Günther Jauch (67) and Marcel Reif (74) have not only been colleagues but also good friends for many years. In the latest edition of the “Phrasenmäher” podcast, commentator legend Reif talks about their close friendship. “We regularly play skat with a friend at Günther’s in Potsdam,” says Reif. You couldn’t make an educational film out of it, but they had “a lot of fun doing it – especially since not everyone has the same talent for the game.”
When asked whether Jauch had a good poker face when playing skat, Reif replied: “Günther always has the same face. We’ve known each other for too long for me to not be able to see through him.” If you have been friends for so long, secrets and secrecy would also decrease. In addition to the skat evenings, according to Reif, there were vacations together on Sylt, where he visited Jauch in his “beautiful house”. When he visits there, he always brings his friend something, “a scented candle or some other knick-knack.”
Even when returning visits, Jauch would never come empty-handed. He always has a good bottle with him from his winery on the Mosel-Saar. His favorite wine from Jauch is the sweet wines – “and all of them”: “Believe me: These are great!” Even though Jauch is “otherwise the biggest stingy man under the sun,” he always has a cracker with him when he comes out of his wine cellar when playing Skat. That’s why his friend is “the most generous person” he knows.
The close bond between Günther Jauch and Marcel Reif became visible and audible, among other things, when they hosted the famous “Torfall de Madrid” together for the private broadcaster RTL. On April 1, 1998, a defective goal fell over before the Champions League game between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid kicked off. The start of the game was therefore delayed by 76 minutes and forced Reif and Jauch to improvise and bridge the waiting time. For their humorous moderation, the two were presented with the Bavarian Television Prize in 1998 and were nominated for the Adolf Grimme Prize in 1999.
To this day, fans can still hear their legendary sayings like “Never before would a goal have been so good for a game” (Reif) or “For all those who didn’t tune in in time, the first goal has already been scored” (Jauch). The special thing: During the waiting time, more than 12 million viewers tuned in, while only around six million football fans watched the actual game. By the way, Dortmund lost 2-0 to the Royals.
