Guido Buchwald

Defender Guido Buchwald was on the West German football team that lost their quarter-final against Yugoslavia 5-2, and finished fifth at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He won 76 full international caps scoring four goals, and he also played with the Olympic team nine times, netting just one goal. His greatest moment came in 1990 when he was on the winning team at the FIFA World Cup when they beat Argentina five minutes from the end of the match with a penalty converted by Andy Brehme. Therefore, the team and all players were awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award.

Domestically, Buchwald played with Stuttgarter Kickers (1979-83) and VfB Stuttgart (1983-94) helping the latter to win the German Championship in 1984 and 1992. In total, he played 325 Bundesliga matches and scored 28 goals. He then moved to Japan and played with Urawa Red Diamonds from 1994-97. Returning to Germany, he played with Karlsruher SC for one more season before retiring.

After his active career Buchwald became a coach in 1999 and worked as sports manager and coach with several clubs in Germany and Japan. In 2005 and 2006, he won the Japanese Cup with Urawa Red Diamonds, and the Japanese Championship in 2006, when he was Japan’s Soccer Coach of the Year. Buchwald additionally worked as an Asian football scout. He was also on the board of his own output and document management systems producing company.