Christoph Daum

Lore & Background

Daum played as a midfielder and began his senior career with Hamborn 07 and Eintracht Duisburg, before joining 1. FC Köln in 1975 and being part of the reserve team that won the 1980–81 German amateur football championship. After finishing his playing career, he earned his coaching licence and began working in 1981 as amateur coach with 1. FC Köln. He was promoted to assistant coach in 1985–86 and to head coach in 1986. In September 1990, before the FIFA World Cup ended, he was released by Köln's president. In November 1990 he transferred to VfB Stuttgart, where he won the Bundesliga in 1992. In the following season, a mistake in the European Cup first round against Leeds United led to a replay, which Leeds won; VfB missed out on the Champions League and Daum was released. Beginning in 1994 he worked with Beşiktaş, winning the 1994 Turkish Super Cup and the 1994–95 league title, but not the Turkish Cup. He resigned in October 1995 after a poor start to the season. Daum returned to Germany in 1996 to coach Bayer Leverkusen, winning three second places in the Bundesliga in four years. Following UEFA Euro 2000, he was designated to take over as manager of the Germany national team the following year, but a cocaine scandal—confirmed by a hair sample testing positive—led to his resignation from Leverkusen and the annulment of his national team appointment. He later admitted cocaine use. He returned to Beşiktaş from March 2001 to May 2002, then moved to Austria Wien on 4 October 2002, winning another league championship. From July 2003 he was head coach at Fenerbahçe, winning two consecutive Turkish league championships in 2004 and 2005. He resigned after the 2005–06 season. He signed for 1. FC Köln on 19 November 2006, leading them back to the Bundesliga in 2007–08, and left on 2 June 2009. He signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahçe on 2 June 2009, but lost the league title and cup final, and parted ways on 25 June 2010. On 22 March 2011, he signed with Eintracht Frankfurt, but left on 16 May after the club's relegation, having managed no wins in seven games. On 9 November 2011, he took over as head coach of Club Brugge, leading them to second place in the 2011–12 season, then left due to family reasons. On 14 August 2013, he took over as head coach of Bursaspor, and was sacked on 24 March 2014. On 7 July 2016, he became head coach of the Romania national te

In Their Own Story

The floodlights hummed over the BayArena as Daum paced the technical area, his suit jacket open. He gestured sharply to the midfield, demanding more intensity in the final ten minutes. The crowd roared for a late equalizer against Dortmund. When the whistle finally blew on another near-miss, he didn't celebrate the draw; he stared at the scoreboard, already planning how to win it next season.

Reader's Guide

Christoph Daum's managerial career spanned Germany, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, and the Romania national team. His most notable achievements include winning the Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart in 1991–92, the Süper Lig with Beşiktaş in 1994–95 and with Fenerbahçe in 2003–04 and 2004–05, and the Austrian Bundesliga with Austria Wien in 2002–03. He also won the Turkish Cup in 1993–94, the Austrian Cup in 2002–03, and the DFL-Supercup in 1992. His tenure at Bayer Leverkusen was marked by three second-place finishes in the Bundesliga, earning the club the nickname 'Vizekusen'. His career was overshadowed by a cocaine scandal in 2000 that prevented him from becoming Germany national team coach.

Did You Know?

• Daum won the Bundesliga title with VfB Stuttgart in 1991–92, not with Kaiserslautern.
• He was appointed Germany national team coach in 2000 but never took the role due to a cocaine scandal; the DFB rescinded the appointment.
• Daum's hair sample tested positive for cocaine in October 2000, leading to his resignation from Bayer Leverkusen.
• He led Bayer Leverkusen to three second-place finishes in the Bundesliga, earning the club the nickname 'Vizekusen'.
• Daum was a long-time smoker and died from lung cancer in 2024.