A few decades ago Anton Bönig was one of the top talents in football. His three sons Vincent, Sebastian and Philipp are also no strangers.
Freising - Born in Freising, had what it takes to become a professional and shaped the local football scene for many years as a successful striker and then as a coach. Years ago he pulled out of the soccer business.
Mr Bönig, you know most of the region's older football fans as excellent footballers and coaches. What are your footballing roots?
Anton Bönig: I took my first steps in football under the then “tough dog” Toni Knöferl in the school and youth area at FC Eintracht Freising. As the youngest, I "was allowed" to kick points for much older players and with more or less success. Training and games took place on the humped square next to the Freising pool and therefore no comparison with the very good places in the Savoy Au today. After a few games in the Upper Bavaria and Bayern selection, FC Bayern became aware of me and I finally switched to the B youth team of FC Bayern and became a regular player with the amateurs. There were inconsistencies with the then manager Robert Schwan regarding a professional contract. Therefore I switched back to my home club FC Eintracht Freising in the 1st team. The most important trainer during this time was the "Henner Bursch", who unfortunately has already passed away. Since I have always liked to criticize coaches, I wanted to try it myself as a player coach at the age of 28. It worked out pretty well and was a lot of fun.
The promotion to the Bayernliga
Then the change came to Eching.
Exactly, a great year. When I was about 30, I kicked under coach Anton Plattner for TSV Eching in the Landesliga. With 30 goals from me and 28 goals from Wolfgang Leitl, we rose to the Bayern League. It was a very successful sporting time. After that, I directed the training at FC Eintracht Freising for a year based on an oral promise and switched to FC Mossinning as a coach. With Moosinning we rose to the national league shortly thereafter. I am still affiliated with this club today and used to play in the AH until around 50 years old. Later there was an intermezzo in the state league of Himolla Taufkirchen. We were relegated back then. It shouldn't be.
"I wanted to be a professional"
Did you have the dream as a teenager to have a really great career as a professional?
My goal was to become a professional, but not at all costs. Even back then there were great players and talents who didn't make it, because there is simply a lot more to it - including luck - to be able to go this way. I was by no means disappointed.
How did you balance football and your professional life?
Professional life and football can only be brought together if the family, and especially the wife, of course, participate in this "madness". And I was really lucky.
What has changed in your life when the sporting focus was over.
What I find particularly positive for me is the fact that I still have contact with many companions, players, coaches and even board members. We'll see each other, and there have been many friendships that cannot exist in the professional field.
All three sons are successfully active in football business
What are the three sons Philipp, Sebastian and Vincent doing, who are no strangers to the football scene?
Of course, I am still connected to football through the success of my three sons. Philipp (40 years) was about ten years Bundesliga professional at Duisburg and Bochum and the last two years at Ferencvaros Budapest and was again Hungarian cup winner. Now he's in the coaching business. First in Wolfratshausen and this season with the regional league team VfR Garching, whom he left after the preliminary round. However, he now makes football as a hobby. He works in a full-time job. Sebastian was also a professional in the 2nd Bundesliga for a long time, first with LR Ahlen and later with Union Berlin. With the Berliners, he rose to the 1st Bundesliga as a long-time assistant coach. He is currently facing the soccer teacher exam and could then target a head coaching post. Wait and see. The youngest son, Vincent (Fritzi), was a German champion with FC Bayern's youth and then played for Ingolstadt and Viktoria Wien under coach Toni Polster. He has not been active for a few years due to time and professional reasons, which is a shame. Like Sebastian, he lives in Berlin.
What is your life like today? What connection do you have to football? Do you still play in a team?
Up until two years ago, I was in charge of the Dachau youth welfare office and now I do specialist controlling for a few hours a week. I am also studying sociology and psychology as part of a so-called senior study at the LMU Munich. Until recently, I was still a lay judge or lay judge at the Landshut district court. I have now given up this job for reasons of age. Of course, I still enjoy watching football games, preferably Union Berlin or my sons' teams. I also like to see the activities of my two granddaughters Emily and Laura (athletics and gymnastics).
Anton Bönig keeps fit with the "champions"
How do you keep fit? Or does sport no longer matter to you?
FC Moosinning has had a leisure team (the “champions”) for about 30 years, which meets every Sunday and has kept my tired bones reasonably fit to this day, but above all it is a lot of fun.
What are your ideas for the future?
I am very positive about the future and I can only hope that everyone will be as well as we are.
