OTTMAR HITZFELD

Ottmar Hitzfeld

'Ottmar Hitzfeld' (born 12 January 1949 in Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg) is a German former football player and manager, now serving in his second stint with FC Bayern Munich. With a total of sixteen major titles, mostly accumulated in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, the trained mathematics teacher is not only the most successful German coach, but also one of the most outstanding in the history of the game. Twice he was elected "World Coach of the Year". Also, besides the legendary Ernst Happel, he is the only manager to win the European Cup/UEFA Champions League with two different clubs.

Contents
Career as player
Career as Coach
Dortmund
Munich
Managerial stats
Career overview

Career as player


Ottmar Hitzfeld played in the late 1960s with TuS Stetten and FV Lörrach in the lower German leagues before he captured the attention of Swiss first division team FC Basel. He joined the club, located on the other bank of the Rhine, in 1971. With this club the forward won the Swiss championship in 1972 and 1973, in the latter season even contributing as the top striker of Switzerland. In 1975 also he won the cup with Basel.
He retained his amateur status in order to be able to participate in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. There he played, amongst others also with Uli Hoeness, the later Bayern Munich player and general manager who would hire him as coach in the late 1990s. One of the highlights of this tournament was the first encounter of national sides of West and East Germany on the football pitch. West Germany lost this match 2-3 and thus failed to reach the semi-finals. In this match Hitzfeld scored one of the five goals he made in the course of the tournament.
In 1975, the 26 year old Hitzfeld accepted an offer by the then German second division side VfB Stuttgart. After two years, in which Hitzfeld scored 33 goals in 55 league matches - in one match he even scored six goals, which is still a record - the team achieved promotion to the first division, the Bundesliga. There the club finished the season a remarkable fourth. Hitzfeld contributed to this five goals in 22 matches.
After three years with Stuttgart Hitzfeld returned to what by then had become his second home, Switzerland. There he played from 1978 to 1980 with FC Lugano before joining FC Luzern, where he finished his playing career in 1983, aged 34.

Career as Coach


Ottmar Hitzfeld got his first coaching position with FC Zug where he stayed for a year. In 1984 he followed an offer to coach FC Aarau where he settled for four years. His tenure there was crowned with his first title as coach, the 1988 Swiss Cup. By then he had attracted also the attention of the major Swiss club Grasshopper in Zürich. Between 1988 and 1991 he amassed there another four trophies, starting with a repeat of his cup victory by the end of his first season. The next year he followed up with the double before finishing his engagement with the defence of the Swiss Championship in 1991.
Dortmund

In this year Hitzfeld received an offer from the then rather unsuccessful Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, a club which had its last successes in the 1950s and 60s and which had just finished the season 10th. In his first year he - and his assistant Michael Henke, whom he would collaborate with for the next 13 years - took the team to second spot in the league, securing a UEFA Cup place. By the end of the following season the club had reached the finals of this competition, but both matches were lost against highly fancied Juventus. By 1995 he for the first time took Dortmund to the pinnacle of German football, their first trophy since the 1966 Cup Winners Cup, and their fourth overall win of the Championship. 1995-96 saw a successful defence of the title, but the great triumph had to wait for another year: in 1997 Dortmund only finished third in the league but reached the Champions League final where another encounter with Juventus lurked. This time Borussia prevailed 3-1 against the team from northern Italy which had such highly ranked players like Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps and Christian Vieri in their ranks.
For his success Hitzfeld was rewarded for the first time with the "World Coach of the Year" award, but as frictions with the team had come to a head he was promoted out of the firing line to the position of sports manager with the club, where he could witness his successor Nevio Scala taking the team to Intercontinental Cup honours, a success which prolonged the tenure of the Italian only marginally, if at all.
Munich

By 1998 Ottmar Hitzfeld was ready to take on a new challenge. Germany's most successful club was in search for a coach who could consolidate an array of stars to a competitive unit. Hitzfeld, who by then had acquired the nickname "the general" would not disappoint. In his first year he took the club to renewed championship glories, winning the league title and being finalists in the German Cup. Most important was their run to the the Champions League final. This final is remembered for the dramatic Manchester United comeback inside a frantic and remarkable stoppage time period which saw United scoring two goals, which condemned Bayern to a stunning defeat.
In the next season domestic success was improved upon with Bayern winning the double whilst in the new European campaign Bayern was stopped in the semi-final by eventual winners Real Madrid.
2000-01 Hitzfeld led Bayern not only to the league championship hattrick, but once again into the Champions League final, with successfully completing a revenge mission against Manchester United and defending champions Real Madrid enroute. This time the side from Munich prevailed, albeit it took a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Valencia CF. This made Hitzfeld only the second coach after Ernst Happel to win the major European trophy with two different teams. Again, he found himself recognized with the honour of "World Coach", but this time he was also allowed to preside over his team in the ensuing Intercontinental cup final against Boca Juniors from Buenos Aires. A sole goal by Ghanean defender Samuel Kuffour in extra-time made it an evening to celebrate for ''the general'' and his team.
By then the team had a tendency to put in lacklustre performances and in the end had to make do with third place in the league. In the season 2002-03 Bayern once more dominated German football by winning the double, but the team again performed less than artfully. When this was followed by a season of even less impressive football, yielding no title, the club renounced the remaining year of the contract of the 55 year old coach.
Ottmar Hitzfeld had an offer to take over the reins of the German national team, and doubtless numerous calls - but preferred to take a break from the game to which he has contributed so much until he took over at Bayern again on 1 February 2007 following the sacking of Felix Magath. Hitzfeld had an immediate impact, helping Bayern to move in contention for the league title and defeating Real Madrid in the round of 16 in the Champions League, overcoming a 3-2 loss in the first leg. Initially planning to only stay for the remainder of the season, he was persuaded to accept a one-year extension to his contract.
After his team was knocked out by AC Milan in the quarter
-finals of the Champions League and effectively losing a spot for next season's elite European competition he will be overlooking a total overhaul of the current Bayern Munich team letting many star players go in the process.
Managerial stats


aHe won 2 games in the 3rd Qualification Round.
bBayern Munich were already eliminated from the DFB Cup.
Team Year Regular Season Domestic Cup Europe
WDLPtsFinishWLWin%ResultWDLResult
BVB91/22012652'2nd'11.500'3rd Round' - - - -
BVB92/31851141'4th'31.750'4th Round'605'Lost to Juventus in UEFA Cup Final Round.'
BVB93/41591039'4th'11.500'2nd Round'431'Lost to Inter Milan in UEFA Cup Quarter Final.'
BVB94/5209549'1st'11.5002nd Round612'Lost to Juventus in UEFA Cup Semi Finals.'
BVB95/61911468'1st'31.750'QF'233'Lost to Ajax in UEFA Champions League Quarter Finals.'
BVB96/7196963'3rd'01.000'1st Round'911'Won UEFA Champions League.'
BVB Total 1115235312 96.6002188 -
FCB98/9246478'1st'51.833''Finalist'632'Lost to Manchester United in UEFA Champions League Final'
FCB99/00227573'1st'601.000'Won Cup'853'Lost to Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals.'
FCB00/1196963'1st'11.500'2nd Round'1432'Won UEFA Champions League.
FCB01/2208668'3rd'41.800'SF'851'Lost to Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals
FCB02/3236575'1st'601.000'Won Cup'2a24'Exit UEFA Champions League at the 1st Group Stage.'
FCB03/4208668'2nd'31.750'QF'242'Lost to Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League Round of 16.'
FCB Total 1284135425 254.862 402214 -
FCB06/761519'4th' 0 0 - -b112'Lost to AC Milan in UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals.'
FCB Total82526 00 - - 112
Combined FCB Total1364340451 254.862 412316
Total 2479575836 3410.773 613124

Career overview


Career as Player
PeriodClubTitles
1960-67TuS Stetten
1967-71FV Lörrach
1971-75FC Basel1972 - Championship
1973 - Championship
1975 - Swiss Cup
1975-78VfB Stuttgart
1978-80FC Lugano
1980-83FC Luzern
  • 1973 - Top scorer of Switzerland (18 goals)
  • Career as Coach
    PeriodClubTitles
    1983-84FC Zug
    1984-88FC Aarau1985 - Swiss Cup
    1988-91Grasshopper Club Zürich1989 - Swiss Cup
    1990 - Swiss Cup
    1990 - Championship
    1991 - Championship
    1991-97Borussia Dortmund1995 - Championship
    1996 - Championship
    1997 - UEFA Champions League
    1998-04FC Bayern Munich1999 - Championship
    2000 - German Cup
    2000 - Championship
    2001 - Championship
    2001 - UEFA Champions League
    2001 - Intercontinental Cup
    2003 - German Cup
    2003 - Championship
    2007 - currentFC Bayern Munich
  • 1997 - "World Coach of the Year"
  • 2001 - "World Coach of the Year"


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