Paul Breitner

Paul Breitner

Breitner in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	(1951-09-05) 5 September 1951 (age 69)
Place of birth	Kolbermoor, Bavaria, West Germany
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)	Left-back, midfielder
Youth career
1957–1961	SV-DJK Kolbermoor
1961–1970	ESV Freilassing
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1970–1974	Bayern Munich	109	(17)
1974–1977	Real Madrid	84	(10)
1977–1978	Eintracht Braunschweig	30	(10)
1978–1983	Bayern Munich	146	(66)
Total		369	(103)
National team
1968–1970	West Germany Youth	16	(1)
1971	West Germany U-23	1	(0)
1971–1982	West Germany	48	(10)
show Honours Men's football Representing  West Germany FIFA World Cup Winner 1974 West Germany UEFA European Championship Winner 1972 Belgium
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Paul Breitner (born 5 September 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left-back.^[2] Considered one of the best players of his era, Breitner was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team, and was named by Pelé one of the top 125 greatest living footballers at a FIFA Awards ceremony in 2004.^[3] He was known for his partnerships with Franz Beckenbauer and Berti Vogts in defence for the national team, and his midfield combination with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge for Bayern Munich.

Breitner was capped 48 times for West Germany and was an integral part of the team that won the 1974 FIFA World Cup, scoring in the final. He also scored in the final of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, making him one of only four players to have scored in two different World Cup final matches, the others being Pelé, Vavá and Zinedine Zidane.

Breitner has been working as a commentator, pundit and columnist in Germany since retiring and is also an advisor to the Bayern management board.

Playing career[]

Breitner's football career lasted from 1970 until 1983, mainly playing for Bayern Munich (1970–74 and 1978–83) and Real Madrid (1974–77), with one season playing for Eintracht Braunschweig.^[4] His early success was as a free roaming left back, as likely to score from the right midfield as to stop an attacker in his own penalty area. Later in his career he moved to midfield and became one of the top midfielders through the early 1980s.

The early peak of Breitner's long and successful career was at age 21 in 1972 as part of the winning German European Championship team. Two years later he won the 1974 FIFA World Cup.^[5] The final was played in Munich against the Netherlands, and Breitner scored the first German goal on a penalty kick. In the final, he, Franz Beckenbauer and Berti Vogts formed a formidable unit at the back, their resolute defense preventing the Dutch from getting many scoring chances. He moved to Real Madrid following the World Cup and withdrew from the West German squad, remaining off the side until enticed to return by Jupp Derwall in 1981. Breitner is one of only four footballers to have achieved the feat of scoring in two different World Cup final matches,^[6] sharing that honour with Pelé, Vavá, and Zinedine Zidane. He achieved this in 1974 against the Netherlands and in 1982 against Italy.

During his club career, Breitner won seven National Championships with Bayern Munich (1972, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1981) and Real Madrid (1975, 1976), the Champions' Cup (1974)^[7] as well as the German (1971, 1982) and Spanish cups (1975). During his spell with Bayern Munich, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and he formed such a formidable one-two-punch that they were often called Breitnigge.^[8]

Outside the pitch, Breitner self identified as part of the 68ers (the 1968 protest movement in Germany and elsewhere). He was often decried by the more traditional or conservative football fans for his radicalism and "revolutionary" attitude, as well as his tendency for voicing strong opinions on major political and social issues, especially during a time when Germany was still divided by the Berlin Wall. He was seen bringing Mao Zedong's "Little Red Book" to training. However, after 1974, Breitner abruptly brushed aside his leftist leanings. While his Dutch World Cup rival Johan Cruyff had publicly declared to never play for a club associated with "fascist" General Franco, Breitner yearned to play for Real Madrid and signed the transfer documents in 1974. Subsequently, he gained notoriety for spending lavishly on houses and cars, as well as participating in lucrative commercials.

Before the 1982 World Cup in Spain he caused a major uproar in Germany when he accepted an offer by Pitralon, a German cosmetics company to pay him the – what many Germans regarded at that time as a "scandalously high" – sum of 150,000 Deutsche Mark if he shaved off his fluffy full beard, used their aftershave and advertised for the company. In the previous years his long hair had been perceived as a show of rebellion. Breitner had previously infuriated many fans with his move to Spanish club giants Real Madrid. He returned to Germany after the successful spell in Madrid and retired as a player in 1983.

Post-retirement[]

This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (August 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

In 1998, Breitner was announced as the new national team manager by DFB president Egidius Braun. However, after some steam from fellow association officials, Braun reconsidered 17 hours later, making Breitner the infamous 17 Stunden Bundestrainer ("the 17-hour coach").

Today, Breitner mainly works as a TV pundit and newspaper columnist. In March 2007, he entered into a contract with Bayern Munich and acts as an advisor on various issues. He occasionally still plays for the Bayern All-Stars in charity games, captaining the team on several occasions.

Career statistics[]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[a]		Europe[b]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bayern Munich	1969–70	Bundesliga	–		1	0	–		1	0
	1970–71		21	2	5	0	4	0	30	2
	1971–72		30	4	6	0	8	1	44	5
	1972–73		32	4	6	1	5	0	43	5
	1973–74		26	7	4	1	7	1	37	9
	Total		109	17	22	2	24	2	155	21
Real Madrid	1974–75	La Liga	29	3			6	0	35	3
	1975–76		25	6			7	0	32	6
	1976–77		30	1			3	0	33	1
	Total		84	10			16	0	100	10
Eintracht Braunschweig	1977–78	Bundesliga	30	10	2	0	5	1	37	11
Bayern Munich	1978–79	Bundesliga	33	12	2	1	–		35	13
	1979–80		32	10	3	2	10	4	45	16
	1980–81		30	17	2	0	8	1	40	18
	1981–82		29	18	6	5	7	5	42	28
	1982–83		22	9	2	1	6	3	30	13
	Total		146	66	15	9	31	13	182	84
Career total			369	103	39	11	76	16	484	130

Honours[]

Club[]

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1979–80, 1980–81
• DFB-Pokal: 1970–71, 1981–82
• European Cup: 1973–74; runner-up: 1981–82

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 1974–75, 1975–76
• Copa del Rey: 1974–75

International[]

West Germany

• FIFA World Cup: 1974; runner-up: 1982
• UEFA European Championship: 1972

Individual[]

• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1971–72, 1972–73, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}
• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1972
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1974
• Footballer of the Year (Germany): 1981
• Ballon d'Or runner-up: 1981
• IOC European Footballer of the Season 1980–81^[16]
• FIFA World Cup All-Time Team
• FIFA 100
• Bayern Munich All-time XI^[17]
• Ballon d'Or Dream Team (bronze): 2020^[18]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Breitner.

• Paul Breitner at fussballdaten.de (in German)