FC Bayern is mourning the passing of journalist Ludger Schulze, who has died at the age of 72. Schulze accompanied the German record champions for many decades as a sports reporter and later as head of the sports desk of the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. Following his retirement, he worked for the FC Bayern Museum from the start of its foundation in 2012, and was responsible for all exhibition texts and, not least, for the texts of the special exhibitions on club legends such as Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge or Lothar Matthäus as well as on treble-winning coach Jupp Heynckes. The museum benefited from his unique wealth of experience as well as from his brilliance as an author. Schulze also wrote the multi-page, centrepiece tribute to the "Bomber of the Nation" in the special edition of the FC Bayern members' magazine "51" in memory of Gerd Müller in August 2021.
FC Bayern president Herbert Hainer: "Ludger Schulze was an influential author and character in German sports journalism. His pithy texts were a delight for every football lover. FC Bayern is also grateful to Ludger Schulze for becoming an important mainstay in the development of the FC Bayern Museum. His texts will live on."
Honorary president Uli Hoeneß: "German sports journalism has lost an extraordinary person in Ludger Schulze. He always observed FC Bayern critically but also fairly and described all the club's ups and downs in a wonderful way. I appreciated him as a journalist with a strong opinion, with whom one could talk in confidence. He was also a good friend for many years."
Born in Beckum/Westphalia, Schulze arrived in Munich in 1976 after studying German language and literature to take up an internship at the SZ. In addition to his later work as head of the sports department, he served as deputy head on the Page 3 feature desk before retiring in 2010. Schulze reported from numerous football World Cups and European championships as well as summer and winter Olympic Games. In 2017, he was honoured for his life's work by the Association of German Sports Journalists and named "one of the best sports journalists Germany has ever produced". In his eulogy, Heynckes said: "His beautifully worded articles, interspersed with fine irony, were often journalistic gems that stood out." The long-standing Bayern coach also praised the 1993 Sports Journalist of the Year for his "courage to express his own opinion". Schulze most recently lived in Laufen an der Salzach.