Christoph Daum turns 70 this Tuesday. A conversation with the legendary coach about drug tests, the love for 1. FC Köln and fights that are fought through the media.
Football coach Christoph Daum has been one of the most colorful figures in German professional football since the mid-1980s. His provocative sayings and actions made him a media star. There were also spectacular setbacks such as the cocaine affair, which cost him the national coaching position in October 2000. In a fan survey, he was recently voted Bayer Leverkusen’s most popular coach of all time. The pay channel Sky is now showing Daum – Triumphs & Scandals on the occasion of his 70th birthday this Tuesday – a documentary that traces his life and accompanies Daum, who is suffering from lung cancer, on clinic visits. These days he’s on TV like he was at his best. Daum invited people to his villa on the outskirts of Cologne for a discussion. He has become narrow. But his presence in conversation is impressive.