Paul Agostino played a key role in 1860 s successful campaign 20 years ago and the club great told Stats Perform News: Top-flight football was normal for 1860. We were regularly mixing it with the big boys. We had a very good squad, with big-name players.
Now 1860, being in the second division for a while, dropping all the way down to the fourth tier and now in the third division for a couple of years, it s very strange. It doesn t suit the fanbase because at the moment, the best thing about the club would be their fans. They are absolutely top-flight quality, big numbers, passionate fans. One of the best, loyal supporters you ll find in Germany.
After finishing ninth in 1998-99, things clicked for 1860 the following season. Led by Werner Lorant at Olympic Stadium, the club beat champions Bayern home and away as they earned a place in the top four, ahead of the likes of Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg, Stuttgart, Werder Bremen and 11th-placed Borussia Dortmund.
1860 s Martin Max topped the Bundesliga s goalscoring charts with 19 goals, while former Australia international Agostino contributed eight of his own, before the team lost 3-1 on aggregate to Leeds United in the third round of Champions League qualifying. They also faced a star-studded Parma side, boasting Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram, in the UEFA Cup in 2000, but it soon went downhill.
We d actually thought we d keep going further up. That was the pinnacle of 1860, where the club, president and old coach, once we d qualified, they wanted to make Champions League qualifying the norm, the 45-year-old Agostino said, while revealing former sponsor Lowenbrau would deliver slabs of beers at the training ground after every win.
They didn t want to just stay there, they want to really cement their place and be a top-six Bundesliga side. They made some investments but it just didn t work out the following season and it spiralled downhill. Everyone thought we d continue on our rise but in the end, it went the opposite way.
Unfortunately, purchasing Allianz Stadium with Bayern, there was a big financial burden there, which caused a lot of strain on the club. The club had to play second division and still had these high running costs. They weren t prepared for that. There were some calculation mistakes there. They were going big guns and it didn t pay off. Quick rise and a quick fall I guess.
Agostino arrived from Bristol City in 1997 and while he went on to become an 1860 favourite – equal ninth on the club s all-time list for goals scored with 54 having departed in 2007 – the initial transition from English to German football was far from easy.
I had to really adjust and step up, because the fitness level was outrageous and the training sessions were unbelievable, he said. I remember after the first few weeks and telling my family I d never seen anything like it. That initial phase was tough. To prove my worth, at the start, my first few games I was booed by the crowd. I remember one game, it might ve been against [Arminia] Bielefeld in 1997-98 – I was on the bench and a player got sent off. The coach looked to the bench and I just thought, don t look at me because I m not a left winger . And he did, he looked at me and told me to get ready for the left wing. I thought, oh no , first game at the Olympic Stadium and he s put me on the left wing. I couldn t get past the player, even if I had a jet rocket tied to my back. I had a terrible game, a shocking game. I gave my best. We were a man down, which made it worse. When the whistle blew, I remember walking down the tunnel and the 1860 fans were just giving it to me, telling me to go back where I came from. I remember hearing all that and thinking, I ll win you over, I ll prove it .
Month by month, in that first season, I did. Another away game, where I came on again and managed to score. The tide turned. It became better and better, and I became one of the boys, locals. I just loved it. I loved the way we treated each other. I always had time to give to the fans. Whenever a little kid wanted a shirt, I always gave them my shirt off my back. Even we sat down and had a beer. There were a lot of fan clubs around Munich and sometimes for a Christmas party, players would be allocated to visit a fan club. One time, I just sat there with them, and instead of getting around some questions, I just ended up having four, five beers with them. It was great fun. Things don t work that ways these days, but we didn t have training the next day. That gets around and how I became one of them. I still have that respect probably today. I don t get stopped in the street but I get that look, they know. They look at you and I think they re 1860 supporters.
I was probably playing some of my best football, Agostino added on the 1999-00 season. It was, even for me, also some other clubs interested in me. But at the same time, I didn t want to go anywhere. I was of the same opinion that 1860 were going to have some good times.
No one saw it coming. All the more disappointing it was. Sometimes, football is disappointing and you don t know why it happened. Like, how come it clicked to finish fourth but not when the team slipped down the ladder? It s hard to stop the downward trend.
