Franz Beckenbauer had not wanted to return to the dugout at all. A good three and a half years after his World Cup win with Germany in Rome in 1990, the then-FCB club president had long since hung up his proverbial managerial boots. But Bayern needed him - and half a year later, on 7 May 1994, they were back at the top of the Bundesliga thanks to Beckenbauer!
On the attack
The Munich legend took over the role as interim coach at FC Bayern in the winter of 1993 - at the time of his arrival, the record champions were only fifth in the league table. But thanks to a race to catch up in the second half of the season, FCB were once more top going into the final matchday of the season and had their fate well in their own hands over second-placed FC Kaiserslautern. A home win against Schalke 04 would now be enough to seal the title.
A visit once more to old foes Schalke
Schalke again, they whispered in the Bavarian capital. FCB had already met the men from Gelsenkirchen the previous season on the last day and had lost the championship courtesy of a 3-3 draw in the Parkstadion. And this year, the Royal Blues seemed to have taken a liking to the idea of spoiling the title party for the Munich team. After Schalke had secured their status as a top-flight club a week earlier, they now played with nothing to lose in front of 63,000 spectators in the Olympiastadion. Ingo Anderbrügge hit the crossbar with a free kick just before the break.
Champion as coach and player
But the Bavarians held out: In the 49th minute Lothar Matthäus curled a clever free-kick past the wall to make it 1-0, causing jubilation from Beckenbauer on the bench. Some ten minutes later, Jorginho (60th) dispelled any remaining doubts with a goal to double the lead. Bayern were German champions for the 13th time and once again they had proven their mettle: What the Kaiser works for, he'll succeed in! After four championship titles as a player with Bayern, Beckenbauer had now crowned his career, winning with the German champions as a coach.
Under the leadership of Franz Beckenbauer, FC Bayern also won the UEFA Cup in 1996. Below, you can find more about legendary knockout games in the 90s:
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