Bernd Schuster · Biography

Bernd Schuster made his Bundesliga debut on 21 October 1978 for 1. FC Köln, in a 2-0 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt at the Müngersdorfer Stadion. Born on 22 December 1959 in Augsburg, Bavaria, he was a midfielder who spent most of his career in Spain, playing for FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. As a coach he took charge of Real Madrid between 2007 and 2008.

Early years in Augsburg and the move to Cologne

He came through at SV Hammerschmiede, his neighbourhood club in Augsburg, between 1969 and 1976, and finished his youth development at FC Augsburg from 1976 to 1978. In 1978 Hennes Weisweiler brought him to 1. FC Köln, who had just won the German league and cup double. He made 24 Bundesliga appearances and scored once in his first season. By 1979-80 he was a regular starter, with 32 games and nine goals. He left in 1980 with 61 league appearances and ten goals for the club.

West Germany and Euro 1980

He won his first cap for West Germany on 22 May 1979 in Dublin, a 3-1 win over the Republic of Ireland. A year later he was part of the side that won Euro 1980 in Italy, beating Belgium 2-1 in the final in Rome, and he was named in the team of the tournament. That year he finished second in the Ballon d’Or, behind teammate Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and he came third in 1981 and 1985. His international career was brief: 21 caps and four goals between 1979 and 1984. Disputes with the federation and with some of his teammates led him to walk away from the national team in 1984.

Eight seasons at FC Barcelona

Barcelona signed him in 1980. He won the Copa del Rey in 1981 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1982, although in December 1981 a tackle by Andoni Goikoetxea at San Mamés left him with a serious right knee injury that kept him out for months. From 1982 to 1984 he shared the dressing room with Diego Maradona, adding the 1983 Copa del Rey and the 1983 Copa de la Liga. Under Terry Venables he won the 1984-85 Spanish league title and reached the 1986 European Cup final in Seville. Substituted in the 85th minute, he left the stadium before the penalty shootout won by Steaua Bucharest. The fallout with the board meant he did not play at all in 1986-87. He returned to the side and won a third Copa del Rey in 1988 before leaving the club.

Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid

In 1988 he joined Real Madrid, winning the Spanish league in 1988-89 and 1989-90, the 1989 Copa del Rey and the 1989 Spanish Super Cup. In 1990 he moved to Atlético Madrid, where he stayed until 1993 and won back-to-back Copas del Rey in 1991 and 1992. The second came on 27 June 1992 at the Santiago Bernabéu against Real Madrid, a 2-0 win: Schuster opened the scoring with a direct free kick in the seventh minute and Paulo Futre added the second. He received the Don Balón award in 1985 and 1991.

Leverkusen and Pumas

In 1993 he returned to the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen, making 59 league appearances and scoring eight goals up to 1996. Kicker magazine named him in its team of the 1993-94 season, and one of his strikes was voted Germany’s Goal of the Year in 1994. He ended his playing career at Pumas UNAM in Mexico, with nine league games between 1996 and 1997.

Coaching career

He began coaching in 1997 at Fortuna Köln, in the German second division, and led 1. FC Köln in 1998-99. He was in charge of Xerez from 2001 to 2003 and then of Shakhtar Donetsk, who sacked him in May 2004. After a spell at Levante that ended with his dismissal in May 2005, he joined Getafe, finishing ninth in La Liga in 2005-06, a season that earned him the Miguel Muñoz Trophy, and reaching the 2007 Copa del Rey final, lost 1-0 to Sevilla. On 9 July 2007 he was appointed Real Madrid coach and went on to win the 2007-08 Spanish league title and the 2008 Spanish Super Cup. He left on 9 December 2008 after a 4-3 defeat to Sevilla, with a record of 44 wins, 9 draws and 22 losses in 75 matches, and was replaced by Juande Ramos. He coached Beşiktaş from June 2010 until his resignation in March 2011 and Málaga from June 2013 to May 2014. His last post was at Chinese club Dalian Yifang, from March 2018 to February 2019.