Christoph Daum, the courageous football coach who was denied a job with the German national team after admitting to using cocaine, has died. He was 70.
Daum died on Saturday at his home in Cologne after a battle with cancer, his relatives told the dpa news agency on Sunday.
“He was a pioneer of modern football and was passionate about football and was controversial until the very end,” said German Football Association President Bernd Neuendorf. “I was able to experience this first-hand in a personal meeting a few weeks before his death. He lived football with every fibre of his being.”
Daum’s battle with cancer was symbolic of his life: Even as a skinny kid growing up in the western German city of Duisburg, he would fight with boys who were bigger and stronger.
As a passionate and demanding coach, he led Stuttgart to the Bundesliga title in 1992. But Daum never lifted the trophy again. Between 1996 and 2000, his team, Bayer Leverkusen, finished second three times and third once. In 2000, Leverkusen squandered the chance to win the Bundesliga for the first time by losing 2-0 to newly promoted Unterhaching. Daum said he cried profusely.
Leverkusen had to wait until this year to finally drop the nickname “Neverkusen”, but Daum’s contribution laid the groundwork for success. He was the guest of honour at the celebrations.
“Christoph changed a lot of things here in terms of processes and internal structure. Under his leadership, Bayer 04 became the biggest competitor of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund,” said Leverkusen star Rudi Völler.
In 2000, after the disappointing European Championship, Daum was considered the new Germany coach, but his personal life came into focus when his long-time rival, Bayern Munich’s Uli Hoeneß, suggested in an interview that Daum had a drug problem. Media reported parties where cocaine was used and prostitutes were present.
Daum denied taking drugs and provided hair samples for analysis, which showed traces of cocaine.
As a result, he was sacked as Leverkusen coach and the scandal also ended his dream of becoming Germany coach.
“It was a huge mistake that I acknowledged and apologized for,” Daum said years later. “Who can say that their life has been completely error-free? I certainly can’t. Ultimately, it’s important to acknowledge mistakes, correct them, and then do better. That’s what it means to be human.”
Daum enjoyed success as a coach outside Germany, winning a league and cup double with Austria Vienna in 2003, and Turkish league titles with Fenerbahce in 2004 and 2005. He previously led city rivals Besiktas to Turkish Cup (1994) and league (1995) titles.
Daum returned to Germany after Fenerbahce and helped Cologne to promotion to the Bundesliga in 2008.
He later returned to Fenerbahce, and later coached Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge, Bursaspor and Romania.
“Christoph Daum was a true son of the Bundesliga. As a motivator and communicator without a previous professional career, he helped shape the coaching profession and the Bundesliga at the dawn of the media era,” says Marc Lenz, CEO of the German Football League.
Lenz said Daum “stayed true to himself throughout his career, both during successes and after setbacks and mistakes.”
For his part, Daum remained philosophical about his ups and downs.
“You can fall. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall,” he said. “You just have to get up again and again.”
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