Frank Ordenewitz

2.1. Early career and Werder Bremen

Ordenewitz began his professional career in 1983, joining SV Werder Bremen. During his tenure, he played a crucial role in the club's success, notably contributing to their Bundesliga victory in the 1987-88 season, where he scored 15 goals in 30 appearances. While at Werder Bremen, he was teammates with Japanese international Yasuhiko Okudera.

A significant moment defining his character occurred on May 7, 1988, during a league match against 1. FC Köln. Ordenewitz committed a handball in the penalty area, which the referee initially missed. Despite the referee being unaware and only reacting to protests from opposing players, Ordenewitz frankly admitted to the foul when asked, leading to a penalty kick for Köln. Werder Bremen subsequently lost the match 2-0. For this act of exceptional sportsmanship, Ordenewitz was honored with the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1988. He also won the DFL-Supercup with Werder Bremen in the same year.

2.2. 1. FC Köln

In the 1989-90 season, Ordenewitz transferred to 1. FC Köln. It was during his time here that another highly publicized and controversial incident took place. On May 6, 1991, in the DFB-Pokal semi-final match against MSV Duisburg, Ordenewitz received a yellow card. This yellow card would have rendered him ineligible to play in the DFB-Pokal final against his former club, Werder Bremen. To circumvent this, his coach, Erich Rutemöller, instructed him to intentionally get himself sent off, as a red card suspension would typically be served in the next league game rather than the cup final.

Following his coach's advice, Ordenewitz intentionally knocked the ball away after a whistle, resulting in his immediate dismissal. In a post-match interview, Rutemöller openly admitted to the plan, stating, "Otze^German came to me, and I think you shouldn't take the chance away from him, and so I said: 'Do it!'". This phrase, "Mach et, Otze!^German" ("Do it, Otze!"), in various forms, became a well-known dictum in German football. In response to this clear circumvention of rules, the DFB subsequently changed its regulations, ensuring that suspensions incurred in cup competitions would apply directly to those competitions. Consequently, Ordenewitz was banned from playing in the final despite his attempt, which 1. FC Köln ultimately lost on penalties.

2.3. JEF United Ichihara

In the summer transfer window of the 1993 season, Ordenewitz moved to Japan to join JEF United Ichihara in the J1 League. He quickly made an impact, scoring his first two J.League goals on August 4, 1993, in a match against Nagoya Grampus.

The 1994 season proved to be his most prolific. Throughout the season, his nickname "Otze^German" was used for his registration until July. From the second stage in August, his registration name was changed to "Ordenewitz". He continued his impressive form, scoring a hat-trick against Gamba Osaka on August 10, shortly after his name change. By the end of the 1994 season, Ordenewitz had scored an outstanding 30 goals in 40 league appearances, earning him the J.League Top Scorer title. Despite this significant achievement, he departed from the club due to family reasons. Overall, during his time with JEF United Ichihara, he recorded 37 goals in 55 matches.

2.4. Later career in Germany and Japan

Following his successful stint in Japan, Ordenewitz returned to Germany, joining Hamburger SV in the winter transfer window of the 1994-95 Bundesliga season. He spent a year and a half with Hamburger SV before returning to Japan in 1996 to play for Brummell Sendai in the Japan Football League. His move to Brummell Sendai was reportedly at the request of his former teammate, Pierre Littbarski. For Brummell Sendai, he scored 20 goals in 28 appearances and famously netted four goals in an Emperor's Cup match against Matsuyama University. However, he left the club after one season.

Ordenewitz then played for Rotenburger SV in 1997. From 1997 to 1999, he was with VfB Oldenburg in the Regionalliga, where he made 28 appearances and scored 3 goals. He later moved to TSV Ottersberg, playing from 1999 to 2001, and then to VSK Osterholz-Scharmbeck from 2001 to 2006. He briefly retired from football but made a return to playing in September 2005. Throughout his career, Ordenewitz scored 68 goals in 272 Bundesliga matches.

4.1. Club statistics

4.2. International statistics

5.1. Club

• Bundesliga: 1987-88 (with SV Werder Bremen)
• DFL-Supercup: 1988 (with SV Werder Bremen)

5.2. Individual

• FIFA Fair Play Award: 1988
• J.League Top Scorer: 1994 (30 goals)

6.1. Notable incidents and evaluation

Frank Ordenewitz's career is marked by unique incidents that contribute to his legacy. Despite winning the J.League Top Scorer title in 1994 with an impressive 30 goals, he was notably not selected for the J.League Best Eleven that season. This was a rare occurrence in the league's history, being the sole instance until Peter Utaka also won the top scorer award without a Best Eleven selection in 2016. The incident surrounding his intentional red card at 1. FC Köln, leading to the phrase "Mach et, Otze!^German", became a well-known anecdote in German football history, highlighting the lengths to which a player or coach might go to influence a match outcome, and subsequently, how governing bodies responded to such attempts to ensure fair play.

6.2. Post-playing activities

After his professional playing career, Ordenewitz continued to be involved in football, playing for amateur teams in Germany such as TSV Ottersberg and VSK Osterholz-Scharmbeck. He participated in various events, including charity matches. On May 17, 2011, he took part in a charity match held in Dortmund, Germany, as a representative of J.League Old Boys. This match was organized to support relief efforts following the Tōhoku earthquake in Japan.