Top facts about Klaus Augenthaler, Auge

Klaus "Auge" Augenthaler (born September 26, 1957 in Fürstenzell) was a German football coach and player. Formalized paraphrase Augenthaler was a classic libero who achieved national and international success; he held a record of seven German championships in the

jersey for a long time, which was later broken.

Klaus Augenthaler’s age

is 64. Here you can find the most important facts about Klaus Augenthaler, the former FC Bayern libero. Definitely, his 404 appearances for FC Bayern München and two European heartbreaks warrant this great sweeper more than just a mention.

He spent nearly 22 years at the club in his role as a central defender, a libero and finally, assistant coach.

Augenthaler’s career highlight was winning the World Cup with the German national football team in 1990. He currently works as an expert for FC Bayern-TV as well as a junior coach in the association's "international program."

Augenthaler was the Bayern Munich captain between 1984 and 1991. He won the Bundesliga on no less than on seven occasions including 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 1990.

He was one of FC Bayern's leading figures in the 80s and 90s. With his strong defensive play Augenthaler held the record champions together at the back and was dangerous going forwards with long precise balls up the pitch, deservedly earning himself the nickname 'Auge' (German for eye)

Top facts about Klaus Augenthaler:

In his 15-year club career with Bayern Munich, he won seven Bundesliga championships as a defender. In 1990, he was a member of the West German national team, who won the FIFA World Cup. Augenthaler was chosen to the finest Bayern Munich XI in the club's history in 2005.

Klaus Augenthaler early life

In 1975, Augenthaler joined FC Bayern Munich's youth department from his hometown and youth club FC Vilshofen. Speaking about

Klaus Augenthaler’s childhood

, it should be mentioned that he stayed for a year before Gyula Lóránt brought him into Bayern Munich's professional team as a stopper and then as a libero.

While he was not used in the Bundesliga during the 1976/77 season, he won the national amateur cup with the Bavarian regional association's selection with a 4-2 victory over the Southwest regional association's selection. Unfortunately there is no information regarding

Klaus Augenthaler’s parents

.

Klaus Augenthaler personal life

Klaus Augenthaler and his wife Monika have been married since 1980. The couple is the parents of two daughters. Lisa, the younger daughter, was born in 1990 and is an actress as well as a radio presenter at Antenne Bayern since 2018.

Klaus Augenthaler professional career

Klaus Augenthaler 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

.

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.

Klaus Augenthaler club career

An important

fact about Klaus Augenthaler

is that he made his Bundesliga debut on October 12, 1977. With a 1-0 lead, he scored his first goal in the 20th minute of a 3-0 home win over

. This game was followed by 403 more Bundesliga appearances, and he scored at least once in every season until 1990/91.

He also appeared in the DFB Cup 50 times (8 goals) and the European Cup 89 times (14 goals). Augenthaler continued to play for FC Bayern amateurs in the upper and regional leagues after his Bundesliga career ended in 1996.

FC Bayern Munich

Augenthaler's time with FC Bayern Munich was marked by numerous victories. Augenthaler won seven German championships with the club, was captain for a long time, and was regarded as one of Germany's best liberos. "Eye," as he was affectionately known, was known for his long passes and success as a free-kick taker.

In 1989, he overcame the opposing goalkeeper Uli Stein with a 50-metre long-range shot from the center circle in a game against Eintracht Frankfurt. This goal was chosen as the '80s Goal of the Decade.

A notable fact about Klaus Augenthaler is that he played his final Bundesliga game on 15 June 1991, the final matchday of the 1990/91 season, in a 2-2 draw against Bayer 05 Uerdingen; Augenthaler was replaced by Manfred Bender in the 66th minute. Augenthaler shaped a successful era at Bayern Munich as a player and captain from 1984 to 1991.

He did not, however, win the European Cup: Bayern Munich lost the final to Aston Villa in 1982. He was absent from the 1987 final, a 2-1 defeat by

, due to a red card received in the semifinals against Real Madrid.

In his most recent European Cup game, a lost semi-final against Red Star Belgrade, he inadvertently steered a saved ball into the net against his own goalkeeper Raimond Aumann in added time.

Augenthaler frequently played the position of sweeper in both the national and club teams, was in charge of defense organization, and usually took free kicks. His unusually hard shot was his distinguishing feature.

Klaus Augenthaler international playing career

An important fact about Klaus Augenthaler is that he debuted in the national jersey for the first time in the DFB youth team, where he appeared in eleven games and scored three goals. On October 15, 1975, he made his debut against Sweden in Trelleborg, drawing 1-1.

It was followed by ten consecutive missions, with his first of three goals coming in his fifth, on March 3, 1976, in Dushanbe in a 2-0 win over Hungary. His last assignment for this selection was on June 1, 1976, in a 3-2 victory over Czechoslovakia in the Hungarian Balatonfzf.

Augenthaler made his B national team debut on September 11, 1979, in Kaiserslautern, replacing Ditmar Jakobs in a 2-1 victory over Romania. On October 16, he scored his only goal in his second game, a 9-0 win over Luxembourg's senior national team in Koblenz.

He played 27 times for the senior national team, the first time on October 5, 1983, in a 3-0 win over

in a qualifier for the 1984 European Championships in Gelsenkirchen.

Augenthaler competed in two world championships and was crowned world champion on July 8, 1990, in Rome. For this, he received the silver bay leaf, as did the entire world champion team.

Klaus Augenthaler coaching career

A notable

fact about Klaus Augenthaler

is that he took over the FC Bayern Munich A youth team immediately after his professional career ended.

From 1992 to 1997, he was an assistant coach with the professional team, and from mid-May 1996 until the end of the season, he was the head coach as a result of

's temporary replacement.

FC Bayern Munich

An important fact about Klaus Augenthaler is that he is the only coach in Bundesliga history to make four substitutions by mistake in a single game. During the break in Bayern's final game of the season against Fortuna Düsseldorf, Augenthaler brought on three new field players, as well as goalkeeper Michael Probst in place of Oliver Kahn.

This rule violation went unnoticed by referee Lutz Wagner. Due to the insignificance of both teams, Düsseldorf did not appeal the game's scoring, and the game ended 2-2. Until 1996, he occasionally played for the FC Bayern amateurs in addition to his coaching duties.

1. FC Nuremberg and Grazer AK

In Austria, Augenthaler was the head coach of the Bundesliga club Grazer AK until March 2000, when he took over as coach at 1. FC Nuremberg, with whom he rose to the Bundesliga in 2001. On April 30, 2003, he was placed on leave by the Franconians, who were in danger of relegation, just before the end of the season.

VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen

After being fired by Nürnberg, Augenthaler was tasked with rebuilding the following season at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the 2002 Champions League finalists who were in danger of relegation that season.

After his predecessor Thomas Hörster's early resignation was rejected in mid-April, Augenthaler became head coach at the "Werksclub" on May 13, 2003, due to the hopelessness expressed by Hörster, and reached 15th place in the table relegation in the last two games.

In the 2003/04 season, he finished third in the championship with his club and thus qualified for the Champions League. The club won 3-0 against Real Madrid in the preliminary round before being eliminated in the round of 16 after two losses to Liverpool. On September 16, 2005, Augenthaler was released in Leverkusen.

Holger Fach's successor as coach at

, who took over after a three-month break on December 29, 2005, left by mutual agreement on May 19, 2007.

Prior to that, on May 10, 2007, prior to the 33rd Bundesliga match day against Alemannia Aachen, Klaus Augenthaler, who was facing relegation with VfL Wolfsburg, held a press conference lasting 42 seconds in which he asked and answered four questions himself.

Unterhaching SpVgg

Augenthaler took over training at SpVgg Unterhaching, a third-division club in danger of relegation, on March 23, 2010.

An important fact about Klaus Augenthaler is that he took over the training from interim coach Matthias Lust, who had previously taken over as Ralph Hasenhüttl's successor; Hasenhüttl was on leave on February 22, 2010.

Augenthaler and his team were able to maintain their league position with a 1-0 home win over Wuppertaler SV on matchday 36. At the end of the 2010/11 season, his contract was not renewed.

Donaustauf SV

A notable

fact about Klaus Augenthaler

is that he was announced as the new head coach of the state league team SV Donaustauf beginning in the summer of 2016. According to Augenthaler, the contact came about through a former youth player who lives nearby.

Donaustauf finished the 2016/2017 season in second place, thanks to Augenthaler's leadership. After a year, he resigned from his position. He explained that he was too busy due to his concurrent work as a TV expert for FC Bayern.

Bayern

Augenthaler returned to FC Bayern in July 2017 to work as a youth coach in the "international program" until the summer of 2020.

Klaus Augenthaler and the evolution of libero

Klaus Augenthaler, a German international, was the most successful player in Bundesliga history at one time, winning seven championship championships.

Strikers and midfielders have commanded much of the attention and glory in football for decades, whether it's for their deft and acrobatic strikes or for their jaw-dropping and well-choreographed maneuvers on the pitch.

There is no doubt that the world's best attackers are deserving of recognition. Defenders' devotion, on the other hand, hasn't been the same.

and

were named winners of FIFA's Player of the Century award in 2000. Pele was chosen by journalists, coaches, and FIFA officials, whereas Maradona was chosen by Internet voting.

Only two of the 20 selected candidates were defenders: Franz Beckenbauer and Lothar Matthaus, who played as a sweeper in his latter years.

Matthaus earned 0.37 percent of the votes online, while Beckenbauer received 1.50 percent. Maradona was credited with a whopping 53.60 percent of the vote. However, things have improved since then.

Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands was crowned UEFA Player of the Year in 2019, defeating Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to become the first defender to win the honor.

The Dutchman is also a strong candidate for the Ballon D'Or this year, which hasn't been awarded to a defender since Fabio Cannavaro of Italy won it in 2006.

Clubs are no longer afraid to spend big money on defenders, as seen by Manchester United's world-record €87 million for Harry Maguire in the heart of defense, or van Dijk's €84.65 million move to Anfield, making him the most expensive defender in 2018.

The defender's job has therefore become vital, much like Franz Beckenbauer's libero role in the 1970s, when he led both Germany and Bayern Munich forward. According to Klaus Augenthaler, a well-known German defender from the 1980s, center-backs are once again expected to lead from the back.

"We don't have a libero position any more, but the defenders in the center are now the defense's leaders. Even if the position is no longer known as a libero, the duty is comparable — you must be the defensive leader," said Augenthaler, who was in Mumbai on a Hafele India invitation.

"I used to be the last guy in defense as a libero, but now that there are two center-backs, the position occasionally swaps.

Essentially, we now have two center-backs performing that job, depending on the [nature] of the contest and where the opponent is coming from — requiring the defenders to be flexible and swap [roles] with the last guy in defense," he continued.

However, he is most known for his defensive responsibilities — specifically, his position as a traditional 'libero.' What is the role of a libero? If the opponent succeeds to breach the defensive line, the libero scoops up the ball. He sits behind the defense, providing additional protection and enhancing backline passing.

'Auge,' as he was also called, was a typical libero who played as the last man in defense. According to him, the libero's position in contemporary football has evolved significantly. The libero's position has altered as the game has become faster and defenders are no longer focused on one player (in this example, the striker).

"The development of the libero's function is linked to changes in football. The pace of the game has accelerated. Previously, there was a player in front of the center-back who would always follow the striker. His role used to be to accompany the striker, but as the game has evolved, the emphasis has shifted to defending the space.”

Augenthaler, 64, worked with Bayern Munich for over 22 years, first as a player and then as a youth team coach, caretaker-manager, and assistant coach. Auge has a special relationship with Bayern Munich, having spent his whole playing career with the German superpower.

Klaus Augenthaler Bayern legacy

With 404 appearances for FC Bayern München and two European heartbreaks, this legendary sweeper surely deserves more than a passing mention.

He worked with the club for over 22 years, first as a center defender, then as a libero, and ultimately as an assistant coach. When he eventually had no choice but to let go, the board urged him to do so.

Bayern red runs in the veins of Augenthaler. He criticizes players' choices to relocate at different periods after the Bosman rule was implemented merely because he could not comprehend doing it himself.

Between 1984 until 1991, Augenthaler served as the club's captain. He won the Bundesliga seven times, in 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1989, and 1990, to name a few. In 1982, 1984, and 1986, he won the DFB Pokal three times.

When asked whether there is a title missing from his trophy cabinet, Augenthaler refers to the Champions League and compares Bayern's defeat to Chelsea in 2012 to the anguish of 1987 versus Porto.

Despite this, he says that he does not worry about it, given the amount of medals he has won as a player and as an assistant coach. He has many more fond memories from his time at Bayern, including a spectacular goal he scored against Eintracht Frankfurt in August 1989.

From just over the midway line, Augenthaler scored the game-winning goal. Uli Stein, who was positioned a little too far forward of his goal, had no chance. That goal went on to win the season's Goal of the Year award. It was a remarkable one, as Jupp Heynckes, his manager, saw from the sidelines.

That year proved to be a very memorable one for the sweeper. He travelled to Italy for the World Cup and won the title in Rome. He has a chunk of the field to remind him of his greatest sporting triumph. Of course, this occurred after Augenthaler's loss to Argentina in the 1986 World Cup final.

recently aided Germany in achieving the same goal. He matches the profile of the Bayern Munich player that Augenthaler seeks. Müller and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who were both nurtured inside the club framework, are the kind of players that, in his opinion, belong to the club.

Today's commercialization does not set well with a guy who is so engrossed in football. VIP lounges are not his cup of tea.

This fits in nicely with his reputation as a tough defender with a keen understanding of the game. Such players are hard to come by in today's game, but they may not be as sought after as Augenthaler suggests.

In today's game, there is less need for difficult characters like Olli Kahn, Stefan Effenberg, and Augenthaler himself.

Augenthaler will be regarded as a Bayern legend for his goal against Frankfurt, for those domestic championships, and for his captaincy. When Otmar Hitzfeld took over in 1998 and brought his own assistant coach with him, Augenthaler, who was a member of the 1996 UEFA Cup-winning coaching squad, was unable to continue.

He agreed to become a head coach abroad after being convinced by Bayern's management. He went on to manage a number of teams, including Bayer 04 and Wolfsburg, until retiring in 2013 following a spell with SpVgg Unterhaching.

It's unclear if he'll return to coaching, but the chance of seeing him on the bench at FC Bayern isn't fully ruled out just yet. Augenthaler, a real Bayern legend, could teach today's midfielders a thing or two.

Klaus Augenthaler quotes

In an interview with Scroll.in, the former Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg coach discussed his management career, the current art of defending, replacing Beckenbauer's shoes, and more.

Excerpts:

About the impact that Franz Beckenbauer and Giovanni Trappatoni had in his coaching style, he has said, “I always looked up to them as a young athlete and learnt a lot from them. They were quite helpful in molding my career when I first started as an assistant [at Bayern].”

“One of the most important lessons I learned was to keep my feet on the ground, even if you are the greatest player in the league. It's easy to get caught up in the success around you, but staying grounded is a struggle. It's important to remember where you came from.”

“Beckenbauer was one of the finest sweepers in football history at the time. No one on the squad wanted to take his number five [shirt] when he retired since it came with a lot of responsibility. It was just vital for me to remain on the field at first. After some time, it seemed easily to me to take charge of the defense.”

About how much has defense progressed since he was a player, he has remarked, “The rules of the game have changed. Many teams push high and aim to assault the defenders as soon as possible. For that, you'll need speedy players. It wasn't like this before.”

“As a defender, you must be astute, anticipate the opponent's moves, and prevent fouls, which may always result in a goal. It depends on your playing style and whether you are a winger or a center.”

“As a center defender, one of the most important skills to have is the ability to anticipate how the game will open up next. Is it better to open it from the wing or the middle?”

“A winger must choose whether he can support the attack from the front or provide a strong defense-splitting pass in the center. In the end, the defense is still the most important factor. As you may have heard, offense wins games and defense wins championships.”

“Training has evolved significantly in recent years. We spent a lot of time training for one-on-one scenarios throughout my time there. As a result, defenders were more prepared and more confident in handling certain circumstances.”

“There are many fouls nowadays, and defenders often give the ball away because they can't handle a striker charging at them at full speed. It gets more difficult to win the ball if you have not been properly taught. In today's world, that is not the case. Ball-playing is becoming a bigger part of training.”

“The attackers are the center of attention for fans and the media today. It's always exciting to see someone take a shot, score a goal, or make a terrific play on offense, but we often overlook the positive acts taken by defenders.

Preventing the opponent from scoring, snatching the ball, and doing the proper things are all things that can be done. As a result, seeing such subtleties is considerably more difficult.”

“That is why

and

have consistently won the Ballon d'Or. During my career, I was nominated for German Player of the Year three times, but the striker or midfielder always took first place.”

About his favorite defender right now, he has said, “Van Dijk. When he first joined for Liverpool, many people asked why they were paying so much for him, but it's clear that he's a fantastic defender and leader at the back.

He does an excellent job of controlling his own defense. His physicality is one of his advantages. He's a powerful corner kicker with a terrific header who can add a lot of goals.”

About the motivating force behind his commitment to Bayern, he has said: “Coming from a tiny village like Vilsofen to Munich was a difficult step for me as well, but after three or four years, I realized that this is the club I identified with, that it felt like home...”

“With players like Gerd Mueller, Franz Beckenbauer, and others, the game was well-played. After (Karl-Heinz) Rummenigge departed, I became captain for the longest time in Bayern's history, seven years. Looking back, I'm glad I never had to make that choice since there were no offers from another team.”

About money in today’s football, he has remarked, “Ordinary individuals may now make a lot of money playing football. It's very pricey, and for most people, it's probably no longer attainable, yet football is flourishing, and money is undoubtedly fueling it.”

“However, if you look at our club, things are a little different. We don't have a lot of international investors pouring money in, so... All of the money we make is self-generated, and we've been able to maintain ourselves for a long time.”

“We sort of cling to our German ideals in that we don't spend a lot more than we earn, that we've been successful for years and that we've been earning greater profits every year, and that's what sets Bayern apart from teams with a lot of foreign investors who also bring in a lot of money.”

Some quick facts about Klaus Augenthaler:

Augenthaler was born in the Bavarian town of Fürstenzell in West Germany. He mostly played as a centre-back or, particularly later in his career, as a sweeper. Augenthaler won the Bundesliga seven times and the DFB-Pokal three times during his stint at Bayern Munich.

An important fact about Klaus Augenthaler is that he was runner-up in the European Cup in 1982, losing 0–1 to

, and again in 1987, missing the final due to suspension, when Bayern lost 2–1 to FC Porto.

Augenthaler led his club team from 1984 until the conclusion of his playing career in 1991. For Bayern, he appeared in 404 Bundesliga matches and 89 European cup competitions.

He played 27 times for West Germany between 1983 and 1990, winning the World Cup in Italy in the final against Argentina (1–0). He was a member of the 1986 World Cup team that advanced to the final.

A notable

fact about Klaus Augenthaler

is that he began his managing career at Bayern Munich as an assistant coach under Sren Lerby, Erich Ribbeck, Franz Beckenbauer, Giovanni Trapattoni, and Otto Rehhagel.

He was in charge of the last game of the 1995–96 season, which was against Fortuna Düsseldorf. From 1997 until 2000, he was the head coach of Austrian side Grazer AK, leading them to two third-place finishes.

Augenthaler departed Graz during the 1999–2000 winter break and took over 1. FC Nürnberg on March 2, 2000, then in the second level, where he led them to promotion.

Nürnberg fired Augenthaler on April 29, 2003, as the team was on the verge of relegation. In May 2003, he took over as manager of Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

He saved the team from relegation and remained at the club until September 2005. He was employed by VfL Wolfsburg in December of the same year.

His unremarkable tenure there came to an end just before the conclusion of the 2006–07 season. He signed a half-year deal with SpVgg Unterhaching on March 23, 2010, to replace Matthias Lust. On June 3, 2011, his contract was cancelled.

Due to a lack of interest, Augenthaler turned down contract proposals from China and Turkey. In 2015, he sought to become the next head coach of 1860 Munich.

During his time as a coach at Grazer AK, Augenthaler announced at a press conference that he would be leaving the club immediately and would be coaching at a top French club in the future. Several local radio stations then cut their programming to broadcast a special message.

Albertas Klimawiszys, the Lithuanian football coach named as Augenthaler's successor, immediately led the first training session, suspending a player who objected to the unconventional training methods.

After a few minutes, the entire team walked out of the training session in protest. Following that, the journalists in attendance were informed that it was a contribution to the show The World Laughs About It, and that the alleged trainer Klimawiszys was played by comedian Hape Kerkeling. The team had also not been inaugurated beforehand.

On January 30, 2009, Bayerischer Rundfunk announced that Klaus Augenthaler had been hired as the host of the Bayern 1 program Heute im Stadion for the second half of the Bundesliga season.

FC Bayern Munich announced in February 2017 that Klaus Augenthaler would analyze Munich's games as an expert on the television channel "FC Bayern.tv.live."

In 2019, Augenthaler's youth club FC Vilshofen named its new stadium, which could seat 8,000 people, the Klaus Augenthaler Stadion.

In the 2019 film Leberkäsjunkie, he made a brief cameo as the coach of FC Rot-Weiß Niederkaltenkirchen hopeful Buengo.

Klaus Augenthaler chased and won awards like no other player, becoming the most successful person in Bundesliga history at one time. 'Auge' won the Bundesliga seven times (1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990), the DFB German Cup three times (1982, 1984, 1986), and was twice a losing finalist in the European Champions Cup (1982, 1987).

However, in an already brilliant playing career, the year 1990 would prove to be the most magnificent. Augenthaler gave steel to a Germany team that stayed focused and won the World Cup final 1-0 against

in Rome, only weeks after hoisting the Bundesliga shield into the Bavarian sky for the record seventh time.

He now admits, "I do admit to a little satisfaction in being the player with the most championship medals."

'Auge' played 404 times for Bayern and 27 times for Germany, scoring 52 goals in the Bundesliga. The most memorable of them occurred on August 19, 1989, when he scored the game-winning goal for Bayern Munich in a 1-0 away victory against Eintracht Frankfurt.

The player, who served as captain from 1984 to 1991 and played libero at the time, beat Frankfurt goalkeeper Uli Stein with a shot from the halfway line, winning "Goal of the Season" and "Goal of the Decade" awards.

His moniker, 'Auge,' was taken from his surname and meant "the eye" in German. It is simply attributed to his ability to read the play and dominate a match from the back, first as a center-half and then as a traditional libero.

At 1991, Augenthaler retired from playing and became an assistant coach in Munich, where he won the Uefa Cup and finished second in the Bundesliga in 1996. He assisted Jupp Heynckes, Sören Lerby, Erich Ribbeck, Franz Beckenbauer, Giovanni Trapattoni, and Otto Rehhagel from 1991 to 1997.

When Ottmar Hitzfeld came on July 1, 1998, he brought Michael Henke with him, and the Bayern board pushed Augenthaler to leave for another job. "Bayern has always been everything to me," the Record-breaker acknowledged. "I even think in red and white."

Klaus Augenthaler social media

Regarding

Klaus Augenthaler social media

, it should be mentioned that he does not have any pages on any social media platforms.

Klaus Augenthaler body measurements

Speaking about

Klaus Augenthaler body measurements

, it should be mentioned that the coach is 182 cm and 78 kg.

Klaus Augenthaler net worth and salary

Klaus Augenthaler’s net worth

or net income is believed to be between $5 million and $6 million USD. From his major profession as a soccer player and then a coach, he has amassed a substantial fortune.

Read More:

Follow 

for the