Christoph Daum’s coaching career was more eventful than almost any other in German football. Now he is 70. In the interview, Daum talks about his cancer, the cocaine affair and his discussions with former arch-enemy Uli Hoeneß.
Cologne-Hahnwald, an evening in October. Christoph Daum sticks his head out of the window of a building next to his cream-colored villa. “Over here, into the office,” he calls. You enter and stand in a hallway that could also pass for the Christoph Daum Museum. A life-size cardboard cutout of Daum, next to photos: Daum with the championship trophy, Daum with Reiner Calmund, Daum cheering in stadiums.
A staircase leads up to the office. Carpeted floors, black high gloss furniture. Daum sits at a round table in a light blue sweater. He still has that piercing look. His face looks fuller again than in the pictures we knew from last year.