"Never even thought about it": Why Cerny never left 1860 Munich
To this day, the Austrian remains the undisputed Bundesliga record player for the "Löwen", to whom he remained loyal until the end of his career. Now he spoke about the reasons.
Last Friday, TSV 1860 Munich delivered a true spectacle in the Regionalliga Bayern top match against TSV Buchbach.
Thanks to a goal from Lance Fielder in the fifth minute of stoppage time, the "Löwen" won 4:3, overtook their rivals, and thus secured second place. 1860 legend Harald Cerny also witnessed the goal festival live on site.
Long Rise, Sudden Fall
To this day, the 53-year-old is the undisputed Bundesliga record player for the "Sechzger" with 238 appearances, having been under contract there from January 1996 until the end of his career in summer 2007.
In the prelude to the home game against Buchbach, he gave an interview to "BR". Asked why he remained loyal to the "Löwen" for so long, he said: "Because we experienced incredibly beautiful times. It felt like it went uphill every year - until the relegation to the second division."
"I'm happy with that"
Team spirit and the feel-good factor also played a role. "We always had a great team, it was a lot of fun. I felt comfortable there, with my family too," Cerny recalled. Therefore, he never had the thought of leaving.
There were indeed offers. "But there was never anything where I said: 'I absolutely have to do that.' And in retrospect, I'm happy with it," he explained.
17 Appearances for the Great Rival
Cerny now works as a scout at 1. FC Köln.
As a player, the 47-time ÖFB national team player was developed at Admira; from there, he moved to FC Bayern in 1992, where he made 17 appearances (one goal, two assists), but couldn't establish himself. Two years later, he returned to Südstadt for half a year and then transferred to FC Tirol.
At the beginning of 1996, the then 22-year-old signed with the "Löwen" and ultimately became an icon for them.
