Johannes Christian "Hans" Pflügler (born 27 March 1960) is a German former professional footballer. He could operate as either a left-back or a central defender, and played solely for Bayern Munich, winning ten major titles and appearing in nearly 400 official games.

Hans Pflügler
Personal information
Full name Johannes Christian Pflügler
Date of birth (1960-03-27) 27 March 1960 (age 64)[1]
Place of birth Freising, West Germany[1]
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1967–1975 SV Vötting-Weihenstephan
1975–1979 Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1982 Bayern Munich II
1981–1992 Bayern Munich 276 (36)
1992–1997 Bayern Munich II 66 (6)
1995 Bayern Munich 1 (0)
1997–2001 Eintracht Freising
2001–2002 Bayern Munich II 32 (4)
2002–2005 Eintracht Freising
Total 375 (46)
International career
1987–1990 West Germany 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Pflügler represented West Germany at the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1988, winning the former tournament.

Club career

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Born in Freising, Pflügler made his professional debut in 1981–82[2] with the only club he ever knew, local FC Bayern Munich. In his first season he was an unused substitute in the European Cup Final.

After two experimental seasons he became first-choice, scoring a total of 27 Bundesliga goals from 1983 to 1988 and playing all the matches and minutes in the 1986–87 European Cup, as the team finally finished second to FC Porto.[3]

After helping the Bavarians to five leagues and three cups, Pflügler only managed to make 14 appearances in the 1991–92 campaign, and decided to retire. However, a flood of injuries to the side in 1995 prompted a request by manager Giovanni Trapattoni which the player accepted, appearing on 8 April in a home game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern where he was also booked; even more astonishingly, he spent the entire 2001–02 with the B team in Regionalliga Süd, helping them to a final tenth place at the age of 42.[4]

International career

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Pflügler earned 11 caps for the Germany national team, making his debut on 25 March 1987 in a friendly with Israel.[5] He was selected for the squad at the following year's UEFA European Championship.

Pflügler was also picked for the 1990 FIFA World Cup as Andreas Brehme's backup, playing 90 minutes of the 1–1 group-stage draw against Colombia for the eventual champions.[6]

Personal life

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Pflügler is an engineer with a diploma.[7] He was also connected with Bayern's merchandising departments, where he already worked before being summoned out of retirement for the first time.[8]

Pflügler also operated Pension Pflügler, in his hometown.[9]

Honours

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Bayern Munich

Germany

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Hans Pflügler at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ Arnhold, Matthias. "Johannes Christian 'Hansi' Pflügler – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Bayern v Porto background". UEFA. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Die Klasse von 1990" [The class of 1990]. Die Zeit (in German). July 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  5. ^ Arnhold, Matthias. "Johannes Christian 'Hansi' Pflügler – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Rincón clasificó a Colombia" [Rincón qualified Colombia]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 20 June 1990. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  7. ^ "Die Mannschaft ist hungrig" [The national team is hungry] (in German). 11 Freunde. 19 April 2008. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  8. ^ Mayr, Walter (3 May 1998). "Wie gegen eine Wand" [Like hitting a wall]. Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  9. ^ Franke, Reinhard (22 June 2009). "Der rote Rückpass (16): Hans Pflügler" [The red back-pass (16): Hans Pflügler]. Abendzeitung (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Deutscher Supercup, 1987, Finale" [German Supercup, 1987, Final] (in German). German Football Association. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Deutscher Supercup, 1990, Finale" [German Supercup, 1990, Final] (in German). German Football Association. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
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