Felix Magath

Felix Magath

Magath at a press conference of VfL Wolfsburg in 2011
Personal information
Full name Wolfgang-Felix Magath
Date of birth (1953-07-26) 26 July 1953
Place of birth Aschaffenburg, West Germany
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Shandong Luneng (manager)
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)
National team
1977–1986 West Germany 43 (3)
Teams managed
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– Shandong Luneng

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Wolfgang-Felix Magath (German pronunciation: [maɡat]; born 26 July 1953) is a German former footballer. The most notable spell of his playing career was with Hamburger SV, with whom he won three Bundesliga titles, the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final and the 1983 European Cup Final, scoring in both Finals. He also gained 43 international caps for the West Germany national team, winning the Euro 1980 and reaching two consecutive World Cup finals.

As a manager, Magath's honours include two consecutive Doubles (Bundesliga and German Cup titles) with Bayern Munich, and a further Bundesliga title with VfL Wolfsburg in 2009. He has a reputation of demanding strong discipline and thorough training.

In 2014, Magath coached English club Fulham, becoming the first German to manage in the Premier League.[1]

Playing career

Born near Aschaffenburg, Magath started his career playing for local club Viktoria Aschaffenburg. From 1974–76, he played for 1. FC Saarbrücken, at that time in the second division, before moving to Hamburger SV in the top 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.[2]

In 1983, Magath led Hamburg to success in the European Cup, scoring the single goal in the final against Juventus FC;[3] in 1980–81, he netted a career-best (in the first division) 10 goals, helping his side to a runner-up league spot, as Hamburg also won the league in three years during that time.[4]

Magath also represented the West German national team at many international events, including the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups, helping West Germany finish in second place both times.[5] He was also part of the squad that won the 1980 UEFA European Championships.[6] Magath made his debut on 30 April 1977, in a 2–1 friendly win with Yugoslavia, and went on to amass 43 caps, with three goals.[7]

Management career

1986–92: General manager

Having suffered a career-ending knee injury, Magath retired shortly after the 1986 World Cup and became general manager for his former club Hamburg. He left Hamburg in June 1988 after moderate success. His next stints as general manager included then 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Saarbrücken (November 1989 to June 1990) as well as Bayer Uerdingen (July 1990 to January 1992) who were relegated from the first tier during Magath's time at the club.[8]

1992–2001: Early coaching career

Magath took up coaching in 1992 as a player-coach for the fourth-tier club FC Bremerhaven which he led to division championship.[9][10] He then rejoined Hamburger SV as reserves coach in 1993[11] and became manager Benno Möhlmann's assistant soon after. Magath succeeded Möhlmann as manager after the latter was sacked in October 1995.[12] Having reached the UEFA Cup during his first season, Hamburg finished the following season as disappointing 13th and Magath was sacked.[13] He finished with a record of 28 wins, 19 draws, and 22 losses.[14]

In the following years, Magath acquired a reputation as the fireman,[15] coming in at difficult times at a club and leading it to salvation. In September 1997, he took over 1. FC Nürnberg who were newly promoted to the 2. Bundesliga[15] and fighting relegation. Der Club finished the season in third–place,[15] meaning promotion to the Bundesliga,[15] but Magath left due to differences in opinion with the club president Michael A. Roth. He finished with a record of 16 wins, eight draws, and five losses.[16] During a short stint at Werder Bremen during the 1998–99 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. He has nine wins, seven draws, and 10 losses.[17] Halfway through the 1999–00 season, Magath joined troubled Eintracht Frankfurt. Werder Bremen avoided relegation by a point.[15] An impressive Magath-inspired run saw Frankfurt finish the second round as third best and four points off relegation.[15] Magath was sacked the season after when Frankfurt found themselves third last in January. He finished with record of 15 wins, five draws, and 17 losses.[18]

2001–07: Head coach at Stuttgart and Bayern

Magath bounced back with what was to become one of his most successful stints when he took over fellow relegation battlers VfB Stuttgart a few weeks after. Having narrowly avoided relegation in 2001, Stuttgart finished the 2001–02 in a mid-table position. The club went then on to become 2002–03 Bundesliga runners-up and finished the 2003–04 season as respectable fourth. During this time, Magath also introduced a group of players from the Stuttgart youth ranks, such as Timo Hildebrand, Andreas Hinkel and Kevin Kurányi, who became known as "die jungen Wilden" (wild youth).[19] The Stuttgart stint was also the first time Magath combined the head coach and the director of football roles.[20] He finished with a record of 73 wins, 37 draws, and 37 losses.[21]

Having impressed with Stuttgart, Magath was handed the FC Bayern Munich job on 1 July 2004.[22] In his first season, Magath was able to lead his team to victory in both the league and cup, completing the double, a feat which would be repeated in 2005–06, the first time ever in the competition's history.[23]

However, after a slow start to the 2006–07 season, with the team mired in fourth place which would not qualify them for the Champions League, Magath was sacked on 31 January 2007.[24] He finished with a record of 84 wins, 25 draws, and 22 losses.[25]

2007–12: Head coach and director of football combined

In June 2007, Magath signed a contract with VfL Wolfsburg,[26] as head coach and director of football. Magath lead the Wolves to play in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup and the following season's Champions League, the latter as league champions for the first time. He finished with a record of 46 wins, 18 draws, and 21 losses.[27]

Before the season 2008–09 had ended, Magath agreed on a four-year contract with Schalke 04, again as both head coach and director of football, starting on 1 July 2009.[28] Schalke finished Magath's first season in charge as runners-up, but after a series of disappointing domestic performances and growing player discontent,[29] Magath was sacked by Schalke in March 2011.[30] the following day, Magath claimed that he had not been informed of his dismissal.[29] He finished with a record of 42 wins, 16 draws, and 21 losses.[31]

Only 48 hours later, on 18 March, Magath once again signed with now relegation-battling VfL Wolfsburg,[32] 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,[15] but though the club invested heavily, Magath could only achieve a mid-table finish in the following 2011–12 season. After only five points in eight matches (and no goals and points in the last four games) in the 2012–13 season, Magath left the club by mutual consent on 25 October 2012.[33] He finished with a record of 18 wins, 10 draws, and 24 losses.[27]

2014–16: Return to management with Fulham and Shandong Luneng Taishan

On 14 February 2014, Fulham released a statement that Magath would be their new first team manager effective immediately on an eighteen-month contract,[34] making no mention of existing head coach René Meulensteen,[34] but stating that an announcement on Magath's back-room staff would be made in due course.[35] Meulensteen independently confirmed he had been relieved of his duties.[36] The role was Magath's first in two years and to date his only venture outside of his native Germany.[15] Magath believed that he could save Fulham from relegation and that 12 matches was enough to save the club.[15] Fulham played their first match under Magath on 22 February 2014.[37] The match ended in a 1–1 draw with Ashkan Dejagah, Magath's former player at VfL Wolfsburg, being the first Fulham goalscorer of Magath's tenure.[37] On 15 March, Fulham won their first match with Magath in charge against Newcastle United, with Dejagah being the lone scorer.[38] Magath picked up four points from his first six matches and answered questions about a potential resignation.[39] On 3 May 2014, Fulham were relegated from the Premier League after a 4–1 loss to Stoke City.[40] Magath believed that Fulham could earn immediate promotion.[41] He started the 2014–15 season with four consecutive losses to Ipswich Town,[42] Millwall,[43] Wolverhampton Wanderers[44] and Derby County.[45] On 18 September 2014 Magath was removed from his position as Fulham manager after a run of eleven league games without a win.[46] He finished with a record of four wins, four draws, and 12 losses.[47]

After Gerald Baumgartner was sacked by Austria Wien,[48] Magath eventually became the "preferred" choice.[49] Spartak Moscow also offered Magath a contract.[49] Thorsten Fink[50] and Dmitriy Alenichev[51] took the coaching jobs. He eventually took the job at Shandong Luneng Taishan, replacing former Brazil national football team manager Mano Menezes.[52] He took the job on 8 June 2016.[52] He made his debut on 12 June 2016 in a 2–1 loss against Hebei China Fortune.[53] His first win was a 2–1 win against Jiangsu Suning on 9 July 2016.[53] Four days later, he got his second win against Shijiazhuang Ever Bright, a 4–0 win.[53]

Reputation

As a manager, Magath quickly gained respect and became notorious for his hard, grinding training methods, laying heavy emphasis on discipline, fitness and conditioning. Players gave him nicknames like "Saddam" (Saddam Hussein) or “Quälix”,[54] a rhyming mash of his first name Felix and the German verb “quälen” (to torture).[55] He was once described by former Eintracht Frankfurt player Bachirou Salou as the "last dictator in Europe".[56] After leaving Fulham in September 2014, bizarre stories emerged about how Magath had suggested that Brede Hangeland rub cheese on a thigh injury.[57] Magath stated that Hangeland didn't 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 of Quark.[58] Fulham player Sascha Riether later that the story was greatly exaggerated and that Magath had suggested he use a traditional topfen curd.[59][60][61]

Personal life

Magath in 1985

Magath is the son of a former Puerto Rican soldier in the United States Army stationed in Aschaffenburg and a German mother.[19] Both were abandoned by his father in 1954, when he returned to his homeland.[19] The adolescent Magath first heard from his father when he was 15 years old, after he wrote a letter to Puerto Rico.[19]

Magath is also a chess enthusiast, an interest which he developed during the 1978 World Chess Championship while he was bedridden due to hepatitis.[62] In 1985, he played in a simultaneous exhibition against Garry Kasparov.[63]

Statistics

Club

ClubSeasonLeagueGerman CupEurope1Other2Total
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Saarbrücken1974–752. Bundesliga Süd381210—3912
1975–763817103917
Totals762920—7829
Hamburg1976–77Bundesliga3011064—375
1977–78334423120427
1978–7921410——224
1979–803252170406
1980–81331043504213
1981–8228841914110
1982–833444092476
1983–84345412030436
1984–853231061—394
1985–862921010312
Totals306462684895038563
Career totals382752884895046392
Source:[64]

Managerial record

As of 30 October 2016
Team From To Record
G W D L Win % Ref.
Bremerhaven 1 July 1992 30 June 1993[10] 0 0 0 0 !—
Hamburg II 1 July 1993[11] 5 October 1995[11] 73 25 18 30 34.25
Hamburg 5 October 1995[14] 18 May 1997[14] 69 28 19 22 40.58 [14]
Nürnberg 1 September 1997[16] 30 June 1998[16] 29 16 8 5 55.17 [16]
Werder Bremen 22 October 1998[17] 10 May 1999[17] 26 9 7 10 34.62 [17]
Eintracht Frankfurt 27 December 1999[18] 29 January 2001[18] 37 15 5 17 40.54 [18]
Stuttgart 23 February 2001[21] 30 June 2004 [21] 147 73 37 37 49.66 [21]
Bayern Munich 1 July 2004[25] 31 January 2007[24] 131 84 25 22 64.12 [25]
Wolfsburg 31 May 2007[26] 30 June 2009[28] 85 46 18 21 54.12 [27]
Schalke 04 1 July 2009[28] 16 March 2011[30] 79 42 16 21 53.16 [31]
Wolfsburg 18 March 2011[32] 25 October 2012[33] 52 18 10 24 34.62 [27]
Fulham 14 February 2014[34] 18 September 2014[46] 20 4 4 12 20.00 [47]
Shandong Luneng 8 June 2016[52] Present 20 7 5 8 35.00 [53]
Total 768 367 172 229 47.79 —

Honours

Player

Club

Hamburger SV[65]

Country

West Germany

Manager

Stuttgart[67]
Bayern Munich[66]
Wolfsburg[66]

References

  1. ↑ "Felix Magath sets struggling Fulham a six-win target to avoid relegation". The Guardian. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Arnhold, Matthias (1 October 2015). "Felix Magath - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ein Abend in Athen" (in German). 11Freunde.de. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Felix Magath" (in German). fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Felix MAGATH". FIFA.com. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Allofs hat-trick sees off Dutch". UEFA.com. 4 October 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  7. ↑ Arnhold, Matthias (1 October 2015). "Felix Wolfgang Magath - International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Schiffmann, Jörg (9 March 2011). "Steckbrief: Die Karriere von Felix Magath" (in German). Focus. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Richters, Hauke (19 February 2014). "Magath scheuchte Bremerhaven zum Titel" (in German). NWZ Online. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Felix Magath" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 "Hamburger SV II » Trainerhistorie". World Football. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Schiffmann, Jörg (7 October 1995). "Felix Magath: Arbeit auf Bewährung" (in German). Berliner Zeitung. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  13. ↑ Rybarczyk, Christoph (10 February 2014). "So hat Uwe Seeler den Trainer Felix Magath gefeuert" (in German). Hamburger Abendblatt. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Hamburger SV" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Magath confident of another Houdini act". ESPN UK. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "1. FC Nürnberg" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "Werder Bremen" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Eintracht Frankfurt" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Felix Magath: eine Biografie des Erfolges und der Kritik" (in German). suite101.de. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  20. ↑ "Felix Magath auf Einkaufstour: Diese Transferknaller zahlten sich sportlich und finanziell aus" (in German). goal.com. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "VfB Stuttgart" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  22. ↑ "Magath answers Bayern call". UEFA.com. 19 May 2004. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  23. ↑ "Magath dachte bereits an Rücktritt" (in German). RP Online. 7 February 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  24. 1 2 "Hitzfeld beerbt Magath". kicker (in German). 31 January 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  25. 1 2 3 "Bayern München – Trainerhistorie" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  26. 1 2 "Magath handed power at Wolfsburg". UEFA.com. 31 May 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  27. 1 2 3 4 "VfL Wolfsburg" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  28. 1 2 3 "Vertrag bis 2013: Magath übernimmt Schalke 04". kicker (in German). 6 May 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  29. 1 2 "Magath und Schalke: Schlammschlacht droht". kicker (in German). 17 March 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  30. 1 2 "S04 entlässt Magath – Rangnick bestätigt Gespräche". kicker (in German). 16 March 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  31. 1 2 "FC Schalke 04" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  32. 1 2 "Wahnsinn in Reinform: Magath soll Wölfe retten". kicker (in German). 18 March 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  33. 1 2 "Magath-Trennung besiegelt – Köstner übernimmt". kicker (in German). 25 October 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  34. 1 2 3 "Fulham hire Felix Magath after sacking Rene Meulensteen". BBC Sports. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  35. ↑ "Felix Magath named as new Fulham manager as René Meulensteen gets the boot". Daily Star. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  36. ↑ "Fulham sack René Meulensteen and hire Felix Magath". Sky Sports. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  37. 1 2 "West Brom 1 1 Fulham". BBC. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  38. ↑ "Fulham 1 0 Newcastle". BBC Sports. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  39. ↑ Nordmann, Nils (31 March 2014). "Felix Magath wird schon nach Rücktritt gefragt". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  40. ↑ Chowdhury, Saj (3 May 2014). "Stoke 4 1 Fulham". BBC. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  41. ↑ "Felix Magath – Fulham boss convinced side can win promotion". BBC Sports. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  42. ↑ Emons, Michael (9 August 2014). "Ipswich 2 1 Fulham". BBC Sports. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  43. ↑ "Fulham 0 1 Millwall". BBC Sports. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  44. ↑ "Fulham 0 1 Wolves". BBC Sports. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  45. ↑ "Derby 5 1 Fulham". BBC Sports. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  46. 1 2 "Felix Magath: Struggling Fulham sack boss". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  47. 1 2 "Felix Magath". Soccerbase.com. CENTURYCOMM LIMITED. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  48. ↑ ""Sehr gefährdet": Austria feuert Baumgartner" (in German). kicker. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  49. 1 2 "Austria: Thriller um Magath" (in German). Österreich. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  50. ↑ "Absage an 96: Fink übernimmt Austria Wien" (in German). kicker. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  51. ↑ "Spartak Moskva » Manager history". World Football. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  52. 1 2 3 "Felix Magath zieht es nach China" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  53. 1 2 3 4 "Shandong Luneng Taishan". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  54. ↑ "Deshalb passt Magath nicht zur Austria" (in German). Österreich. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  55. ↑ Michael Schreiber (26 May 2003). ""Quälix" wird zum Pädagogen" ["Quälix" turns pedagogue]. Sport.ard. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  56. ↑ "Salou: Magath wie Diktator" (in German). Rheinische Post Online. 5 January 2001. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  57. ↑ "Felix Magath cheese cure: Former Fulham manager admits telling Brede Hangeland to use bizarre treatment". The Independent. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  58. ↑ "Magath: Käse-Geschichte Quatsch" (in German). sport1.de. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  59. ↑ Krücken, Markus (30 October 2014). "Sascha Riether: Mit Rückenwind nach Köln" (in German). express.de. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  60. ↑ Larisch, Katharina (10 December 2012). "Quarkauflage" (in German). NetDoktor. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  61. ↑ "Lindsey Vonn's cheese cure baffles experts". nbcnews.com. 17 February 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  62. ↑ Hesse-Lichtenberger, Uli (8 October 2003). "This season's dark horses". ESPN. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  63. ↑ "Partien zugleich: 10 Sekunden pro Zug". Der Spiegel (in German). 10 June 1985. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  64. ↑ "Felix Magath » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  65. ↑ "Felix Magath" (in German). fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  66. 1 2 3 "F. Magath". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  67. ↑ "Kuranyi köpft den VfB in den UEFA-Cup" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
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