FCB - History & Legends

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Stefan Effenberg
The 'Boss'



The name Stefan Effenberg is synonymous with one of the most glorious periods in the club's history as this natural leader strode the international stage.

Midfielder Stefan Effenberg, a natural-born leader if ever there was one, possessed an extraordinary ability to drive and inspire his team-mates in the most tense and challenging circumstances. 'Effe' soon earned the nickname 'Cheffe', an endearing term for the Big Boss.

He arrived at Bayern from Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1990 aged just 22, but his first spell in Bavaria ended without honours and he moved on after two seasons. His return in 1998 coincided with a period of success in which he was to play a starring role.

Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld had made Effenberg one of his priority targets and put complete faith in the number 11 from the very first day. The player repaid that trust with outstanding performances and a superb track record, including the Bundesliga title in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and the German Cup in 2000. His career at Bayern reached a climax with the Champions League trophy in 2001 and the World Club Cup the following autumn.

Effenberg appeared for the Reds on 160 occasions, scoring 35 goals. He also earned 35 international caps (five goals) and won a runners-up medal at the 1992 European Championships in Sweden.

Hitzfeld never made a secret of his admiration for the on-field boss. "Stefan Effenberg leads this team, many of my players come to life when he's around. He goes up to his team-mates and instil confidence. When others are looking for a hiding place, that's when Effenberg steps forward," the coach enthused.

On 5 May 2002 ahead of the last match of the season against Hansa Rostock, a capacity 63,000 crowd at the Olympic Stadium gave Effe a standing ovation as he officially took his leave from the club. "Milan 2001, we'll never forget! Thanks Effe!" stood in huge letters on a 20 metre placard.

"Stefan has been outstanding in the four seasons he's spent with us, it's been one of the most successful periods in Bayern's history, and a lot of it is down to him," President Franz Beckenbauer said as he bade farewell to the team captain. Hitzfeld echoed the Kaiser's comments: "Stefan is a marvellous player who's had a huge role in Bayern winning so many honours."

Alas, there was to be no fourth domestic title in a row by way of a leaving present, and injury kept the midfielder below peak form in the last few months of his Munich career, "which was very unfortunate," new captain Oliver Kahn commented.

"He's had a worthy send-off from the fans, and he's deserved it," general manager Uli Hoeneß commented, "he's been a huge figure at Bayern over the last few years, and much of what we've achieved together is down to him, so I'm extremely grateful to him for that."

And what did the 'Boss' have to say? "I've had four wonderful seasons," he agreed, "everything, the whole A-Z, worked together perfectly."

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Giovane Elber
The 'Samba Striker'



Brazilian wizard Giovane Elber conquered hearts and the record books as he created an unforgettable legacy both at the club and among the fans.

Giovane Elber, the 'Samba Striker' whose goals propelled Bayern to a string of domestic and international titles, awarded himself the perfect send-off from the club with 21 goals in the 2002-3 season to finish leading scorer in the Bundesliga for the first time.

"It's incredible that I've done it now after almost a decade in the Bundesliga," the then 30 year-old said after seeing a dream come true, "I'm the leading foreign goalscorer in the league's history with 132 goals in 252 games, but that's of no interest to anyone back home in Brazil. But when I go home as leading scorer, they'll call me a hero."

There were honours aplenty in his last full season at the club: the championship, the German Cup and the 'Outfield Player of the Year' accolade from his fellow pros, before the Bayern fans voted him 'Player of the Month' for May and then, for the first time in his career, 'Player of the Season'.

"The double, finishing leading scorer and then 'Player of the Season' from the fans - it's all wonderful and makes me very proud. I'm delighted so many fans chose to vote for me," Elber commented with his trademark broad grin. The poll result came as no surprise to Uli Hoeneß: "He's a fabulous lad, a super chap with a healthy dose of cunning. The folk out there love him," the general manager smiled.

Giovane's record at the club from July 1997 to August 2003 explains why he is one of the best-loved and most successful players ever pull on the red jersey. The Brazilian appeared 256 times in the Bundesliga and scored 133 goals, 92 of them in 169 matches for Bayern where he won four league titles (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003), four German Cups (1997, 1998, 2000, 2003), the 2001 Champions League and finally the World Club Cup.

"Giovane's one of my most important players," coach Ottmar Hitzfeld observed. When Elber showed off his superb technique, fantastic pace, ability to make use of the last inch of space and killer instinct in front of goal, a unique and unforgettable Samba rhythm pulsed through the forward line.

Elber earned a certain amount of fame as the master of the witty one-liner with no-one considered out of range. Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque felt the force of the Elber tongue in February 2000: "The Real coach, Camacho or whatever his name is, said the Germans can't pass, they can only fight, but he's learned something today. Next time he should shut his gob," the Brazilian quipped after Madrid fell 4-2 at home against Bayern.

Giovane moved on to Olympique Lyon in August 2003 and there was no hiding the sadness at the Säbener Strasse. "Parting definitely hurts, just knowing he won't be there in the morning any more," Ottmar Hitzfeld said. "He's been a marvellous player for Bayern," chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge agreed, while general manager Uli Hoeneß promised a special farewell: "He's earned the kind of send-off no-one who's gone on to play for another club has ever had."

In a classic twist of fate, Elber did return to Munich just a few months after his departure. Lyon arrived at the Olympic stadium for a Champions League tie in November 2003 - and who else but Elber popped up to score the winner for his new club, only to reap the applause from the still-adoring Bayern fans.

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Roland Wohlfarth
'Mr Consistency'



Bayern bought Roland Wohlfahrt as a fall-back option, but the striker eventually left with a reputation as one of the club's most prolific goalscorers.

Bayern really only bought Roland Wohlfahrt as an emergency fall-back option should one of the regular strikers pick up an injury. But the new front man seized his chance and swiftly made his mark on the club.

He arrived in Bavaria in the summer of 1984 from second-division MSV Duisburg after scoring 30 goals in 35 matches the previous season. His run of form continued at the illustrious Munich club: he lies third in Bayern's all-time Bundesliga goalscoring roll of honour, behind only Gerd Müller and Karl Heinz Rummenigge on 119 goals in 254 appearances, twice finishing as the league's leading scorer (17 goals in 1988-9 and 21 in 1990-91).

However, the season 1988-89 represented the high point in the player's career. The 31st matchday took place on a sunny Thursday in mid-May, and all eyes were on the Müngersdorfer stadium in Cologne where the home side entertained Bayern in a duel between second and first, a true showdown for the championship title.

But to the dismay of most of a 60,000 crowd Bayern won 3-1 thanks to a Wohlfahrt hat-trick on 25, 85 and 89 minutes. He scored another three against Bochum on the last day to seal the leading scorer accolade for himself and the title for his club.

Curiously, Wohlfahrt never achieved or indeed aspired to superstar status, despite defending his regular place in the team against all-comers for a full nine seasons and winning the championship with Munich five times (1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990), the 1986 German Cup and a 1987 European Champions Cup runners-up medal. He appeared twice for Germany.

Wohlfahrt left Munich in 1993 and finished his playing career with VfL Bochum in 1998.

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Klaus Augenthaler
The 'Record-breaker'



No-one has yet to match Klaus Augenthaler's record, with its seven championship and three German Cup triumphs at Bayern and a 1990 World Cup winners' medal.

Klaus Augenthaler pursued and harvested honours like no other player, making him the most successful individual in Bundesliga history. At Bayern, 'Auge' won the championship seven times (1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990), the DFB German Cup three times (1982, 1984, 1986), and was twice a European Champions Cup losing finalist (1982, 1987).

However, the year 1990 was to prove the most glorious in an already illustrious playing career. Augenthaler added spine to the Germany side which doggedly stuck to the task and sealed a 1-0 victory over Argentina in the World Cup Final in Rome, just a few weeks after he had hoisted the Bundesliga shield into the Bavarian sky for a record seventh time. "I do admit to a certain pride at being the player with the most championship medals," he confesses nowadays.

'Auge' made 404 appearances for Bayern and 27 for Germany, scoring 52 top flight goals. Easily the most famous of these came on 19 August 1989 when he fired Munich's winner in a 1-0 away victory against Eintracht Frankfurt. The player, captain from 1984 to 1991 and filling the libero position at the time, beat Frankfurt keeper Uli Stein with a shot from the halfway line, earning the "Goal of the Season" and "Goal of the Decade" accolades.

His nickname 'Auge', derived from his surname but meaning "the eye" in German, merely hinted at his ability to read the action and control a match from the back, initially as a centre-half and later in his career as a classic libero.

Augenthaler hung up his boots in 1991 and became assistant coach in Munich, winning the Uefa Cup and finishing Bundesliga runner-up in 1996. From 1991-1997 he worked as assistant to Jupp Heynckes, Sören Lerby, Erich Ribbeck, Franz Beckenbauer, Giovanni Trapattoni and Otto Rehhagel.

When Ottmar Hitzfeld arrived on 1 July 1998 he brought Michael Henke with him and the Bayern board persuaded Augenthaler to take up a head coach position elsewhere. But parting was still a wrench: "Bayern has always been everything to me, I even think in red-and-white," the Record-breaker admitted.

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Dieter Hoeneß
'Mr Europe'



Dieter Hoeneß' massive frame was just one reason why the battling, never-say-die forward came to be regarded as one of Bayern's 'big' players.

In eight seasons as Bayern centre-forward from 1979 to 1987, Dieter Hoeneß never gave anything less than 100 percent and was unflinchingly prepared to do battle until he dropped. "My aim was always to do a good, honest job," he recalls.

Hoeneß stepped up to the professional ranks with VfB Stuttgart in 1975 before switching to Bayern four years later for a fixed fee of 175,000 DM. The transfer was arranged by Dieter's elder brother and Bayern general manager Uli Hoeneß.

The 1.88 metre tall aerial powerhouse went through a tough settling-in period as he found himself eclipsed by superstars Paul Breitner and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and became the target for hefty criticism from the fans. "They turned me into an anti-star, because there wasn't room for a third star alongside Rummenigge and Breitner," the striker reflected later.

However, once Breitner and Rummenigge had moved on, Hoeneß took over as the key personality in the Bayern side of the mid-Eighties, and despite a playing style short on elegance, he emerged as one of the most feared strikers in German football.

He scored 102 goals in 224 games for Bayern, firing 21 in 33 appearances in his best season, 1981-2. While at Bayern he won five championships (1980, 1981, 1985, 1986 and 1987) and three German Cups (1982, 1984 and 1986), and he scored four times in six appearances for his country.

Frustratingly, Hoeneß was to see one of his greatest dreams never come to fruition. Despite 28 goals in 58 European appearances, earning himself the nickname 'Mr Europe', he never claimed a winners' medal on the European stage, ending up a losing Champions Cup finalist in both 1982 and 1987. The 1987 final against Porto should have been the crowning glory of his career, but Bayern's unlucky 2-1 defeat instead counts as the player's greatest sporting disappointment.

Hoeneß had intended to end his Bundesliga career in 1985 but was persuaded to continue playing, celebrating a sensational comeback for Germany the following year with his World Cup finals debut in Mexico at the age of 33 and winning a runners-up medal.

His final match for Bayern was his farewell game in June 1987 against Liverpool.

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Paul Breitner
The Strategist



Eccentric, revolutionary, firebrand, uncompromising rebel: Paul Breitner was a player who split opinions. He is remembered for the strategic vision on the football pitch which decisively helped to shape Bayern’s game in the early 1980s, and he also became one of the leading lights in the Germany team.

Breitner started playing football as a six-year-old for SV Kolbermoor. In 1961 he moved to ESV Freilassing where his father, an administrative officer, acted as his youth coach. He then made it into Udu Lattek’s Germany youth side at a tender age. Here he met his future team-mate and colleague Uli Hoeneß. When Lattek was appointed coach at Bayern in 1969 he brought both his model pupils with him.

Breitner quickly became a regular in the Bayern side. Toughness, energy, the ability to react quickly, his extreme level of fitness and willingness to shoot were all characteristics that marked out the midfielder who made such a great contribution to his team’s success. He enjoyed the most successful phase of his footballing career at Munich in the early 1970s: he won the DFB Cup in 1971, the 1972 to 1974 Bundesliga titles, and the 1974 European Cup.

When he was 19, Breitner made his debut for the national side in a 7-1 win against Norway in Oslo on 22 June 1971. The following year saw his first international success as Germany lifted the 1972 European Championship title in Belgium. At the 1974 World Cup in Germany he then produced his pièce de résistance, scoring the all-important equaliser from the penalty spot in Germany’s 2-1 victory over Holland in the Final. “I wasn’t supposed to take the spot-kick but I was nearest to the ball,” the goalscorer admitted after the game.

After the World Cup Breitner switched to Real Madrid, where he teamed up with Günter Netzer to form an outstanding midfield duo. At Real he won the league and Cup double in 1975, and the Spanish title again in 1976.

“At Real I came to recognise how important it is to be seen and respected as a human being,” declared the midfield magician later on. Breitner even appeared in a film during his spell in Madrid, performing in the moderately successful “Potato Fritz” alongside Hardy Krüger.

In the summer of 1977 Breitner returned to the Bundesliga when he joined Eintracht Braunschweig. However, he only spent one season in Brunswick before making a return to Bayern in 1978.

In his second spell with Bayern, Paul Breitner became the real boss of the team. He was soon appointed captain and starred alongside Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. He picked up his fourth and fifth Bundesliga titles in 1980 and 1981, and in 1982 he once again lifted the DFB Cup.

The Bayern captain returned to the Germany side in 1981. He had initially retired from the international stage after the game against Greece on 11 October 1975 in Düsseldorf, but reversed his earlier decision and went on to win another 20 caps and assume the role of midfield maestro. In the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Breitner was the “leader of the pack” for Germany and led them to the Final, where Italy ran out 3-1 winners.

Breitner’s playing career ended in the 1982-3 season through injury following a challenge from SV Hamburg’s Wolfgang Rolff. His last big match was his testimonial match for Bayern against a World XI which came out on top 3-2.

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Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck
The 'Kaiser's Bodyguard'



Every successful side needs unsung heroes like Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, an ultra-loyal servant who put in years of tireless effort on Bayern's behalf.

Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck was that rarity among footballers, a loyalist who spent his entire career at one club. The player appeared for Bayern between 1966 and 1982, an unsung hero usually found in the long shadow thrown by his "boss" Franz Beckenbauer.

The tactics of the era called for a midfield ball-winner, and Schwarzenbeck was a shining example of the craft. The "Kaiser's Bodyguard" harried, tackled and hoofed clear whatever the opposition sent in the direction of the goal he was defending, a role never likely to earn stardom but which he carried out with tireless efficiency.

Schwarzenbeck made his Bayern debut in the 1967 German Cup final against Hamburg. "It went well for me, but I honestly can't remember any of the details, I'm afraid I've just played too many finals," he said later. Bayern won 4-0 that day.

He made 416 Bundesliga appearances, 70 in Europe and earned 44 Germany caps. He scored a total of 21 goals as a professional. Schwarzenbeck collected six German championships (1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1981), a European Cup Winners' Cup medal in 1967, and the Champions' Cup three times in succession from 1974 to 1976. With Germany, he was European Champion in 1972, World Champion in 1974 and European Championship runner-up in 1976.

The most spectacular triumph was the duel with Atletico Madrid in the 1974 Champions' Cup final in Brussels. The game ended goalless after 90 minutes, and little happened in extra time until the 114th minute, when Schwarzenbeck upended his opponent on the edge of the box. Luis blasted an unstoppable free-kick past Sepp Maier for what looked like the deciding goal.

But Schwarzenbeck was determined to make good his error, blasting an equaliser from 25 metres in the proverbial last seconds to set up the first and only reply in the history of European finals. "Even Pele wouldn't have scored that one," he rejoiced afterwards. Munich powered to a 4-0 victory in the replay two days later, earning rave notices from the global sports press as they heralded the arrival of a side which would dominate European club football for the next two seasons.

Pride of place in Schwarzenbeck's impressive medal collection goes to his 1972 European Championship honour and 1974 World Cup winners' medal. If there was an accolade for combining success with unassuming modesty, the former Bayern defender would be first in line.

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Mehmet Scholl
The record holder



Undisputed superstar and crowd favourite Mehmet Scholl entertained the Munich fans for a full decade and a half. He made 469 competitive appearances and scored 117 goals. After 17 years as a professional footballer, the 36-year-old played his last game on 15 August 2007.

His farewell appearance against Barcelona was one last highlight in his playing career. Many of the 69,000 crowd held up ‘thank you’ placards, and Barcelona captain Ronaldinho even had a present for Mehmet. “It wasn’t a forgone conclusion that I’d be picked to play against Barcelona just because it was my last game. I’d like to say a big thank you to Bayern,” declared Scholl.

In return, the club was determined to thank this exceptional player in a special way. “Mehmet deserves it. He’s a great player who has achieved great things, winning medals like nobody else and providing immense pleasure for the fans” enthused coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. And general manager Uli Hoeneß was full of praise for a protégé who mostly kept himself to himself away from the football pitch. “Mehmet has always been a friend of the club. He always gave his all and there was never any hassle with contract negotiations. He was an unusual pro and an incredibly popular figure at Bayern.”

This popular figure was also a keen collector of honours. Scholl holds the record at Bayern with a total of 21 trophies. He won the Bundesliga title eight times (1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006), lifted the DFB Cup five times (1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006), and also won the League Cup on five occasions (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004), plus the UEFA Cup once (1996).

The biggest achievement was winning the Champions League (2001), crowning his most successful season later the same year with victory in the World Club Cup. But the midfield star is loath to say which honour he treasures most. “Bayern was my biggest success. I managed 15 seasons in football without being swallowed up in this shark tank,” explains Scholl with pride.

Scholl never considered moving abroad. He even turned down a very lucrative offer from Barcelona in 1996. “I came to love Bavaria and its people. It would have been mad to go somewhere else for a bit more money or bit more glory. I’m glad I was fortunate enough to play here for so long,” says Scholl, whose football career started back in 1989 at Karlsruher SC.

However, for all his talent, Scholl was denied a long run in the Germany side. He did win the European Championships in 1996 but never played at a World Cup finals. Injuries constantly disrupted his international career. “The lows were lower than the highs were high,” declares Scholl looking back at his list of injuries. But he isn’t bitter. “When I look back at the 15 seasons there are so many positive things about it. Things that make you stronger. After all that’s happened I wouldn’t change anything.”

It is almost impossible to imagine Bayern without Mehmet. Indeed, Uli Hoeneß wants to keep his friend at the club over the long term as youth coordinator. “Mehmet has been offered a position with us whenever he wants it,” reports Hoeneß. However, Scholl’s association with the club is currently confined to appearing for the skittles team, as he initially wants to take a well-earned break from football. “Everything else will take care of itself. Let’s see what turns up. I’m sure it will work out fine,” he says.