Gustl Starek was a member of Bayern’s first double-winning team from 1968/69. The former midfielder turns 80 on 16 February and spoke with members’ magazine ‘51’ to mark the occasion.
Interview with Gustl Starek
Gustl, how are you feeling about turning 80 soon?
“My wife and I are ‘escaping’ to the Caribbean and going on a nice cruise. We're both celebrating our birthdays – she'll be 75 and I'll be 80. I'm quite relaxed about my age. There are the grumpy ones who get angry about everything and everyone, and those who take an optimistic approach to things. I tend to be one of the latter.”
You spent two years at Bayern and were a regular across the 1969 double. Do you look back fondly on your time in Munich?
“I have a chronicle at home. I look through it every now and then and remember the two years at Bayern. We were a good team and had a great time on and off the pitch. I learnt how to play Schafkopf in Munich. It was always part of our trips. Sepp [Maier] sometimes couldn't stop. Those two years weren't just the crowning glory of my career because of the titles. I also made some good friends during that time.”
How do you see Bayern today?
“I still enjoy watching the club. I follow every game. Sometimes I'd like to intervene myself or give the lads a few instructions [laughs]. Overall, the development of the club is incredible. Today, Bayern is much more than just a football club – it's an institution, but it has retained the family values that characterised it in my day. There is hardly any other club in the world that has such a strong appeal as Bayern. I am proud to have played for this great club at a time when it was gradually growing up.”
What does your life look like nowadays?
“I never get bored. I still do a lot of sport, play tennis, go to the gym and am on the golf course almost every day - occasionally with Bulle Roth. He often visits me in Austria. I can now deal with defeat better than I used to [laughs]. Today, you could say I'm the nicest player you could imagine.”
This interview appeared in members’ magazine ‘51’
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