Schwarz terror
Ex-Arsenal and Sunderland footballer Stefan Schwarz reveals the night he was held hostage with his family and recalls the day he upset Maradona to win over Roy Hodgson
Stefan Schwarz writes in graphic detail the night he was attacked in his own home with his family by well trained hard men
FORMER Arsenal and Sunderland hardman Stefan Schwarz has revealed details of the night he and his family were held hostage by five masked raiders.
Midfielder Schwarz only had one season at Arsenal after joining from Benfica in 1993.
Yet Gooners will remember him for a dramatic injury-time tie leveller at Sampdoria which helped the George Graham's side reach the 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup final on penalties.
But his move to Sunderland in 1999 was quite simply out of this world.
At the time, Schwarz was booked on the first commercial flights to space, which had been scheduled for 2002.
So Sunderland inserted a “space clause” into his contract which stopped him going on any inter-galactic travels during his four years on Wearside, where he hung up his boots in 2003.
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The ex-Sweden international was living in Cascais in Portugal at the time of the traumatic break in 2010.
Graphic details of how he and his family were attacked by men demanding cash and valuables appear in his biography
"They Called Me God" which has just been released in his homeland.
In an interview with , Schwarz, 47, said: "It was both physical and psychological violence.
"There, we showed that we were strong.
"We said to each other that 'We show that we are strong, we stick together and say nothing. We look them straight in the eye and show who we are'.
"It started when my wife went to retrieve the laundry in the basement after turning off the alarm, and I heard a scream.
"I understood immediately that it was not a cockroach or mouse, I knew it was not something like that and ran there.
"I ran to the basement stairs, where to my horror I saw two men in black masks coming up. One with an axe, the other had a screwdriver.
"They appeared a meter away from me and then I reacted instinctively, threw a punch and got away for a while.
"Then we fought a little, but they were well trained.
"They struck with the ax and screwdriver and finally dragged me into the basement and put me on the sofa.
"I was terrified what would happen to my family
"My wife was also beaten. Very much, the threat was there too.
"I can't say we feared for our lives at the moment. You do not think about it ... but you never know what can happen.
"But it felt like they were under control, although we got death threats, too.
"Ultimately it evolved to a tough situation but thankfully no one in the family needed to stay a long time in hospital.
"It was a crime of very high level, they were trained and organised at the highest, or call it the worst level."
Schwarz also reveals how he upset Diego Maradona because he was desperate to impress Roy Hodgson.
Former England boss Hodgson was in charge of Malmo when the young Schwarz was given his first start in a friendly.
The match in Granada was the first that Maradona had played in alongside his two brothers.
But that did not matter to the Swede.
He said: "It was a charity match in the Spanish Granada.
"But it was still the world's best soccer player, and I wanted to show Roy that he made the right bet on me, that he could trust me.
"I also wanted to show the greatest respect for Maradona, the greatest footballer in the world, by taking the game very seriously.
"There were some rough play, both Maradona and other players.
"I remember that the fans were not thrilled, and one of my team-mates did not think we would get out of the ground alive.
"It was the first time that the three brothers Maradona played together.
"Maradona was not so pleased, he was quite irritated and gesturing.
"But there was nothing I cared about - I took it as a compliment."
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