5 Greatest German Managers of all time
Germany has always been an apex predator dominating as one of the top forces in football for over seven decades. Since sending sudden shock waves across the globe with the 1954 World Cup triumph the European side has rarely been shaken from the prime position.
Deutschland has always been the hub for producing some of the finest teams, players, and, crucially, managers at both club and International levels. Even though the national team may have been in a rough patch recently, the country still holds the name for having some of the greatest German managers in history.
Let’s have a deeper dive. and see where the Icon ranks among the managers of all time.
5.Helmut Schon 1952 – 1984
“I wanted to be everything apart from a football manager,” said Helmut Schon, one of the legendary coaches who got things his way. Germany made sure to not miss out on one of their sharpest tactical minds and the rest is history.
Schon chose to leave the mundane banking and journalism life to build a world of ‘Total Football’ which was laid by Johan Cruyff’s Netherlands in the West German national team. This new cutting-edge approach defined high pressing and positional interchange creating a foundation with Germany’s triumph at Euro 1972 and in the World Cup two years later. However, Schon’s side defeated none other than the Netherlands itself in the final.
| Managerial Career | |
|---|---|
| Notable teams | Germany national team |
| Major trophies | World Cup, European Championships |
| Individual awards | N/A |
Sepp Herberger’s influence has been spread wide all over German football, with a career spanning three decades which was put to a stop by the Second World War, Herberger again restarted the engine and drove the national football team back together past the horrific conflict, straight towards a 1954 World Cup crown against all odds to provide a broken country with a moment of pride to rest upon.
The former assistant to Otto Nerz who worked under the Nazi regime remained detached from politics and was dealing with hyperinflation and huge casualties after the war. That provided the courage to instill the pillars of identity for Deutschland football which remains to date. The words for success are “one-third skill, one-third togetherness, one-third luck”. The coach certainly had all three facets in abundance.
| Managerial Career | |
|---|---|
| Notable teams | Germany national team, Eintracht Frankfurt |
| Major trophies | World Cup |
| Individual awards | N/A |
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A Hero out of Hollywood sports movie fits the life of Jurgen Klopp. Being a huge fan of the Rocky series, he has enjoyed a career similar, with underdog triumphs that even go beyond Sylvester Stallone. After taking Mainz to the German top flight for the first time in the club’s history, Klopp defied the Bundesliga odds to establish a hierarchy by leading Borussia Dortmund to a pair of consecutive league titles at the expense of rivals Bayern Munich.
In an era when of Premier League domination by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, Klopp rose and somehow managed to keep Liverpool in the race with the economic giants. Between 2016 and 2024, eight English clubs had a better net spend than the Merseyside miracle workers, including even Aston Villa and West Ham.
Klopp once said.”The world is not full of winners, the world is full of triers, I prefer to try to win.”
| Managerial Career | |
|---|---|
| Notable teams | Mainz, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool |
| Major trophies | Champions League, Premier League, Bundesliga (x2), FA Cup, DFB Pokal, League Cup (x2), UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup |
| Individual awards | German Manager of the Year (x3), Best FIFA Men’s Coach (x2), Premier League Manager of the Season (x2), LMA Manager of the Year (x2) |
2.Jupp Heynckes:1978 – 2018
Once Jupp Heynckes hissed irritably to a reporter that “Monchengladbach is my club”, but no one was ever such a Bayern Munich loyal in the rich history of Germany’s biggest teams. With no fewer than four spells as Bayern’s manager the former Gladbach striker stacked up a collection of silverware sadly did not earn him enough credit.
Heynckes was called out by former Bayer Leverkusen coach Christoph Daum as “suited for sleeping pill ads”. However, this image haunted the German playing a key role in his Real Madrid sacking despite leading the Spanish giants to their first European Cup in three decades. Heynckes returned to Bayern and completed the European treble in 2013 but was still replaced by the upcoming Pep Guardiola. Finally, a stellar career like his needs to be more appreciated.
| Managerial Career | |
|---|---|
| Notable teams | Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid |
| Major trophies | Champions League (x2), Bundesliga (x4), DFB Pokal |
| Individual awards | FIFA World Coach of the Year, German Football Manager of the Year (x2) |
1.Ottmar Hitzfeld :1983 – 2014
“In football, you are judged only by results, there are no style points.” were the golden words of Ottmar Hitzfeld. Based on the glairy metric of silverware, few can challenge Hitzfeld. After establishing himself as a serial champion in Switzerland, Hitzfeld took the stride and led Borussia Dortmund to European glory in 1997.
Beyond the mastermind, Hitzfeld always added a human touch. Matthias Sammer’s change into a sweeper by the German genius turned into a 1996 Ballon d’Or moment for the payer. Moreover, he hailed his coach’s ability as “master leadership outside of the sporting realm”. This unique blend of empathy and analysis helped Hitzfeld to overcome the heartbreak of the 1999 Champions League final losing to Manchester United and took Bayern Munich to the continental summit two years later.
| Managerial Career | |
|---|---|
| Notable teams | Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Switzerland national team |
| Major trophies | Champions League (x2), Bundesliga (x7), Swiss Super League (x2), DFB Pokal (x3), Swiss Cup (x2), Intercontinental Cup |
| Individual awards | German Football Manager of the Year, UEFA Coach of the Year |
FAQ
Who is the greatest German manager of all time?
Ottmar Hitzfeld
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