Former soccer coach Christoph Daum died yesterday at the age of 70. Daum was a coach at Blauw-Zwart during the 2011-2012 season. He had been suffering from lung cancer for several years and eventually passed away from that disease.
Christoph Daum was born in the East German town of Oelsnitz/Erzgreb. on Oct. 24, 1953. The German will be remembered by many Club fans for the "Daum score. The German coach often drew with Blauw-Zwart by winning 1-0. Daum would end up helming 31 games at Club between 2011 and 2012 and was particularly well-liked in Bruges.
The East German achieved his greatest successes as a coach. As a player, he was active in his homeland with Hamborn O7, Duisburg and the second team of Köln. In 1981 he became first trainer with the same team. As assistant coach of the first team, he learned the tricks of the trade alongside ex-Club coach Georg Kessler, among others.
Via successful spells at teams such as Stuttgart, Leverkussen, Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe, he ended up at Blauw-Zwart in November 2011. At Bruges' top club, Daum rebounded as a coach. The German would eventually guide Club to second place, which entitled them to participation in the preliminary round of the Champions League the following season. However, Club did not grasp that with Daum. The German returned home for private reasons.
Daum later admitted in his biography that he regretted his departure from Brugge: "If Verhaeghe would have tried more, he would probably have convinced me to stay. I regret ending the partnership myself.'
So despite a handsome season, the practice master did not pick up any prizes at Club; he did at other clubs. A small anthology: German national champion and Super Cup winner with Stuttgart, the double with Austria Wien, Turkish national champion with Fenerbahçe (twice) and Beşiktaş and also Super Cup winner with the two top Turkish clubs.
Christoph Daum finally quit as coach in September 2017, his last passage was one as national coach with Romania. Daum eventually turned 70 and had been suffering from lung cancer for several years. Rest in peace, Christoph.