Felix Magath

His first match was a 2–2 draw against 1860 Munich.

Having reached the UEFA Cup during his first season, Hamburg finished in fifth place.

Wolfgang Felix Magath (born 26 July 1953) is a German football manager and former player.

From 1974 to 1976, 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.

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.

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.

A talented, creative, and intelligent diminutive playmaker, with an eye for goal, Magath normally played either as an attacking or central 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, and stood out for his work-rate on the pitch, as well as his ability to interpret the game.

Considered to be a decisive player, he is rated by pudits as one of the greatest midfielders in the history of the Bundesliga.

He also gained 43 international caps for the West Germany national team, winning UEFA Euro 1980 and reaching two consecutive World Cup finals.

He was also part of the squad that won the 1980 UEFA European Championship.

Magath also represented the West Germany national team at many international events, including the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups, helping West Germany finish in second place both times.

In 1983, Magath led Hamburg to success in the European Cup, scoring the single goal in the final against Juventus; in 1980–81, 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.

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.

Magath took up coaching in 1992 as a player-coach for the fourth-tier club FC Bremerhaven, which he led to division championship.

He then rejoined Hamburger SV as reserves coach in 1993, and became manager Benno Möhlmann's assistant soon after.

Magath succeeded Möhlmann as manager after the latter was sacked in October 1995.

In September 1997, he took over 1. FC Nürnberg who were newly promoted to the 2.

Bundesliga and fighting relegation.

His first match was a 0–0 draw against KFC Uerdingen 05.

Der Club finished the season in third–place, meaning promotion to the Bundesliga, 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.

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.

At this point he was replaced as manager by Thomas Schaaf who helped them avoid relegation by a point.

Magath also helped Bremen get to the final of the DFB-Pokal however he was sacked before the final itself, which Bremen won in his absence.

He had nine wins, seven draws, and ten losses.

Halfway through the 1999–00 season, Magath joined troubled Eintracht Frankfurt.

An impressive Magath-inspired run saw Frankfurt finish the second round as third best and four points off relegation.

Magath was sacked the season after (29 January 2001) when Frankfurt found themselves in the relegation zone.

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.

Born near Aschaffenburg, Magath started his career playing for local club Viktoria Aschaffenburg.

The following season as disappointing 15th at the time Magath was sacked.

His final match was a 4–0 loss to 1. FC Köln.

He finished with a record of 28 wins, 19 draws, and 22 losses.

In the following years, Magath acquired a reputation as the fireman, coming in at difficult times at a club and leading it to salvation.