Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge (German pronunciation: [ˈkaʁlˈhaɪ̯nt͡s ˈkalə ˈʁʊmənɪɡə]; born 25 September 1955) is a German former football winger.
He had his greatest career success with German club Bayern Munich, where he won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Cup, as well as two league titles and two domestic cups.
A member of the West Germany national team, Rummenigge won the 1980 European Championship and was part of the squad that finished runner-up in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and at the 1986 World Cup. He was also honoured twice as European Footballer of the Year.
He is currently the chief executive officer of the FC Bayern München AG, a daughter company of Bundesliga team Bayern Munich, as well as being the chairman of the European Club Association.

Club

Rummenigge was born in Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia.

He joined Bayern Munich in 1974, coming from the Westphalian amateur side Borussia Lippstadt, for a transfer fee of ca. €10,000. He immediately showed great strength as a dribbler. His striking qualities were initially insignificant, but would find great improvement in later years, particularly after the arrival of coach Pal Csernai in 1979. In 1979–80, he scored 26 goals and became for the first time the Bundesliga's top striker, a feat he repeated in 1981 and 1984 with 29 and 26 goals, respectively.

Rummenigge in June 1982

With Bayern he won the European Cup in 1975 and 1976. In 1975, he did not take part in the final of the competition, whilst in the year thereafter a glass of brandy sufficiently prepared the nervous Rummenigge to contribute to the defeat of AS Saint-Étienne. In the same year he became also part of the team that prevailed in the Intercontinental Cup finals against Cruzeiro EC from Belo Horizonte.

In the era of coach Csernai he found in midfielder Paul Breitner a congenial partner and he formed such a formidable one-two-punch that they were only called Breitnigge (name invented by German newspaper Bild).

The club, then often dubbed as "FC Breitnigge", won in this period the Bundesliga title in 1980 and 1981, and the DFB-Pokal in 1982 and 1984. A renewed triumph in the European Cup was denied, when the club lost the 1982 final narrowly against Aston Villa. In the season before Rummenigge was top-scorer in this competition with 6 goals.

His substantial contribution to the successes of the club and the German national football team found also expression in personal honours. In 1980, he was named German Footballer of the Year and in '80–81 the European Footballer of the Year.

In 1984, aged 29, he was sold for a record fee of €5.7m to Inter Milan. Despite a notable beginning, in which he helped the team to compete until the end for the 1984–85 Scudetto, Rumenigge's career in Italy was mostly marred by injury problems. At the end of his contract in 1987, Rummenigge moved on to Swiss first division club Servette FC in Geneva, where he saw his career out. In his last season, 1988–89, he had his last success, becoming top scorer in the Swiss league with 24 goals.

National team

With the West German national team he took part in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, 1982 World Cup in Spain and the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In 1978, West Germany exited in the second group stage of the tournament. In 1982 and 1986, the team was runner-up behind Italy and Argentina. Rummenigge also took part in two European Championship tournaments. In the 1980 competition in Italy, West Germany defeated Belgium in the final by 2–1 and won the trophy. The 1984 tournament in France is engraved as one of the most unsuccessful undertakings of the German national team. West Germany was already ousted in the group stage.

Altogether, between 1976 and 1986, Rummenigge amassed 95 caps and scored 45 goals for West Germany, including one in the 1986 World Cup final match. He also scored a hat-trick in a group stage game against Chile during the 1982 World Cup.

Style of play

Rummenigge was often seen as a complete and versatile forward and unlike his predecessor Gerd Muller did not score most goals from inside the penalty area and often scored individual goals and sometimes long-range goals. Rummenigge was often renowned for his dribbling ability and could work well with another striker or on his own. His great instinct allowed him to score frequently and scored over 200 goals during 10 years in Bayern.

International goals

Scores and results list West Germany's goal tally first.

Rummenigge – goals for West Germany
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	8 October 1977	Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany	Italy	2–0	2–1	Friendly
2.	6 June 1978	Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba, Argentina	Mexico	3–0	6–0	FIFA World Cup 1978
3.	6 June 1978	Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba, Argentina	Mexico	5–0	6–0	FIFA World Cup 1978
4.	21 June 1978	Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba, Argentina	Austria	1–0	2–3	FIFA World Cup 1978
5.	20 December 1978	Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany	Netherlands	1–0	3–1	Friendly
6.	22 May 1979	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland	Republic of Ireland	1–1	3–1	Friendly
7.	12 September 1979	Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany	Argentina	2–0	2–1	Friendly
8.	17 October 1979	Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, Germany	Wales	4–0	5–1	UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying
9.	21 November 1979	Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgian SSR	Soviet Union	1–0	3–1	Friendly
10.	21 November 1979	Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgian SSR	Soviet Union	2–0	3–1	Friendly
11.	27 February 1980	Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany	Malta	7–0	8–0	UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying
12.	13 May 1980	Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany	Poland	1–0	3–1	Friendly
13.	11 June 1980	Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy	Czechoslovakia	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 1980
14.	3 December 1980	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	3–0	3–1	FIFA World Cup 1982 qualifying
15.	2 September 1981	Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland	Poland	2–0	2–0	Friendly
16.	23 September 1981	Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany	Finland	2–1	7–1	FIFA World Cup 1982 qualifying
17.	23 September 1981	Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany	Finland	4–1	7–1	FIFA World Cup 1982 qualifying
18.	23 September 1981	Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany	Finland	6–1	7–1	FIFA World Cup 1982 qualifying
19.	18 November 1981	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Albania	1–0	8–0	FIFA World Cup 1982 qualifying
20.	18 November 1981	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Albania	2–0	8–0	FIFA World Cup 1982 qualifying
21.	18 November 1981	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Albania	5–0	8–0	FIFA World Cup 1982 qualifying
22.	22 November 1981	Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany	Bulgaria	2–0	4–0	FIFA World Cup 1982 qualifying
23.	22 November 1981	Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany	Bulgaria	4–0	4–0	FIFA World Cup 1982 qualifying
24.	12 May 1982	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	1–0	4–2	Friendly
25.	12 May 1982	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	4–2	4–2	Friendly
26.	16 June 1982	El Molinón, Gijón, Spain	Algeria	1–1	1–2	FIFA World Cup 1982
27.	20 June 1982	El Molinón, Gijón, Spain	Chile	1–0	4–1	FIFA World Cup 1982
28.	20 June 1982	El Molinón, Gijón, Spain	Chile	2–0	4–1	FIFA World Cup 1982
29.	20 June 1982	El Molinón, Gijón, Spain	Chile	3–0	4–1	FIFA World Cup 1982
30.	8 July 1982	Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain	France	2–3	3–3 (a.e.t.), 5–4 (pen.)	FIFA World Cup 1982
31.	13 October 1982	Wembley Stadium, London, England	England	1–0	2–1	Friendly
32.	13 October 1982	Wembley Stadium, London, England	England	2–0	2–1	Friendly
33.	30 March 1983	Qemal Stafa, Tirana, Albania	Albania	2–0	2–1	UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
34.	23 April 1983	İzmir Atatürk Stadium, İzmir, Turkey	Turkey	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
35.	23 April 1983	İzmir Atatürk Stadium, İzmir, Turkey	Turkey	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
36.	7 June 1983	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Yugoslavia	4–2	4–2	Friendly (Jubilee match: 75 years FLF)
37.	5 October 1983	Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Austria	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
38.	26 October 1983	Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany	Turkey	2–0	5–1	UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
39.	26 October 1983	Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany	Turkey	5–1	5–1	UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
40.	20 November 1983	Ludwigspark Stadion, Saarbrücken, Germany	Albania	1–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
41.	17 October 1984	Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, Germany	Sweden	2–0	2–0	FIFA World Cup 1986 qualifying
42.	27 March 1985	Ludwigspark Stadion, Saarbrücken, Germany	Malta	5–0	6–0	FIFA World Cup 1986 qualifying
43.	27 March 1985	Ludwigspark Stadion, Saarbrücken, Germany	Malta	6–0	6–0	FIFA World Cup 1986 qualifying
44.	17 November 1985	Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany	Czechoslovakia	2–2	2–2	FIFA World Cup 1986 qualifying
45.	29 June 1986	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	Argentina	1–2	2–3	FIFA World Cup 1986

From 1990 until 1994 Rummenigge worked as a TV co–commentator for matches of the German national team. In autumn 1991, Bayern Munich invited Franz Beckenbauer and Rummenigge to return to the club as vice presidents. Rummenigge held this position until 2002, when he was appointed Chairman of Executive Board of the newly corporatised football department of the club. According to the club, "in his role as chairman he is responsible for external relations, new media, board affairs and representing the holding company on national and international bodies."

In April 1983, the British pop duo Alan & Denise recorded a tribute song about his "sexy knees" in the song "Rummenigge, what a man". The record reached number 43 in German charts.

In March 2004 he was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.

His brother Michael Rummenigge was also a noteworthy footballer. He played as forward for Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund from 1982–88 and 1988–94, respectively. He also represented Germany on two occasions between 1983 and 1986.

Rumenigge and his wife Martina have three sons and two daughters born between 1980 and 1991.

• Also played 2 (1977) Intercontinental Cup games.
• Also played 4 (1975, 1976) UEFA Super Cup games.

• He is the eleventh most capped player for Germany (inclusive of three East German Players)
• He is the fifth most successful striker for Germany (inclusive one East German player)
• He is the tenth most prolific scorer of all time in Bundesliga history
• With Bayern Munich he is the second most prolific scorer of all time in league history after Gerd Müller