 Magath in 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wolfgang Felix Magath[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1953-07-26)26 July 1953 (age 72)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Aschaffenburg, West Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1960–1964 | VfR Nilkheim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1964–1972 | TV 60 Aschaffenburg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972–1974 | Viktoria Aschaffenburg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1974–1976 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 76 | (29) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976–1986 | Hamburger SV | 306 | (46) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 382 | (75) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1986 | West Germany | 43 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Hamburger SV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | 1. FC Nürnberg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Werder Bremen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Eintracht Frankfurt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | VfB Stuttgart | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | Bayern Munich | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | VfL Wolfsburg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Schalke 04 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | VfL Wolfsburg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Fulham | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Shandong Luneng Taishan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Hertha BSC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wolfgang Felix Magath (German pronunciation:[maɡat]; born 26 July 1953) is a Germanfootball manager and former player.
The most notable spell of his playing career was withHamburger SV, with whom he won threeBundesliga titles, the1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final and the1983 European Cup Final, scoring in both finals. He also gained 43 internationalcaps for theWest Germany national team, winningUEFA Euro 1980 and reaching two consecutiveWorld Cup finals.
As a manager, Magath's honours include two consecutiveDoubles (Bundesliga andGerman Cup titles) withBayern Munich, and a further Bundesliga title withVfL Wolfsburg in 2009. He has a reputation of demanding strong discipline and thorough training.
In 2014, Magath coached English clubFulham, becoming the first German to manage in thePremier League.[2]
Born nearAschaffenburg,[1] Magath started his career playing for local clubViktoria Aschaffenburg. From 1974 to 1976, he played for1. FC Saarbrücken, at that time in thesecond division, before moving toHamburger SV in thetop flight. He spent the following ten seasons with Hamburg, and from his debut in 1976 to his retirement he scored 46 goals in 306 games in the West German top flight.[3]
In1983, Magath led Hamburg to success in theEuropean Cup, scoring the single goal inthe final againstJuventus;[4] in1980–81, he netted a career-best (in the first division) ten goals, helping his side to a runner-up league spot, as Hamburg also won the league in three years during that time.[5]
Magath also represented theWest Germany national team at many international events, including the1982 and1986FIFA World Cups, helping West Germany finish in second place both times.[6] He was also part of the squad that won the1980 UEFA European Championship.[7] Magath made his debut on 30 April 1977, in a 2–1 friendly win withYugoslavia, and went on to amass 43caps, with three goals.[8]
A talented, creative, and intelligent diminutiveplaymaker, with an eye for goal, Magath normally played either as anattacking orcentral midfielder, and was an elegant player on the ball, who possessed excellent technical skills, vision, and stamina, despite his lack of significant pace and his stocky physique. He was also a strong passer and striker of the ball with his left foot,[9][10][11][12] and stood out for his work-rate on the pitch, as well as his ability to interpret the game.[13][14] Considered to be a decisive player,[15] he is rated by pundits as one of the greatest midfielders in the history of the Bundesliga.[16]
Having suffered a career-ending knee injury, Magath retired shortly after the1986 World Cup and becamegeneral manager for his former club Hamburg. He left Hamburg in June 1988 after moderate success. His next stints as general manager included then2. Bundesliga, side1. FC Saarbrücken (November 1989 to June 1990), as well asBayer Uerdingen (July 1990 to January 1992), who were relegated from the first tier during Magath's time at the club.[17]
Magath took up coaching in 1992 as aplayer-coach for the fourth-tier clubFC Bremerhaven, which he led to division championship.[18][19] He then rejoinedHamburger SV as reserves coach in 1993,[20] and became managerBenno Möhlmann's assistant soon after. Magath succeeded Möhlmann as manager after the latter was sacked in October 1995.[21] His first match was a 2–2 draw against1860 Munich.[22] Having reached theUEFA Cup during his first season, Hamburg finished in fifth place.[23] The following season as disappointing 15th[24] at the time Magath was sacked.[25] His final match was a 4–0 loss to1. FC Köln.[26] He finished with a record of 28 wins, 19 draws, and 22 losses.[27]
In the following years, Magath acquired a reputation as thefireman,[28] coming in at difficult times at a club and leading it to salvation. In September 1997, he took over1. FC Nürnberg who were newly promoted to the 2. Bundesliga[28] and fighting relegation. His first match was a 0–0 draw againstKFC Uerdingen 05.[29]Der Club finished the season in third–place,[28][30] meaning promotion to the Bundesliga,[28] but Magath left due to differences in opinion with the club president Michael A. Roth.[citation needed] He finished with a record of 16 wins, eight draws, and five losses.[31] During a short stint atWerder Bremen during the1998–99 season, Magath lead the club out of relegation places, only for Bremen to find themselves in the relegation dogfight again with two games to go. At this point he was replaced as manager byThomas Schaaf who helped them avoid relegation by a point.[28] Magath also helped Bremen get to the final of theDFB-Pokal however he was sacked before thefinal itself, which Bremen won in his absence.[32] He had nine wins, seven draws, and ten losses.[33] Halfway through the1999–00 season, Magath joined troubledEintracht Frankfurt.[34] An impressive Magath-inspired run saw Frankfurt finish the second round as third best[35] and four points off relegation.[28][36] Magath was sackedthe season after (29 January 2001)[34] when Frankfurt found themselves in the relegation zone.[37] His last match was a 5–1 loss to Köln.[38] He finished with record of 15 wins, five draws, and 17 losses.[34]
Magath bounced back with what was to become one of his most successful stints when he took over fellow relegation battlersVfB Stuttgart a few weeks after. Having narrowly avoided relegation in 2001, Stuttgart finished the2001–02 in a mid-table position. The club went then on to become2002–03 Bundesliga runners-up and finished the2003–04 season as respectable fourth. During this time, Magath also introduced a group of players from the Stuttgart youth ranks, such asTimo Hildebrand,Andreas Hinkel andKevin Kurányi, who became known as"die jungen Wilden" (wild youth).[39] The Stuttgart stint was also the first time Magath combined the head coach and thedirector of football roles.[40] He finished with a record of 73 wins, 37 draws, and 37 losses.[41]
Having impressed with Stuttgart, Magath was handed theFC Bayern Munich job on 1 July 2004.[42] Inhis first season, Magath was able to lead his team to victory in both the league andcup, completingthe double, a feat which would be repeated in2005–06, the first time ever in the competition's history.[43]
However, after a slow start to the2006–07 season, with the team mired in fourth place which would notqualify them for the Champions League, Magath was sacked on 31 January 2007.[44] He finished with a record of 84 wins, 25 draws, and 22 losses.[45]
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In June 2007, Magath signed a contract withVfL Wolfsburg,[46] as head coach and director of football. Magath lead theWolves to play in the2008–09 UEFA Cup and thefollowing season's Champions League, the latter asleague champions for the first time. He finished with a record of 46 wins, 18 draws, and 21 losses.[47]
Before the season 2008–09 had ended, Magath agreed on a four-year contract withSchalke 04, again as both head coach and director of football, starting on 1 July 2009.[48] Schalke finished Magath's first season in charge as runners-up, but after a series of disappointing domestic performances and growing player discontent,[49] Magath was sacked by Schalke in March 2011.[50] the following day, Magath claimed that he had not been informed of his dismissal.[49] He finished with a record of 42 wins, 16 draws, and 21 losses.[51]
Only 48 hours later, on 18 March, Magath once again signed with now relegation-battling VfL Wolfsburg,[52] the side he had previously led to the league title in 2009. Magath steered the club to safety, avoiding the relegation play–off by two points,[28] but though the club invested heavily, Magath could only achieve a mid-table finish in the following2011–12 season. After only five points in eight matches (and no goals and points in the last four games) in the2012–13 season, Magath left the club by mutual consent on 25 October 2012.[53] He finished with a record of 18 wins, 10 draws, and 24 losses.[47]
On 14 February 2014,Fulham released a statement that Magath would be their new first team manager effective immediately on an eighteen-month contract.[54] Magath brought inTomas Oral as first team coach and Werner Leuthard as the person in charge of conditioning while the club dismissed managerRene Meulensteen, assistant coachRay Wilkins, technical directorAlan Curbishley, and first team coaches Mick Priest and Jonathan Hill.[55] The role was Magath's first in two years and at the time his only venture outside of his native Germany.[28] Magath believed that he could save Fulham from relegation and that 12 matches was enough to save the club.[28] Fulham played their first match under Magath on 22 February 2014.[56] The match ended in a 1–1 draw withAshkan Dejagah, Magath's former player atVfL Wolfsburg, being the first Fulham goalscorer of Magath's tenure.[56]
On 15 March, Fulham won their first match with Magath in charge againstNewcastle United, withDejagah being the lone scorer.[57] Magath picked up four points from his first six matches and answered questions about a potential resignation.[58] On 3 May 2014, Fulham were relegated from the Premier League after a 4–1 loss toStoke City.[59] Magath believed that Fulham could earn immediate promotion.[60] He started the2014–15 season with four consecutive losses toIpswich Town,[61]Millwall,[62]Wolverhampton Wanderers[63] andDerby County.[64] On 18 September 2014 Magath was sacked as Fulham manager after a run of eleven league games without a win.[65] He finished with a record of four wins, four draws, and 12 losses.[66]
AfterGerald Baumgartner was sacked byAustria Wien,[67] Magath eventually became the "preferred" choice.[68]Spartak Moscow also offered Magath a contract.[68]Thorsten Fink[69] andDmitriy Alenichev[70] took the coaching jobs. He eventually took the job atShandong Luneng Taishan, replacing formerBrazil national football team managerMano Menezes.[71] He took the job on 8 June 2016.[71] He made his debut on 12 June 2016 in a 2–1 loss againstHebei China Fortune.[72] His first win was a 2–1 win againstJiangsu Suning on 9 July 2016.[72] Four days later, he got his second win againstShijiazhuang Ever Bright, a 4–0 win.[72]
He led Shandong throughout the2017 Chinese Super League, finishing 6th, but left the club shortly after the end of the season.[73][74][75]
In January 2020, Magath revealed that his time as a coach was over and that he wanted to "help football in a different way". In step with this, he introduced himself as the new boss of FLYERALARM Global Soccer. Magath became responsible for FLYERALARM's commitment to the clubsWürzburger Kickers in Germany andFlyeralarm Admira, formerly known asFC Admira Wacker Mödling.[76][77]
On 13 March 2022, Magath becameHertha BSC's third head coach of the2021–22 season after he replacedTayfun Korkut, who had replacedPál Dárdai in November 2021.[78] On 17 March 2022, Magath tested positive forCOVID-19[79] and had to postpone his debut match.[80]
As a manager, Magath quickly gained respect and became known for his hard, grinding training methods, laying heavy emphasis on discipline, fitness and conditioning. Players gave him nicknames like "Saddam" (Saddam Hussein) or "Quälix",[81] aportmanteau of his first name Felix and the German verb "quälen" (to torture).[82] His methods have also been considered to be controversial in the media, however.[83] He was once described by formerEintracht Frankfurt playerBachirou Salou as the "last dictator in Europe".[84]
After leaving Fulham in September 2014, bizarre stories emerged about how Magath had suggested thatBrede Hangeland rub cheese on a thigh injury.[85] Magath stated that Hangeland did not have a thigh injury but an inflammation of the knee, and that he suggested the additional use of an alternative treatment with a bandage (dressing) consisting ofQuark.[86] Fulham playerSascha Riether later said that the story was greatly exaggerated and that Magath had suggested he use a traditional topfen curd.[87][88][89]
Magath is the son of a Puerto Rican former soldier in theUnited States Army stationed in Aschaffenburg and a German mother.[39] In 1954, Magath's father abandoned Magath and his mother to return to his homeland.[39] The adolescent Magath first heard from his father when he was 15 years old, after he wrote a letter to Puerto Rico.[39]
Magath is also a chess enthusiast, an interest which he developed during the1978 World Chess Championship while he was bedridden due tohepatitis.[90] In 1985, he played in asimultaneous exhibition againstGarry Kasparov.[91]
| Club | Season | League | DFB-Pokal | Europe[a] | Other[b] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 1. FC Saarbrücken | 1974–75 | 2. Bundesliga Süd | 38 | 12 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 12 | ||
| 1975–76 | 38 | 17 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 17 | ||||
| Total | 76 | 29 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 78 | 29 | ||||
| Hamburger SV | 1976–77 | Bundesliga | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | — | 37 | 5 | |
| 1977–78 | 33 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 7 | ||
| 1978–79 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 4 | ||||
| 1979–80 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | 40 | 6 | |||
| 1980–81 | 33 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | 42 | 13 | |||
| 1981–82 | 28 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 1 | — | 41 | 10 | |||
| 1982–83 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 2 | — | 47 | 6 | |||
| 1983–84 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 6 | ||
| 1984–85 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 39 | 4 | |||
| 1985–86 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 2 | |||
| Total | 306 | 46 | 26 | 8 | 48 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 385 | 63 | ||
| Career total | 382 | 75 | 28 | 8 | 48 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 463 | 92 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | Ref. | |||
| Hamburg II | 1 July 1993[20] | 5 October 1995[20] | 73 | 25 | 18 | 30 | 108 | 129 | −21 | 034.25 | [93][94][95] |
| Hamburger SV | 5 October 1995[27] | 18 May 1997[27] | 69 | 28 | 19 | 22 | 102 | 102 | +0 | 040.58 | [27][22][26] |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 1 September 1997[31] | 30 June 1998[31] | 29 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 43 | 21 | +22 | 055.17 | [29][31] |
| Werder Bremen | 22 October 1998[33] | 10 May 1999[33] | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 30 | 34 | −4 | 034.62 | [33][96] |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 27 December 1999[34] | 29 January 2001[34] | 37 | 15 | 5 | 17 | 49 | 59 | −10 | 040.54 | [34][35][38] |
| VfB Stuttgart | 23 February 2001[41] | 30 June 2004[41] | 147 | 73 | 37 | 37 | 220 | 151 | +69 | 049.66 | [41][97][98][99][100] |
| Bayern Munich | 1 July 2004[45] | 31 January 2007[44] | 131 | 84 | 25 | 22 | 264 | 128 | +136 | 064.12 | [45][101][102][103] |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 31 May 2007[46] | 30 June 2009[48] | 85 | 46 | 18 | 21 | 179 | 110 | +69 | 054.12 | [47][104][105] |
| FC Schalke 04 | 1 July 2009[48] | 16 March 2011[50] | 79 | 42 | 16 | 21 | 117 | 76 | +41 | 053.16 | [51][106][107] |
| Wolfsburg | 18 March 2011[52] | 25 October 2012[53] | 52 | 18 | 10 | 24 | 69 | 87 | −18 | 034.62 | [47][108][109][110] |
| Fulham | 14 February 2014[54] | 18 September 2014[65] | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 21 | 45 | −24 | 020.00 | [66][111][112] |
| Shandong Luneng | 8 June 2016[71] | 1 December 2017[74] | 51 | 20 | 15 | 16 | 76 | 31 | +45 | 039.22 | [72][75] |
| Hertha BSC | 13 March 2022[78] | 2 June 2022 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 12 | −2 | 033.33 | |
| Total | 808 | 383 | 183 | 242 | 1,290 | 1,019 | +271 | 047.40 | — | ||
Hamburger SV[113]
West Germany
Individual
VfB Stuttgart[117]
Bayern Munich[114]
VfL Wolfsburg[114]
Individual
West Germany squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| People | |
