Burdenski played 444 Bundesliga games for SV Werder Bremen, more than any other Werder player. In total, he stood between the posts as a goalkeeper 582 times for the Green-Whites. Dieter Burdenski was a model of consistency and only missed a handful of Bundesliga games in his entire time as number one.
And although he always fought against relegation with SV Werder in the first few years, he celebrated his international debut in Montevideo in 1977 with a 2-0 win against Uruguay and was subsequently considered the best German goalkeeper behind the outstanding Sepp for many years Maier. In 1978 “Budde” took part in the World Cup in Argentina with the DFB team. In total he was in goal twelve times for the German senior national team.
Even after relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga in 1980, he remained loyal to Werder. Burdenski’s loyalty to the club was rewarded with successful years after the resurgence, in which the Green-Whites played their way to the top of the Bundesliga and also shone in international competitions. Several times there were just a few tiny things missing from winning the German championship title, four times “Budde” was runner-up with Werder. By winning the German championship title in the 1987/88 season, he brought a fitting end to a great professional career.
From 1997 to 2005, Burdenski was again in the service of SV Werder as goalkeeping coach, passed on his incredible wealth of experience and celebrated, among other things, the cup victory in 1999 and the double win in 2004. He also made a single appearance for Werder II in the Regionalliga Nord in 2002, which also underlines his connection to SVW. Even after his time as goalkeeping coach, “Budde” remained connected to Werder and, with his company “Burdenski Events,” which he founded in 1985, organized, among other things, training camps for the Green-Whites and, in recent years, the appearances of Werder’s traditional team.
SV Werder Bremen is deeply affected by the sudden and unexpected death of its honorary captain Dieter Burdenski, who celebrated with the 1999 cup winners in the Weserstadion last Saturday at the home game against SC Freiburg. “The news of his death shocks us and makes us deeply sad,” says Dr. Hubertus Hess-Grunewald, President and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SV Werder. “’Budde’ shaped our team for two decades and is undoubtedly one of the greatest Werder players of all time. We all appreciated him very much for his reliability, his always positive attitude to life, his passion for Werder, but also his critical spirit. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”
Klaus Filbry, CEO of SV Werder Bremen, said: “Budde was an important pioneer for the success of our club in the various functions he held at Werder over 50 years. In recent years he has been responsible for Werder’s traditional team and, through his tireless efforts, has made them an important figurehead for our club. We are unspeakably sad because with Budde we are not only losing a great Werder player, but also a great person.”
SV Werder Bremen will always honor the memory of its honorary captain Dieter Burdenski. Out of consideration for the family, SV Werder Bremen asks that you refrain from making any inquiries for the time being.