Sepp Maier won everything possible with Bayern Munich, helped shape the club like few others before or after, and remains one of the most well-known and best loved players to ever represent Germany’s record champions.
Records yet to be beaten
Maier made a total of 709 appearances for Bayern during his career, including a Bundesliga record of 442 games in a row. There was never a question of the ‘Cat from Anzing’, as he was lovingly known, ever leaving his club. “There were always offers, but why should I move? I play for the best team in Europe,” the goalkeeper once stated.
The fact that Bayern was indeed one of the world’s biggest clubs was in no small part thanks to its long-time No.1. Maier first came to Bayern at the age of 15 in 1958. He signed his first professional contract in 1962 and was then the undisputed first choice the year after, with the team still playing in the second-tier Regionalliga Süd at the time.
A string of titles
Maier and his team secured promotion to the Bundesliga in 1965. It wasn’t long until he got his hands on major titles for the first time as Bayern and the Katze von Anzing lifted the DFB Cup in 1966 and 1967. The latter season also saw the Munich club win its first continental trophy thanks to a 1-0 win over Rangers of Scotland in the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. “The best thing for me was that we made it from the bottom to the very top,” Maier later said.
And it was by no means the end of his time at the top earning silverware. Maier helped Bayern to four Bundesliga titles (1969, 1972, 1973, 1974) and DFB Cups (1966, 1967, 1969, 1971) each. He was in goal as the Bavarians won a hat-trick of European Cups in 1974, 1975 and 1976, as well as the Intercontinental Cup in 1976. But it wasn’t just at club level where Maier made his mark. He lifted the 1972 European Championship and 1974 World Cup with Germany. He was named the country’s Footballer of the Year on three occasions, while in 1978 he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and was later named Germany’s Goalkeeper of the Century.
A pioneer as goalkeeping coach
Maier stayed in football and with his boyhood club even after hanging up his gloves. He spent many years working as goalkeeping coach with Bayern and the national team, being credited with revolutionising how goalkeepers trained. “As a goalkeeping coach, it was always important for me that training was as diverse as possible because I didn’t have that when I was playing. Back then it was just about breaking you. It’s much better when you do a drill five or six times with focus than 30 times in a row. You don’t face the same shot 30 times in a match,” Maier explained.
It wasn’t just Maier’s performances in goal that endeared him so much, but also his always heartfelt and funny demeanour. This Wednesday marks the goalkeeping legend’s 80th birthday, and we at fcbayern.com wish him all the best!
Hear more from Maier talking about goalkeeping with Manuel Neuer: