Klaus "Auge" Augenthaler (born 26 September 1957) is a German former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player and manager. A
defender, he won seven
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
titles in his 15-year club career with
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
. He also represented the
West Germany national team, winning the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
in
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
.
In 2005, Augenthaler was named as a member of the greatest Bayern Munich XI in the club's history.
Club career
Augenthaler was born in
Fürstenzell,
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, West Germany. He played generally in the position of
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
or, especially in the later part of his career, as a
sweeper.
Augenthaler joined Bayern Munich in 1975 and made his
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
debut for the club in 1977, scoring in a 3-0 win over
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...
. He won the Bundesliga for the first time in
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
, and Bayern retained the title in
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
. Augenthaler played for Bayern in
1982 European Cup final against
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
and came close to scoring twice, but Bayern ultimately lost 1-0, becoming the first ever Bayern team to lose a final.
In 1984 Augenthaler became Bayern captain, which he would remain until his retirement in 1991. Bayern won the league again in his first season as captain and Augenthaler, playing as a libero, was one of the league's best defensive players in a Bayern defence that conceded fewer than any other team.
In November 1985 Augenthaler committed one of the most infamous fouls in Bundesliga history, injuring
Werder Bremen
Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...
's star player
Rudi Völler
Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (; born 13 April 1960) is a German professional football manager and former player, who is currently the director of the Germany national team. In Germany, he is nicknamed "Tante Käthe" ("Aunt Kathy"), a name bestowed upon ...
with a tackle which badly injured Völler and forced him to miss almost the entire remainder of the season. Augenthaler received death threats from Bremen fans after the incident and was booed by fans of other clubs around the country.
Bayern lost another
European Cup final in
1986–87, though Augenthaler was suspended for the final after being sent off for a slap on
Hugo Sánchez
Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who played as a Forward (association football), forward. A prolific goalscorer known for ...
in the semi-final.
In 1989, Augenthaler scored a shot from the halfway line against
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...
goalkeeper
Uli Stein
Ulrich "Uli" Stein (born 23 October 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Between 1978 and 1997, he made 512 appearances in the German Bundesliga.
Club career
Stein began his career in 1978 with Armi ...
; it was awarded
Sportschau
''Sportschau'' is a German sports magazine on broadcaster ARD, produced by WDR in Cologne. The magazine started in 1961. In its Saturday edition, the ''Sportschau'' shows a summary of the Bundesliga, whereas the Sunday edition reports on the l ...
's
goal of the year award, and was later named the goal of the century.
During his final season with Bayern, Augenthaler scored a last-minute own goal in the
1990–91 European Cup
The 1990–91 European Cup was the 36th season of the European Cup, a tournament for men's football clubs in nations affiliated to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). It was won for the first time by Red Star Belgrade on penalties ...
semi-final against
Red Star Belgrade
Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...
which knocked Bayern out.
In his years with
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
, Augenthaler won the Bundesliga title seven times and the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...
three times. He played 404 Bundesliga matches and made 89 appearances in European cup competitions for Bayern.
International career
Between 1983 and 1990, he played 27 times for
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, with which he won the
World Cup 1990 in Italy in the final against
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
(1–0). He was also part of the squad that reached the final of the
1986 World Cup.
Managerial career

Augenthaler's managerial career started as assistant coach with Bayern Munich, serving under coaches
Søren Lerby
Søren Lerby (born 1 February 1958) is a Danish former football player, manager, and licensed agent. As a player, he spent most of his career in Dutch football, winning five Eredivisie championships with Ajax Amsterdam and two with PSV Eindho ...
,
Erich Ribbeck
Erich Ribbeck (born 13 June 1937) is a German former professional football player and manager, best known for coaching in the Bundesliga. In 1988, he won the UEFA Cup as manager of Bayer Leverkusen, the first title in the club's history.
Playin ...
,
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed ("the Emperor"), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine p ...
,
Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), popularly nicknamed "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian former Association football, football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Football in Italy, Italian football ...
and
Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel (; born 9 August 1938) is a German former Association football, football coach and player.
Rehhagel is one of only two people who, as player and manager combined, has participated in over 1,000 Bundesliga matches (the other bein ...
. He managed the last match of the 1995–96 season against
Fortuna Düsseldorf
Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
Founded in 1895, Fo ...
.
From there he moved to become head coach of Austrian side
Grazer AK
Grazer Athletiksport Klub (; abbreviated as GAK), better known simply as Grazer AK, is an Austrian sports club based in the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria. The football section was once among Austria's most popular clubs, enjoying s ...
from 1997 to 2000,
taking them to two third placings.
In the winter break of 1999–2000, Augenthaler left Graz and took over
1. FC Nürnberg on 2 March 2000,
then in the
second division, leading them to promotion.
On 29 April 2003, Nürnberg sacked Augenthaler,
as the club was facing relegation. He took over the reins at
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. ...
in May 2003.
He managed to save the club from relegation and stayed on there until September 2005.
In December of that same year, he was hired by
VfL Wolfsburg
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...
.
His undistinguished time there ended shortly before the end of the season 2006–07.
On 23 March 2010, he signed a half-year contract with
SpVgg Unterhaching
Spielvereinigung Unterhaching () is a German sports club in Unterhaching, a semi-rural municipality on the southern outskirts of the Bavarian capital Munich. The club is widely known for playing in the first-division association football league ...
and replaced
Matthias Lust.
His contract was terminated on 3 June 2011.
Augenthaler rejected contract offers from China and Turkey due to a lack of interest.
He applied to become the new head coach of
1860 Munich in 2015.
Coaching record
Honours
Player
Bayern Munich
*
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
:
1979–80,
1980–81,
1984–85,
1985–86,
1986–87,
1988–89 and
1989–90
*
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...
:
1981–82,
1983–84,
1985–86
*
DFB-Supercup:
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
,
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
*
Länderpokal: 1977
*
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
runner-up:
1982
Events
January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
,
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
Germany
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
:
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
, runner-up
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
** Spain and Portugal en ...
Individual
* ''
kicker''
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
Team of the Season: 1984–85, 1988–89
*
Goal of the Year (Germany)
The Goal of the Year in Germany is, like the '' Goal of the Month'' ( Tor des Monats), the ''Goal of the Decade'' and ''Goal of the Century'', an individual football award selected by spectators of the '' Sportschau'' ( ARD German TV), among spect ...
: 1989
*
Goal of the Decade (Germany)
* Bayern Munich All-Time XI
Manager
Grazer AK
*
Austrian Cup
The Austrian Cup (), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for a record 27th time. Wo ...
:
1999–2000
1. FC Nürnberg
*
2. Bundesliga:
2000–01
See also
*
List of one-club men
References
External links
Klaus Augenthalerat leverkusen.com
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Augenthaler, Klaus
1957 births
Living people
German men's footballers
Germany men's international footballers
Germany men's B international footballers
Germany men's youth international footballers
German football managers
FC Bayern Munich footballers
FC Bayern Munich II players
1986 FIFA World Cup players
1990 FIFA World Cup players
FIFA World Cup–winning players
Bundesliga players
Bayer 04 Leverkusen managers
FC Bayern Munich non-playing staff
1. FC Nürnberg managers
VfL Wolfsburg managers
West German men's footballers
Bundesliga managers
Grazer AK managers
Men's association football defenders
3. Liga managers
People from Passau (district)
Footballers from Lower Bavaria
German expatriate sportspeople in Austria
Expatriate football managers in Austria
German expatriate football managers