For his 50th birthday, Hans Pflügler partied late into the night before being woken up by a brass band at 7:30am. This time, the celebrations will be significantly more restrained. The ex-Bayern defender turns 60 today, although he has one objection to his new age: "It's 59+1, please - or 6-0," he tells club magazine '51'. Pflügler is a Red through and through!
Trophy collector
Pflügler (seen here in action against PAOK in the UEFA Cup in 1983) was renowned for his vocal, battling qualities.
His time with FCB started at U17 level – and it's never really ended. Born in the nearby town of Freising, Pflügler was promoted to the first team in 1981, aged 21, where he played until 1992. After that, the qualified steel engineer remained with the reserve team, for whom he continued playing up to 2002.
The statistics from Pflügler's career make for impressive reading: the versatile defender, who principally played at left-back, collected five league titles with FC Bayern (1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990), won the DFB Cup three times (1982, 1984, 1986) and was also part of Germany's World Cup-winning squad in Italy in 1990. Despite his defensive position, the 11-time-capped Germany international was never sent off. He was also handy at the other end of the pitch, recording 36 goals and 14 assists in 277 Bundesliga appearances.
One-club man
Pflügler is in charge of the FC Bayern Legends team – and still even plays himself.
The end of his playing career did not signal the end of his time with the German record champions. Even while Pflügler was still playing for the reserves, Uli Hoeneß entrusted him with the club merchanding and later with the management of several fan shops. He also helped out with the family-owned Pension Pflügler, which he now runs himself. As well as being part of the '59+1 club', he remains very much part of the Bayern family today. He's currently in charge of the FC Bayern Legends team – truly a Red through and through.
Another World Cup winner is celebrating his birthday today: You can read the best stats and records on current FCB captain Manuel Neuer here:
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