personal memories into the reconstruction of the goal.
The stadium atmosphere that day in 1963 was also recreated with the support of fans and experts, plus realistic conditions from the first matchday of the Bundesliga were simulated using multiple weather models.
The AI-reconstructed first Bundesliga goal premiers in a documentary called, “The Unseen Goal” at the BORUSSEUM, BVB’s club museum on 29 August and later on the same day exclusively on Sky Sports News and across BVB’s and Vodafone’s YouTube channels.
Marcel de Groot, CEO of Vodafone Germany, said: “Together with Borussia Dortmund, we interviewed eyewitnesses, reviewed media reports from the time and collected a range of data.
“Our AI experts used this material and several AI models to create a realistic reconstruction of the moment.
“After 63 years, AI is bringing a piece of German football history to life. The first goal in Bundesliga history can now be experienced by football fans through moving images and sound.”
Hans-Joachim Watzke, President of Borussia Dortmund, said: “Timo Konietzka was one of a kind and a great player. His goal against SV Werder Bremen back then is, of course, particularly well-suited for a project like this.
“The fact that there is absolutely no video footage made the project very challenging. For many fans who are very tradition-conscious – and that’s certainly the case with BVB, but also with Werder Bremen – this AI reconstruction is an absolute highlight.
“We are very grateful to Vodafone for working with us to bring this challenging task to life with great dedication and using state-of-the-art technology. Everyone has a lot to look forward to.”
The reconstruction was created in collaboration with AI production company and IT specialists PROMPTR based on recordings of other BVB and SV Werder Bremen matches from that era, thereby determining the players’ game strategies and behaviour in comparable game situations.
“I was very fortunate to be there in Bremen on August 24, 1963. Referee Ott blew the whistle at exactly 4:59 p.m. Everyone was sitting behind the BVB goal in high spirits, but things turned out differently than expected: Borussia Dortmund scored the first goal,” recalls eyewitness Kolbe.
“From today’s perspective, it’s absolutely unimaginable that not a single photograph of the goal was taken. I’m incredibly happy that BVB and Vodafone have managed to bring this reenactment to life. It fills a historical gap in German football history.”
Vodafone was the initiator and enabler of this project; Jung von Matt (JvM) was the creative agency that came up with the original idea for “The Unseen Goal”.
A campaign to promote “The Unseen Goal”, also created by JvM, is running across digital platforms, social media, and print ads in Germany, as well as through several soccer-related podcast integrations. Sky is supporting the project as the exclusive media partner.
Fans can watch the full documentary, “The Unseen Goal” on Vodafone and BVB own YouTube channels.