How ‘Little Cik’ created the mighty Bayern

Zlatko Cajkovski (1923-1998) moved to then second-tier Bayern Munich in 1963 having led Köln to the championship a few years earlier. It was the beginning of a success story that continues to this day. Here, officials, players and his son remember the legendary coach, who would have been 100 years old on 24 November 2023. This text was published in members' magazine ‘51’ to mark Cajkovski's 95th birthday.

Contemporaries talk about Zlatko 'Cik‘ Cajkovski

Willi O. Hoffmann, treasurer and later president: "In the spring of 1963, we had learnt that Cik wanted to give up his position at Köln and make a change. Because many Yugoslavians were already living in Munich at the time, Cajkovski was willing to talk and so I was asked by our president at the time, Wilhelm Neudecker, to negotiate a contract. We met on a Sunday on the first floor of the Hotel Stachus in the centre of Munich - Cajkovski had brought his wife with him. We talked about his salary, a flat in Sendling and a company car. It went very well at first."

Zlatan Cajkovski (69), Cik’s son and a former professional footballer himself: "Our family has always travelled a lot - Cologne, Munich, later Hanover, Nuremberg and so on - so I was never a particularly good student..." (laughs)

Willi O. Hoffmann: "Cik was a clever businessman. Just before we were about to sign the five-year contract, he said: 'We have to talk about bonuses for promotion and winning the cup’. Fine, no problem. Cik continued: 'What about a bonus for the championship?’ Aha, the man is optimistic, I thought to myself, and recognises the potential of our team. Cik negotiated further: 'What about a bonus if I win the European Cup?’ I then rang president Neudecker, who replied: 'If he manages that, he'll get a million Deutschmark!’ I then agreed a tenth of that sum with Cik. And the contract was signed."

Peter Kupferschmidt (81), played for Bayern from 1956 to 1971: "Cik was the right coach at the right time. Back then, the team was a collection of friends who had been moulded and trained by youth coach Rudi Weiß. The fact that we found each other like that, that it was such a good fit - that was unique!"

Franz Beckenbauer (78), played for Bayern from 1958 to 1977: "I was still playing as a youth player when he first took me to training with the professionals. You could say he was one of the first to recognise my talent."

Sepp Maier (79), Bayern goalkeeper from 1959 to 1979: "Cik was like a father to us. He could be serious and get angry. He used to send us to the equipment manager as a punishment with the sentence 'You go clean your shoes'. But a little later we were in a good mood again. He revitalised us with his temperament."

 

Werner Olk (85), former captain, at Bayern from 1960 to 1970: "Cik was the 'laissez-faire' type. H let us run free and gave us the necessary confidence - and was therefore just the right person for us young lads. Because we wanted to let off steam."

Dieter ‘Mucki’ Brenninger (79), played for Bayern from 1960 to 1971: "He shaped us - as players and as people. And I even have Cik to thank for my nickname. He didn't understand my old nickname 'Wucki' and always called me 'Mucki'. Today, my grandchildren call me 'Mucki-Opa'."

Sepp Maier: "In training, he always liked to play in the final game himself - despite his small bib. He'd say, 'I'll put my team together' and pick the best players. Then he let them play until he won. We always let him win so that he could finish training. Ideally, he would also score the winning goal."

Mucki Brenninger: "As a former world-class player, he showed us all the tricks. There was no real system. His favourite sayings in training were: 'Always go into the penalty area' and 'You have to close up at the back'."

Franz Beckenbauer: "Back then, young players weren't as skilful as they are today. Cik trained us and educated us at the same time, showed us a lot - the passing game, for example."

Peter Kupferschmidt: The right coach at the right time

Zlatan Cajkovski: "At the time, my father was more of a Bayern coach than a family man. That's not meant to sound nasty. He just wasn't at home much and was very busy with his young players. There was this special atmosphere in the team. Once, for example, everyone helped to prepare our garden in Solln."

Sepp Maier: "Cik’s player meetings only lasted 10 minutes. He always told us to 'enjoy the game'."

Mucki Brenninger: "The good atmosphere in the team carried us to success. Cik was able to inspire people. If we didn't leave the pitch as winners - like in the 1964 promotion match against Neunkirchen - he was really angry. He would say: 'You stole that bonus from me'."

Willi O. Hoffmann: "One year later, we were promoted. That's when we had to pay the first bonus."

Zlatan Cajkovski: "He placed the most value on my mum's opinion. She had an eye for football and often asked: 'Why is he playing so badly?' or 'Why don't you put him on?" They would have heated discussions."

Werner Olk: "Besides football, food was his great passion. He loved food - especially meat. Once we were invited with the team to the Dassler family from adidas in their bungalow in Herzogenaurach, and we had a whole suckling pig. When Cik saw it, he almost pounced on the pig's head and made clear: 'This head is good, I'm reserving it for myself'."

Mucki Brenninger: "We’d suspected that our friendly match opponents were selected based on culinary aspects."

Werner Olk: "No matter which restaurant or hotel we went to with the team, Cik always went to the kitchen first and 'checked' the food. Sometimes he would pack up the leftovers. 'That's for my dogs’. Then he would go to his car and treat himself to a small snack."

Willi O. Hoffmann: "General manager Robert Schwan had to convince him before an away game in Berlin that eating suckling pig is not an ideal way to prepare for a game."

Werner Olk: "We once travelled by train to a match in Belgrade and had to change trains in Zagreb. Cik, president Neudecker and a few others wanted to use the half-hour wait to eat something. But it took so long that they missed the train and had to wait four or five hours for the next one."

 

Mucki Brenninger: "He was less interested in the culture of our destinations. On one trip to the USA, he even refused to visit Disneyland with us. He went to sleep on a bench in Los Angeles - and when we came back after four hours of fun, he was still lying there."

Peter Kupferschmidt: "Thanks to our early successes, Cik didn't have to be strict. He had everything under control. When we lost 1-0 at Rapid Vienna in the first leg of the European Cup quarter-final in 1967, Cik tinkered with the squad for the second leg. He wanted to play our midfielder Dieter Koulmann. However, he was considered a bit of a hell-raiser. Two days before the game, Cik rang the doorbell of the Koulmann family at 10.30 pm. The wife opened the door. 'Where is Kulle?’ Her answer: 'He’s out.’ Cik sat down on the sofa and waited. Unfortunately, we still don't know when Koulmann came home. The coach had fallen asleep on the sofa. But Kulle played - and played a top game."

Franz Beckenbauer: "He backed young players - without neglecting the older ones. He found a good combination of youth and experience."

Willi O. Hoffmann: "We won the DFB Cup in 1966 and 1967 and, to top it all off, in 1967 we won the European Cup Winners' Cup in Nuremberg against Rangers. At the next board meeting, president Neudecker shouted out loud: 'Which cattle actually made this contract with the coach?’"

 

Zlatan Cajkovski: "I also played for Bayern as a youth player - and later in the second division. For me, however, the name Cajkovski was more of a stumbling block, because everyone associated it with something big. During his time as Nuremberg coach, I and a few other youth players were allowed to train with my father from time to time. When the board wanted to ban that, he cancelled his contract without further ado. Dad was like that. He later regretted not staying at Bayern for longer. It was the best place."

Find out more about the history of Bayern's coaches here: