Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (born September 25, 1955) was a German football player and now a football functionary.
He had his greatest successes in his time with Bayern Munich, where he won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Cup of Champions as well as a number of national titles. With Germany he was runner-up in the
and the
, and won the 1980 European Championship. He was also honoured twice as European Footballer of the Year.
The Player
Club
Rummenigge joined Bayern Munich in 1974, coming from the Westphalian amateur side Borussia Lippstadt, for a transfer fee of ca. € 10,000. He immediately showed great strength as a dribbler. His striking qualities were initially insignificant, but should find great improvement in later years, particularly after the arrival oc coach Pal Csernai in 1979. In 1979/80 he scored 26 goals and became for the first time the Bundesliga's top striker, a feat he could repeat in 1981 and 1984 with 29 and 26 goals, respectively. His record of 1981 is hitherto unmatched.
With Bayern he won in 1975 and 1976 the European Cup of Champions. In 1975 he did not take part in the final of the competition, whilst in the year thereafter a glass of brandy sufficiently prepared the nervous Rummenigge to contribute to the defeat of AS Saint-Etienne. In the same year he became also part of the team that prevailed in the Intercontinental Cup finals against Cruzeiro EC from Belo Horizonte.
In the era of coach Csernai he found in midfielder Paul Breitner a congenial duo. The club, then often dubbed as "FC Breitnigge", won in this period the German championships of 1980 and 1981, and the German Cup in 1982 und 1984. A renewed triumph in the European Champions Cup was denied, when the club lost the 1982 final narrowly against Aston Villa. In the season before Rummenigge was top-scorer in this competition with 6 goals.
His substantial contribution to the successes of the club and the German national football team found also expression in personal honours. 1980 he became German Footballer of the Year and in the same year as well as in the season thereafter European Footballer of the Year. In this era he was also a serious rival for Diego Maradona for the unofficial honour of being the best player of the world.
In 1984, aged 29, he transfered for the then world record fee of € 5.7m to Inter Milan. His time there was not particularly significant, even less so as it was frequently marred by injury problems. At the end of his contract in 1987 Rummenigge moved on to Swiss first division club Servette FC in Geneva, where he saw his career out. In his last season, 1989/89 he had his last success, becoming top scorer of Switzerland with 24 goals.
National Team
With the German national football team he took part in the
,
and
. In 1978 Germany exited in the first knock-out stage of the tournament. In 1982 and 1986 the team was runner-up behind Italy and Argentina, then with the legendary Maradona, respectively.
Rummenigge took also part in two European Championship tournaments. In the 1982 competition in Italy Germany defeated Belgium in the final with 2-1 a won the trophy, whilst the 1984 tournament is engraved as one of the most successless undertakings of the German national team. Germany was already ousted in the group stage.
Altogether Rummenigge amassed between 1976 and 1986 85 caps and scored 45 goals in the process.
Football Management
From 1990 until 1994 Rummenigge worked as tv co-commentator of matches of the German team. In autumn 1991 Bayern Munich invited invited Franz Beckenbauer and Rummenigge to return to the club as vice presidents. Rummenigge held this position until 2002, when he was appointed Chairman of Executive Board of the newly corporatised football department of the club. Bayern states, "in his role as chairman he is responsible for external relations, new media, board affairs and representing the holding company on national and international bodies." Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is also president of the UEFA European club forum.
Miscellaneous
At the height of his popularity in 1982 the British pop duo Alan & Denise sung about his "sexy knees" in the song "Rummenigge, what a man", which was reasonably successful in those days.
In March 2004 he was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.
His brother Michael Rummenigge (*03 February 1964) was also a noteworthy footballer. He played as forward from 1982-88 for Bayern, from 1988-94 for Borussia Dortmund and between 1983 and 1986 also twice for Germany.
Career Overview
| Period | Club | Matches/Goals | Titles | Caps / Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963-74 | Borussia Lippstadt | |||
| 1974-84 | FC Bayern Munich | 310 / 162 | Intercontinental Cup: 1976 European Cup of Champions: 1975, 1976 Championship: 1980, 1981 German Cup: 1982, 1984 |
78 / 40 |
| 1984-87 | Internazionale Milano FC | 64 / 24 | 17 / 5 | |
| 1987-89 | Servette FC Genève | 50 / 34 | - | |
| 1976-86 | Germany | 95 / 45 | European Championship: 1980 | 95 / 45 |
| Also: | Finalist at the World Cup: 1978, 1982. Finalist of the European Cup of Champions: 1982, | |||
| Personal Distinctions | ||||
| 1980 | Top Scorer Bundesliga | 26 Goals | ||
| 1981 | Top Scorer Bundesliga | 29 Goals | ||
| 1984 | Top Scorer Bundesliga | 26 Goals | ||
| 1987 | Top Scorer Swiss League | 24 Goals | ||
| 1980 | German Footballer of the Year | |||
| 1980 | European Footballer of the Year | |||
| 1981 | European Footballer of the Year | |||
- He is the 11th most capped player for Germany (inclusive of three East German Players)
- He is the 5th most successful striker for Germany (inclusive one East German player)
- He is the tenth most successful scorer of all time in Bundesliga history
- With Bayern Munich he is the second most successful scorer of all time in league history after Gerd Müller