Lothar Matthäus

Lothar Herbert Matthäus (born 21 March 1961) is a German football pundit and former professional player and manager.

Lothar Herbert Matthäus was born on 21 March 1961 in Erlangen, Bavaria, West Germany.

He spent his early playing days in the youth team of 1. FC Herzogenaurach, located in a small town in Bavaria close to Nuremberg.

Matthäus started his professional career in 1979 with Borussia Mönchengladbach of the Bundesliga, for whom he played until 1984.

He also won UEFA Euro 1980, and played in the 1984, 1988 and 2000 UEFA European Championships.

Matthäus was first called up in 1980 to the West Germany national squad that won the UEFA Euro 1980 in Italy, making his international debut at the tournament in a game against the Netherlands.

Matthäus was the first outfield player, and second overall after Antonio Carbajal, to appear at five FIFA World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998); he remains one of only six male players to have done so, along with Carbajal, Rafael Márquez, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Andrés Guardado.

He also played two games at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain; he was brought on as a substitute in group stage games against Chile and the infamous Disgrace of Gijón game versus Austria.

West Germany reached the final, losing to Italy at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid 3–1.

He then played for Bayern Munich from 1984 to 1988, winning the Bundesliga twice and the DFB-Pokal.

By now, he also had a regular place in the national team for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, scoring the winner in the round of 16 against Morocco.

In the final at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, despite his considerable play-making ability, he was assigned by coach Franz Beckenbauer to mark Argentina's Diego Maradona.

Maradona did not score in the final, but his pass to Jorge Burruchaga with six minutes left in regulation time set up the winning goal for Argentina, and West Germany lost their second consecutive World Cup final, this time 3–2.

They also reached the European Cup final in 1987, leading 1–0 for most of the game until two late goals gave FC Porto the win.

When the two teams went to collect their medals Matthäus removed his runners-up medal immediately after he received it – it was the second time he had been on the losing side in a final under similar circumstances; in the 1987 final, Bayern had been leading 1–0 most of the game until two late goals gave FC Porto the win.

Matthäus and Bayern teammate Andreas Brehme signed with Inter Milan of Serie A in 1988, winning the Scudetto in 1988–89 during their first season, and the Italian Supercup that year as well.

At UEFA Euro 1988 in West Germany, Matthäus captained the team and scored a penalty against the Netherlands (the eventual winners) in the semi-final to give his team a 1–0 lead, but Ronald Koeman leveled the score with a penalty, and then Marco van Basten slid in the winning goal in the final minutes.

After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was awarded the Ballon d'Or.

His immediate success in Italy's premier football league, the Serie A, was a precursor to the national team which finally managed to triumph at the 1990 FIFA World Cup held in Italy.

Six of West Germany's squad played professionally there; Matthäus and the West German squad played most of the World Cup games at Inter's home stadium the San Siro.

In 1991, he was named the first FIFA World Player of the Year, and remains the only German to have received the award.

Matthäus continued to enjoy further success with Inter, winning the UEFA Cup in 1991 and being named FIFA World Player of the Year.

In the final, he scored a penalty in the first leg to help them to their victory over Roma.

Returning to Bayern Munich in 1992, he won four Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals, another UEFA Cup and reached a second European Cup final in 1999.

The only major club football honour which eluded Matthäus, for competitions in which he played, was the UEFA Champions League.

In 1999, aged 38, Matthäus was again voted German Footballer of the Year, having previously won the award in 1990.

Matthäus is the most capped German player of all time, retiring with a total of 150 appearances (83 for West Germany) in 20 years, and 23 goals.

Matthäus is a member of the FIFA 100 list of the greatest living football players chosen by Pelé.

Diego Maradona said of Matthäus, "he is the best rival I've ever had. I guess that's enough to define him".

A versatile and complete player, Matthäus is regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, and was renowned for his perceptive passing, positional sense, well-timed tackling, as well as powerful shooting.

During his career, he usually played as a box-to-box midfielder, although late in his career he played as a sweeper.

Famously, he came within two minutes of picking up a winners' medal in 1999, only to have his hopes dashed by Manchester United, who scored two last-minute goals in the final, after he was substituted in the 80th minute of play while the team was still leading 1–0.

During the 1999–2000 season, Matthäus moved from Bayern to New York City's MetroStars team of Major League Soccer in the United States.

After Matthäus retired, Bayern would win the Champions League in 2000–01 and later that year the Intercontinental Cup.

His last official match for Bayern took place in Munich on 8 March 2000 and was a Champions League match against Real Madrid, which Bayern won 4–1.

He played in the US from March to October 2000 and retired from professional football afterwards.

During his season with the MetroStars, he traveled to St. Tropez when he was supposed to be rehabbing his back.

Matthäus came out of retirement in 2018, at age 57, to play 50 minutes of 1. FC Herzogenaurach's final league game of the season.

The team had already secured the league title, and the appearance allowed Matthäus to satisfy his ambition retiring with the club where his career started: "It was always my dream to play my last competitive game here."

He was also included in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020.