To this day he is the record Bundesliga scorer for 1. FC Kaiserslautern. But he only became a real hero as a coach at other clubs. Klaus Toppmöller is now 70 years old.
Klaus Toppmöller scored more Bundesliga goals for 1.FC Kaiserslautern than anyone before and after him. Nevertheless, he did not become a great hero on the Betzenberg. “Whistles and applause changed at unbelievable speed and finally wore down a professional”, describes the FCK chronicle “Bastion Betzenberg”. After six seasons and 204 Bundesliga games, he left Kaiserslautern.
The transition from player to coach went smoothly for Toppmöller. While still active, he became player-coach in March 1987 in his last season at FSV Salmrohr. He is said to have said once that he only got his coaching license so that one day he would become a coach at FCK. That never happened. In 2000, the move from Saarbrücken to Kaiserslautern failed several times, and Toppmöller was intended to succeed Otto Rehhagel.
Red devil in blue-black
As a young coach, Klaus Toppmöller instead spent his first full second division season in 1991/92 at Waldhof Mannheim. A louder record scorer in Mannheim? Not at all, said many! But it was possible. Those who witnessed it back then remember to this day how Toppmöller managed to put the rivalry in the background with his empathic and personable manner. And of course the success was helpful. In the 1992/93 season, SV Waldhof just missed promotion to the Bundesliga with Toppmöller.
It should stay close more often in his time as a coach. Under Toppmöller, Leverkusen finally became vicekusen in the 2001/02 season. Bayer played for the championship, the DFB Cup and the Champions League title. In the end, Leverkusen were runner-up and after the cup final they also lost the Champions League final with 1: 2 against Real Madrid. Klaus Toppmöller was nevertheless named “Trainer of the Year”. After Leverkusen, Hamburger SV was the last club where he worked as a coach. At the end of his career, he took over the national team of Georgia in 2006.
A short return to the Betze, a quick goodbye to football
28 years after leaving as a player, Klaus Toppmöller returned to the Betzenberg as a member of the supervisory board with sole responsibility for sport. “Welcome home Toppi” could be read at the time. Six weeks later, on December 20, 2007, Klaus Toppmöller withdrew for private reasons. In April 2008, his contract as national coach of Georgia was terminated. To date, he has not accepted any further involvement in professional football.
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