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Biography
Rudolf "Rudi" Assauer (born 30 April 1944) is a former German football manager and player. Due to his habit of smoking a great number of cigars, he has been given the nickname Stumpen-Rudi, or Cheroot Rudi.
Career
Born in Saarland, Assauer played in 307 matches for Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen between 1964 and 1976. From 1976 to 1981, he remained the general manager of Werder Bremen, before leaving to work as a general manager for Schalke 04 for the first time between 1981 and 1986 (he was the interim head coach in 1981 on two occasions; firstly with Heinz Redepenning, and secondly, on his own). This first tenure ended with his dismissal, and Assauer spent four years out of football and went into real estate. He re-entered management in 1990, and in 1993, he once again became the general manager (not a coaching position) at Schalke.
Since taking over for the second time, Schalke have seen much success, including a 1997 UEFA Cup win, and victory in the DFB-Pokal finals of 2001 and 2002. Assauer also oversaw the development of a brand new stadium for the club. In May 2006, Assauer was suspected of giving away secret information concerning the financial problems of Schalke, so the club and Assauer parted company.
As of February 2009, he is a player agent. His agency Assauer Sportmanagement AG represents, among others, Marc-André Kruska, Stefan Wächter, Sun Xiang and Pekka Lagerblom.
Managerial statistics
- As of 26 April 2014
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | Ref. | |||
| Werder Bremen | 20 December 1977 | 31 December 1977 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 5000000000000000000♠0 | 5000000000000000000♠0 | 7002100000000000000♠100.00 | |
| Werder Bremen | 29 January 1980 | 20 February 1980 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 5000000000000000000♠0 | 5000000000000000000♠0 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 005000000000000000000♠0.00 | |
| Schalke 04 | 26 May 1981 | 30 June 1981 | 7000200000000000000♠2 | 5000000000000000000♠0 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 005000000000000000000♠0.00 | |
| Schalke 04 | 20 January 1983 | 24 January 1983 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 5000000000000000000♠0 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 5000000000000000000♠0 | 005000000000000000000♠0.00 | |
| Total | 7000500000000000000♠5 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 7000200000000000000♠2 | 7000200000000000000♠2 | 07001200000000000000♠20.00 | — | ||
Honours
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winner: 1965–66
- Bundesliga runner-up: 1965–66
- DFB-Pokal winner: 1964–65
Personal life
Assauer lived until January 2009 with the actress Simone Thomalla, and has been described by Michael Meier, former chairman of Borussia Dortmund, as a Kashmir Hooligan.
In 2010, he was quoted as saying there was no place in football for gays.
On 31 January 2012, Assauer confirmed media reports that he, still only 67, is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.