Felix Magath facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Felix Magath

Magath at a press conference of VfL Wolfsburg in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	(1953-07-26) 26 July 1953 (age 71)
Place of birth	Aschaffenburg, West Germany
Height	1.72 m
Playing position	Midfielder
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
2016–2017	Shandong Luneng Taishan
2022	Hertha BSC
Honours Men's football Representing  West Germany UEFA European Championship Winner 1980 Italy FIFA World Cup Runner-up 1982 Spain Runner-up 1986 México
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Wolfgang Felix Magath (born 26 July 1953) is a famous German football manager and former player. He is known for his strong leadership both on the field and as a coach.

As a player, he spent most of his career with Hamburger SV. With them, he won three Bundesliga titles. He also won the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final and the 1983 European Cup Final. He even scored in both of these important finals!

Felix Magath also played 43 games for the West Germany national team. He helped them win UEFA Euro 1980 and reach two World Cup finals in a row.

As a manager, Magath has won many awards. He led Bayern Munich to win both the Bundesliga and the German Cup twice in a row. He also won another Bundesliga title with VfL Wolfsburg in 2009. He is known for being very strict and demanding in training. In 2014, he became the first German manager in the Premier League when he coached Fulham.

Playing Career Highlights

Felix Magath was born near Aschaffenburg, Germany. He started his football journey playing for his local club, Viktoria Aschaffenburg. From 1974 to 1976, he played for 1. FC Saarbrücken in the second division.

After that, he joined Hamburger SV in the top league. He played there for ten seasons, from 1976 until he retired. During his time with Hamburg, he scored 46 goals in 306 games.

In 1983, Magath helped Hamburg win the European Cup. He scored the only goal in the final against Juventus. He also helped Hamburg win the league three times during his career there. In the 1980–81 season, he scored his highest number of goals in the top division, with ten.

Magath also played for the West Germany national team. He played in the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups. West Germany finished second in both of those tournaments. He was also part of the team that won the 1980 UEFA European Championship. He played his first international game on 30 April 1977. In total, he played 43 games for his country and scored three goals.

Magath's Style of Play

Felix Magath was a very skilled and smart player. He usually played as an attacking or central midfielder. He was very good with the ball and had excellent technical skills. He also had great vision for the game and a lot of energy.

Even though he wasn't the fastest player, he was known for his strong passing and powerful left-footed shots. He worked very hard on the field and understood the game well. Many experts consider him one of the best midfielders in the history of the Bundesliga.

Managerial Career

After his playing career ended, Felix Magath became a football manager. He first worked as a general manager for his old club, Hamburg, from 1986 to 1988. He also had similar roles at 1. FC Saarbrücken and Bayer Uerdingen.

Early Coaching Days

Magath started coaching in 1992 as a player-coach for FC Bremerhaven. He led them to win their division. He then returned to Hamburger SV in 1993, first coaching the reserve team. He became the main manager in October 1995.

His first game as manager was a 2–2 draw. In his first season, Hamburg finished fifth, which meant they could play in the UEFA Cup. He left Hamburg in 1997.

In the years that followed, Magath became known as the "fireman." This meant he often took over clubs that were struggling. He would help them improve and avoid being relegated to a lower league. For example, in September 1997, he took over 1. FC Nürnberg. They were new to the second division and fighting to stay up. He helped them finish third and get promoted to the Bundesliga.

He also had a short time at Werder Bremen in 1998–99. He helped them move out of the relegation spots. He also led Bremen to the final of the DFB-Pokal, which is the German Cup. He left before the final, but Bremen still won it.

Later, he joined Eintracht Frankfurt in 1999. He helped them have a great second half of the season. However, he left the club in 2001 when they were struggling again.

Success with Stuttgart and Bayern

Magath (right) being interviewed as the coach of VfB Stuttgart

Felix Magath then joined VfB Stuttgart in 2001. He helped them avoid relegation that year. In the 2002–03 season, Stuttgart finished second in the league. The next season, they finished fourth. During this time, Magath brought many young players from Stuttgart's youth teams into the main squad. These players became known as "die jungen Wilden" (the wild youth). At Stuttgart, Magath also took on both the head coach and director of football roles.

His success at Stuttgart led him to join FC Bayern Munich on 1 July 2004. In his first season, Magath led Bayern to win both the league and the German Cup. This is called winning "the double." He repeated this amazing achievement in the next season (2005–06). This was the first time in history a team had won two doubles in a row.

However, after a slow start to the 2006–07 season, Magath left Bayern Munich in January 2007.

Head Coach and Director of Football

In June 2007, Magath signed with VfL Wolfsburg. He was both the head coach and the director of football. He led Wolfsburg to play in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup and then, in the next season, the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. This was because Wolfsburg became league champions for the first time ever in 2009!

Before the 2008–09 season ended, Magath agreed to join Schalke 04. Again, he took on both roles: head coach and director of football. Schalke finished second in his first season. However, after some difficult results and challenges with the team, Magath left Schalke in March 2011.

Magath coaching Schalke 04

Just two days later, Magath returned to VfL Wolfsburg. He helped them avoid relegation that season. Even though the club spent a lot of money, they only finished in the middle of the table in the 2011–12 season. In October 2012, Magath left Wolfsburg again after a tough start to the 2012–13 season.

Time in England and China

On 14 February 2014, Felix Magath became the new manager of the English club Fulham. This was his first job outside of Germany. Magath believed he could help Fulham avoid being relegated from the Premier League. His first game with Fulham was a 1–1 draw.

On 15 March, Fulham won their first game under Magath. However, on 3 May 2014, Fulham was relegated from the Premier League. Magath still believed Fulham could get promoted right away. But after a difficult start to the next season, Magath left Fulham in September 2014.

He then took a job at Shandong Luneng Taishan in China on 8 June 2016. He led Shandong throughout the 2017 Chinese Super League season, finishing 6th. He left the club shortly after the season ended.

Recent Roles

In January 2020, Magath said he wanted to help football in new ways. He became the head of FLYERALARM Global Soccer. In this role, he helps clubs like Würzburger Kickers in Germany and Flyeralarm Admira in Austria.

On 13 March 2022, Magath became the head coach of Hertha BSC in Germany. He took over during the 2021–22 season. However, he had to delay his first match because he tested positive for COVID-19.

Reputation as a Manager

As a manager, Felix Magath quickly earned a reputation for his very tough training methods. He focused a lot on discipline, fitness, and conditioning. Players sometimes gave him nicknames like "Quälix," which combines his first name Felix with the German word "quälen," meaning "to torture." His methods have sometimes been seen as unusual in the media.

After he left Fulham, some interesting stories came out. One story was that he suggested a player use quark (a type of soft cheese) on a knee inflammation. The player later said the story was exaggerated. He clarified that Magath had suggested a traditional remedy using a quark bandage.

Personal Life

Magath in 1985

Felix Magath's father was a soldier from Puerto Rico in the United States Army. His mother was German. His father left when Felix was young. Felix first heard from his father when he was 15 years old.

Magath also enjoys playing chess. He became interested in chess during the 1978 World Chess Championship. This was when he was recovering from an illness. In 1985, he even played a game against the famous chess champion Garry Kasparov.

Career Statistics

Club

Managerial

Honours

Player

Hamburger SV

• Bundesliga: 1978–79, 1981–82, 1982–83
• European Cup: 1982–83
• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1976–77
• European Super Cup runner-up: 1977, 1983
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 1981–82

West Germany

• UEFA European Championship: 1980
• FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1982, 1986

Individual

• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1981–82, 1982–83

Manager

VfB Stuttgart

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 2004–05, 2005–06
• DFB-Pokal: 2004–05, 2005–06
• DFB-Ligapokal: 2004

VfL Wolfsburg

• Bundesliga: 2008–09

Individual

• German Football Manager of the Year: 2003, 2005, 2009

See also

In Spanish: Felix Magath para niños

• List of Puerto Ricans