Christoph Daum: Former football coach dies at the age of 70

A dazzling figure in German football has passed away. As the trade magazine reports, among others, former Bundesliga coach Christoph Daum died at the age of 70 “peacefully surrounded by his family” from the effects of his cancer. Daum had made it public in 2022 that he was suffering from lung cancer.

He wrote at the time that he received the diagnosis “during a routine examination” alongside a photo of himself and his doctor, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wolf, on Instagram. In October of last year, shortly before his 70th birthday, he revealed to the newspaper that he had already had to undergo 22 chemotherapy treatments since his cancer diagnosis.

He was about to become national coach

Christoph Daum was unable to make a career as a football player. At the end of his active career, which he played with the amateurs of 1. FC Köln, he obtained a coaching license. From the amateurs, he worked his way up to assistant coach and finally coach of 1. FC Köln. He then worked in Stuttgart and Turkey before joining the current Bundesliga champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

In the summer of 2001, Daum was close to becoming the coach of the German national team. However, this agreement between Bayer Leverkusen and the DFB fell apart abruptly when the famous cocaine scandal involving Daum broke out. With the words “I’m doing this because I have an absolutely clear conscience,” Daum submitted a hair sample after the public drug accusations by Bayern honorary president Uli Hoeneß (72) – which convicted him of drug use. Daum then lost his job in Leverkusen and the DFB also distanced itself from him.

However, the scandal did not stand in the way of his career as a coach. He won championships again in Turkey and later in Austria with Beşiktaş Istanbul and FK Austria Wien. Between 2006 and 2009 he also coached a German team again – 1. FC Köln. He ended his career in 2017 as the national coach of Romania.