Hans-Dieter Wacker

Wacker played in the youth of SKV Büttelborn when he was around eight or nine years old. In 1972, he would win his first title with the club at Duisburg-Wedau as part of the state youth championship with Helmut Schön and Hennes Weisweiler spectating overseeing the tournament as Wacker was named the best scorer. Following his recovery from a tetanus infection, he would return with him being described as "a fourteen-year-old with the experience of a mature man". He would then play for Eintracht Frankfurt Amateure as he would play against the youth sectors of Macabi Tel Aviv, Paris St. Germain, and Ajax. In 1976, he would face another setback as he would face a severe knee injury during a match against Union Niederrad as he underwent meniscus and ligament surgery. A similar injury would occur in 1977 where in a Oberliga match against SG Höchst where he would receive another injury on the same knee and underwent another surgery. Despite rumors that Wacker would've faced an early retirement at the age of 18, he would persist to begin his senior football career.^[1]

From the 1977–78, he was part of the Eintracht Frankfurt squad but only made his Bundesliga appearance on 5 May 1979 in matchday 30 in a goalless draw in the away game against 1. FC Nürnberg. Previously, he had played two Group 3 matches in the 1977 Intertoto Cup. Due to his prior injuries and illnesses in his youth career, Wacker would lack the confidence to make an ultimate breakthrough at the Bundesliga as he persistently had self-doubt in his own abilities. At the end of the 1978–79 season, before his move to MSV Duisburg could be finalized, he would undergo another minor operation, which has been postponed again and again for six months over an initially small tumor on his collarbone for six months. However, worse news would arrive as on 18 June 1979, Wacker would receive the news that the tumor was in fact, not harmless and that he would be diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, realizing that he would be unable to play in professional sport again. Despite this though, he was adamant in having the disease cured and after a year, he would make a full recovery despite his former club of Eintracht Frankfurt initially forgetting about him by the time of his recovery.^[1]

Beginning in January 1980, he played for the multi-division club SKV Büttelborn and would make an appearance as part of the headline a March 1980 issue of Kicker. Following the end of Jürgen Grabowski's career, he would suggest a charity match for Wacker between Eintracht Frankfurt and SKV Büttelborn which would take months for it to occur due to the club's conflicting schedule and constant postponing. Finally, the match was played on 8 October 1980 following Eintracht Frankfurt's return from playing against Belgium with it ultimately ending in a 7–0 loss for Büttelborn. Beginning in March 1982, he would begin to coach TSV Pfungstadt's youth B team following his acquisition of his coaching license and would serve as a player-manager from 1983 to 1988. Throughout his career with the club, he would play in 353 matches with 169 goals scored overall. His career would end with the club in May 1988 following various disagreements and would work as youth coach for TSV Wolfskehlen and Viktoria Griesheim as he would earn a reputation for being one of the best youth coaches within his home state of Hesse. His career as an active player would end in the early 1990s following a match for senior club SV Klein-Gerau.^[1]