Bernd Schuster

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Bernd Schuster
Personal information
Date of birth	December 22, 1959 (age 47)
Place of birth	Augsburg, Germany
Nickname	der Blond Engel (The Blond Angel)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Getafe CF (Coach)
Youth clubs
1971-1976 1976-1978	FC Hammerschmiede Augsburg FC Augsburg
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1978-1980 1980-1988 1988-1990 1990-1993 1993-1996 1996-1997	1. FC Köln FC Barcelona Real Madrid Atletico Madrid Bayer Leverkusen UNAM Pumas	61 (10) 170 (63) 62 (13) 85 (11) 59 (8)
National team
1977-79 1980 1980-84	Germany U18 Germany U21 Germany	10 (2) 1 (0) 21 (4)
Teams managed
1997-1998 1998-1999 2001-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 since 2005	Fortuna Köln 1. FC Köln Xerez CD Shakhtar Donetsk Levante UD Getafe CF
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Bernd Schuster (born December 22, 1959 in Augsburg) is a German football coach and former player.

Schuster started his professional career with 1. FC Köln at age 18 in summer 1978 after a number of promising performances with the West German U18 National team. He was part of the West Germany that captured the 1980 European Football Championship in Italy, appearing in two of Germany's four matches. His performances there helped him helped earn him Silver Ball Trophy honours as the Europe's second-best player in 1980 behind Golden Ball Trophy winner Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Schuster left Köln after the Euro 80 tournament to sign with Spain's FC Barcelona, where he flourished. During his career, he played for clubs such as Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. In voting in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll to name the finest European players of the last five decades, he finished 40th.

Schuster won only 21 caps for the West German national team and he retired from international football at the extremely young age of 24, due to his repeated disagreements with the German Football Association DFB, then national team manager Jupp Derwall, and teammates including Paul Breitner, Uli Stielike and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. His refusal to take part in a match against 99Albania national football team|Albania]] in order to be home for the birth of his second son David caused a sporting scandal at the time.

His final cap came against France in early 1984. Despite being one of the better players in Europe during the 19 years of his professional career he did not participate in the World Cup competitions of 1982, 1986, 1990, and 1994, or the Euro competitions of 1984, 1988, 1992, and 1996 . Without him West Germany did not win any major titles in the 80s, but did go on to win the 1990 World Cup 1990 and Euro 96.

During his heyday as a player Schuster and his wife, Gaby, were well known celebrities in Germany, and were both loved and hated. Gaby had a controversial reputation, worsened when she took over the job as her husband's manager. She was soon labelled by the press as being "Bernd's dragon-like boss" without whom he would never even sign a bill in a restaurant. During the Schusters' stay in Spain, Gaby also notorious for her often very public rude and interfering comments directed towards FC Barcelona coach Udo Lattek and national coach Jupp Derwall when her husband played for them. Gaby and Bernd Schuster are still married and have four children. Gaby is a famous sport manager but she has not been Bernd Schuster's manager for some years.

Schuster was the premier footballer for FC Barcelona during the 80s, leading the game from midfield and scoring many goals. The team bought other stars like Diego Maradona, Allan Simonsen and Gary Lineker, but only Bernd, genial and polemical at the same time, was a profitable player for the club. Wonderful games and terrible opinions, the footballer was one the best in his position in the football history , the man never knew what diplomacy means. His president Jose Luis Nunez and some trainers like Helenio Herrera, Udo Lattek, Terry Venables and Luis Aragones had difficult relations with him. A terrible injury at age 21 in his right knee in 1981 by Athletic Bilbao defender Andoni Goikoetxea transformed the top world star, who despite of his magnificent performance, never reached the level of the early seasons. He won, however, the European Bronze Ball in 1981 and 1985.

His move to Real Madrid was a national scandal, due to the very strong rivalry. In Madrid he forgot polemics and joined the team as one more star. He was a perfect piece for la Quinta del Buitre times and ruled in the Spanish Championship while in the European club championship while always failing vs. AC Milan.

Bernd Schuster signed in autumn 1990 with Atletico Madrid and introduced an improved performance in the traditional game of Atletico, based on backlashes. His famous long passes, with millimetrical precision, made Atletico Madrid a prominent club again in a kind of second wind for an unwearying 'Blond Angel'.

After three seasons, Bernd returned home to Germany to play for 3 seasons with Bayer Leverkusen and the team was close to the German Bundesliga and the Cup titles, but he did not win any titles despite his wonderful performances, which influenced half of the country to propose him for the next World Cup in 1994. At his final team, the Mexican UNAM he appeared in 10 matches in spring 1997. After his retirement from the game in 1997, Schuster coached successfully at a small club in Cologne, SC Fortuna Koeln in 2.Liga Germany. Then, he coached his former club FC Koeln, also in the 2.Liga but he was unable to get the club promoted so he left. After 3 years travelling, learning, watching football, and commentating games...Bernd was also FC Barcelona scoop. In 2001 he received an offer from the modest club Xerez CD in Southern Spain and he coached the team, very successfully, for 2 seasons. The best 2 seasons in the history of the club. However, he could not promote the team to Primera Division. Upon receiving no good offers from Spain, he accepted a deal to coach the Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk where he established a record for victories in a row. The final rush was disappointing and the team did not win the championship, and did not reach the final round of the Champions League with a polemical match vs Lokomotiv Moscow. He was fired one week before his team played and won the Ukrainian Cup in 2004. He went back to Spain in summer 2004 to train Levante UD. Again a wonderful start with the small club from Valencia. Again a disappointing final rush. The president fired him with a 5 point advantage over the relegation places just 5 games from the end of the season. Levante could not win a game and fell to Segunda Division again. In summer 2005 Getafe CF signed him and the small side from Madrid had their best season in team history. Currently, Bernd trains Getafe in his second successful season and the team is doing even beter, having the chance to play the Cup semifinals. Due to his offensive ideas and his privileged football view it seems he will have soon the chance to show if he can do it also right with a big club with lots of stars. Rumours said Real Madrid wanted to sign him the last summer instead of Fabio Capello and it seems the next time will be the right one.

On Revista de la Liga, a show on Sky Sports, it was said that Bernd Schuster has agreed a 2 year deal with Real Madrid and will take over next season.

[edit] Honours

• EURO European Championship: 1980 with Germany
• Cup Winners' Cup: 1982
• Copa del Rey: 1981, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992
• Spanish Championship: 1985, 1989, 1990
• European Golden Ball: Silver Ball 1980, Bronze Ball 1981 and 1985,

[edit] External links

• Official web page - includes personal, weekly interviews with Bernd Schuster.
• Blond Angel total page - Career info, video clips and a huge photo gallery of Bernd Schuster.
• Bernd Schuster at Player on Player
• big photo Gallery in Webshots

Getafe CF - Current Squad
1 Luis García | 2 Contra | 3 Paredes | 4 Belenguer | 5 Pulido | 6 Celestini | 7 Mario Cotelo | 8 Vívar Dorado | 9 Verpakovskis | 11 Sousa | 12 Licht | 13 Pato | 14 Manu | 15 Nacho | 16 Albín | 17 Pachón | 18 Redondo | 19 Güiza | 20 Alexis | 21 Cortés | 22 Casquero | 23 Tena | 24 Alberto | Manager: Schuster