Markus Münch (footballer)

Born in Nußloch, West Germany, Münch played as a youth for SV Sandhausen, before joining Bayern Munich as a 17-year-old in 1990. He made his debut for the club in March 1991, as a substitute for Christian Ziege in a European Cup match against FC Porto, and added two Bundesliga appearances before the end of the season as Bayern finished in second place.

Münch began to establish himself in the first team the following season – his first appearance came in October, when he scored an own goal after replacing Hans Pflügler in a 3–0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund. Eleven days later he scored his first goal at the right end, the second in the 90th minut in a 6–2 UEFA Cup loss against danish B 1903. He played regularly during the second half of the season, finishing on fifteen league appearances in what was a disastrous season for Bayern – they finished in 10th place.

Over the next two seasons Münch made a similar number of appearances, helping Bayern to a Bundesliga title in 1993–94, before leaving at the end of the season in search of first-team football, signing for Bayer Leverkusen.

Münch was a regular first-team player for Leverkusen in the next two years, making over 60 appearances helping them reach the UEFA Cup semi-final in 1994–95, but the following year they were involved in a relegation battle, and were only saved by a goal by Münch on the last day of the season – his 81st-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw with 1. FC Kaiserslautern condemning Lautern to the drop instead.

In July 1996, Münch returned to Bayern Munich but second spell at Bayern turned out to be similar to his first – he made eleven league appearances in 1996–97, winning a second Bundesliga title, but didn't play at all in the first half of the 1997–98 season, and left Bayern for a second time in January 1998, signing for relegation-threatened 1. FC Köln.

He made 13 appearances for Köln, scoring twice, but they were unable to avoid the drop, finishing 17th, and he left the club, signing for Genoa of Italy's Serie B. Genoa finished in 12th place in the 1998–99 season, and in summer 1999 Münch was on the move again, moving to Turkish club Beşiktaş, who were coached by former West Germany international Hans-Peter Briegel.

Münch spent two years with Beşiktaş, finishing second and then fourth, before returning to Germany to sign for Borussia Mönchengladbach, who had just been promoted back to the Bundesliga. He helped Gladbach establish themselves back at this level, finishing 12th in both of the next two seasons, before moving abroad again in 2003, to sign for Panathinaikos in Greece.

Münch's first season with Panathinaikos was hugely successful – they won the League and Cup, and he was voted as the League's best foreign player. He retired from football at the end of the following season, after a second place league finish.

Münch became interested in horse racing when taking a half-share in a horse while still a professional footballer. He trains around 20 racehorses at Chantilly, France and was previously based in Frankfurt, Germany. In April 2016 he trained the three-year-old filly Spectre to win the Group Three Prix Imprudence at Maisons-Laffitte.[2] Spectre went on to finish runner-up in the Group One Prix Du Moulin before travelling to the Breeders Cup in Santa Anita, California.

• Markus Münch at kicker (in German)
• Markus Münch at fussballdaten.de (in German)