Ottmar Hitzfeld

Personal information
Ottmar Hitzfeld

Full name	Ottmar Hitzfeld
Date of birth	January 12, 1949 (1949-01-12) (age 60)
Place of birth	Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Switzerland (Manager)
Youth clubs
1960-1967	TuS Stetten
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1967-1971 1971-1975 1975-1978 1978-1980 1980-1983	FV Lörrach FC Basel VfB Stuttgart FC Lugano FC Luzern	77 (38)
National team
1972	W. Germany Olympic team
Teams managed
1983-1984 1984-1988 1988-1991 1991-1997 1998-2004 2007-2008 2008-	FC Zug FC Aarau Grasshopper Club Zürich Borussia Dortmund FC Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich Switzerland
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Ottmar Hitzfeld (born 12 January 1949 in Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg) is a German former football player and manager,^[1] nicknamed der General ("the general").^[2]

With a total of 18 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.

He currently holds the position as coach of the Swiss national football team.^[1]

1 Career as player
2 Career as coach
3 Honours
- 3.1 As Player
- 3.2 As Coach
4 References

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.^[3] 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.^[1] In 1975 also he won the cup with Basel.^[4]

He retained his amateur status in order to be able to participate in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. There he played amongst others 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^[5] - 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.^[5]

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

Switzerland

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 gained there another four trophies, starting with a repeat of his cup victory by the end of his first season.^[6] The next year he followed up with the double before finishing his engagement with the defence of the Swiss Championship in 1991.^[7]

Dortmund

In 1991 Hitzfeld received an offer from Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, which had just finished the season tenth. 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 an UEFA Cup place. The following season Dortmund reached the finals of this competition, but both matches were lost against Juventus. In 1995 he gained his first German championship with Dortmund, their first trophy since the 1966 Cup Winners' Cup, and Hitzfeld's first trophy in Germany. 1995–96 saw a successful defence of the title, but the great triumph had to wait for another year: in 1997 Dortmund finished third in the league, but reached the Champions League final where another encounter with Juventus was due. This time Borussia prevailed 3–1 in Olympic Stadium Munich against the team from northern Italy which featured Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps, and Christian Vieri amongst others.

For his success Hitzfeld was rewarded for the first time with the "World Coach of the Year" award,^[2] 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 witnessed his successor Nevio Scala taking the team to Intercontinental Cup honours.

Munich

In 1998 Ottmar Hitzfeld was hired by Germany's most successful club, FC Bayern Munich. In his first year he led the club to renewed championship glories, winning the league title by a record margin. The club lost the German Cup final to Werder Bremen on penalites, though. Most important was their run to the Champions League final. The final is remembered for the dramatic Manchester United comeback inside the injury time period. Trailing 1–0 Manchester scored two goals in stoppage time, condemning Bayern to a stunning defeat.

In the next season domestic success was improved upon with Bayern winning the double. After winning by a record margin last season Bayern won on a heartbeat finish this season. Hitzfeld's team depended on the neighbours from Unterhaching to beat Leverkusen on the last day play to secure the title. The cup final was won against Werder, the team which beat Bayern in the previous final. In the Champions League 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, defeating Manchester United and defending champions Real Madrid en route. This time the side from Munich prevailed, albeit it took a penalty shoot-out against Valencia. 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 of the Year",^[7] but this time he remained in control 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, claiming the league title four game days before the end of the season. With a 3–1 win over Kaiserslautern Hitzfeld's team secured another double. When this was followed by a season of 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, but preferred to take a break from the game.^[8] On February 1 2007, following the sacking of Felix Magath, he returned to Bayern Munich. Hopes that he might lead Bayern to another championship,^[9] despite trailing by eight points with 15 games remaining were not fulfilled, though. Eventually Bayern finished fourth, therby failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in more than a decade.

A multi-million spending spree before the new season helped Hitzfeld to lead the club to a new phase of domestic dominance, winning the DFB-Ligapokal, the DFB-Pokal, and the 2007-08 championship. After severeal high wins and lots of draws Bayerns 2007-08 UEFA Cup campaign ended in the semi-final with a humbling 4–0 defeat by eventual winner Zenit St. Petersburg. During the season Hitzfeld had announced, that he was not available for another season at the helm. Jürgen Klinsmann became his successor at Bayern.

Swiss national team

Hitzfeld took over as coach of the Swiss national team in summer 2008.^[1]

Statistics

^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
Team	Year	W	D	L	Pts	Finish	W	L	Win%	Result	W	D	L	Result
BVB	1991-92	20	12	6	52	2^nd	1	1	.500	3rd Round	-	-	-	-
BVB	1992-93	18	5	11	41	4^th	3	1	.750	4th Round	6	0	5	Lost UEFA Cup Final to Juventus.
BVB	1993-94	15	9	10	39	4^th	1	1	.500	2nd Round	4	3	1	Lost to Inter Milan in UEFA Cup Quarter Final.
BVB	1994-95	20	9	5	49	1^st	1	1	.500	2nd Round	6	1	2	Lost to Juventus in UEFA Cup Semi Finals.
BVB	1995-96	19	11	4	68	1^st	3	1	.750	QF	2	3	3	Lost to Ajax in UEFA Champions League Quarter Finals.
BVB	1996-97	19	6	9	63	3^rd	0	1	.000	1st Round	9	1	1	Won UEFA Champions League.
BVB Total		111	52	35	312		9	6	.600		21	8	8	-
FCB	1998-99	24	6	4	78	1^st	5	1	.833	Finalist	6	3	2	Lost to Manchester United in UEFA Champions League Final
FCB	1999-00	22	7	5	73	1^st	6	0	1.000	Won Cup	8	5	3	Lost to Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals.
FCB	2000-01	19	6	9	63	1^st	1	1	.500	2nd Round	14	3	2	Won UEFA Champions League.
FCB	2001-02	20	8	6	68	3^rd	4	1	.800	SF	8	5	1	Lost to Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals
FCB	2002-03	23	6	5	75	1^st	6	0	1.000	Won Cup	2^a	2	4	Exit UEFA Champions League at the 1st Group Stage.
FCB	2003-04	20	8	6	68	2^nd	3	1	.750	QF	2	4	2	Lost to Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
FCB Total		128	41	35	425		25	4	.862		40	22	14	-
FCB	2006-07	8	2	5	27	4^th	0	0	-	-^b	1	1	2	Lost to AC Milan in UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals.
FCB	2007-08	22	10	2	76	1^st	6	0	1.000	Won Cup	6	6	2	Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg in UEFA Cup Semi-Finals
FCB Total		30	12	7	102		6	0	1.000	-	7	7	4
Combined FCB Total		158	53	42	527		31	4	.886		47	29	18
Total		247	95	75	836		34	10	.773		61	31	24

Honours

As Player

2 Swiss Super League (With FC Basel in 1972 and 1973)
1 Swiss Cup (With FC Basel in 1975)
1 Top scorer of Switzerland (1973 with 18 goals)

As Coach

3 Swiss Cup (With FC Aarau in 1985; with Grasshopper Club Zürich in 1989 and 1990)
2 Swiss Super League (With Grasshopper Club Zürich in 1990 and 1991)
7 German championships (With Borussia Dortmund in 1995 and 1996; with FC Bayern Munich in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2008)
3 German Cups (With FC Bayern Munich in 2000, 2003 and 2008)
2 UEFA Champions League (With Borussia Dortmund in 1997; with FC Bayern Munich in 2001)
1 Intercontinental Cup (With FC Bayern Munich in 2001)
2 World Coach of the Year (1997 and 2001)
Voted Bayern Munich's greatest coach ever^[10]

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 "Ottmar Hitzfeld" (in German). weltfussball.de (2008). Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 "Ottmar Hitzfeld, General a.D." (in German). bundesliga.de (May 17 2008). Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
↑ "Ottmar Hitzfeld". transfermarkt.de (July 2008). Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
↑ "1973/74 bis 1982/83" (in German). FC Basel Official Website (2008). Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 "Ottmar Hitzfeld" (in German). fussballdaten.de (2008). Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
↑ "Nationale Erfolge" (in German) (2008). Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 "Ottmar Hitzfeld". WorldSoccer (September 02 2003). Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
↑ "Ottmar Hitzfeld turns down offer to become Germany coach". German News (July 1 2004). Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
↑ You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}."" (2007-02-01). Retrieved on 2008-08-18.
↑ "Fans name greatest Reds of all time". The official FC Bayern Munich Website (2005-06-01). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.

Preceded by Marcello Lippi	UEFA Champions League Winning Coach 1996-97	Succeeded by Jupp Heynckes
Preceded by Vicente Del Bosque	UEFA Champions League Winning Coach 2000-01	Succeeded by Vicente Del Bosque

Borussia Dortmund – Managers

Eppenhoff (1961–64) • Kwiatkowski (1964) • Eppenhoff (1964–65) • Multhaup (1965–66) • Murach (1966–68) • Pfau (1968) • Schneider (1968–69) • Lindemann (1969–70) • Witzler (1970–71) • Burdenski (1972–73) • Brüggemann (1973) • Michallek (1973–74) • Knefler (1974–76) • Rehhagel (1976–78) • Rühl (1978–79) • Maslo (1979) • Lattek (1979–81) • Bock (1981) • Zebec (1981–82) • Feldkamp (1982–83) • Maslo (1983) • Witte (1983) • Tippenhauer (1983) • Franz (1983–84) • Konietzka (1984) • Ribbeck (1984–85) • Csernai (1985–86) • Saftig (1986–88) • Köppel (1988–91) • Hitzfeld (1991–97) • Scala (1997–98) • Skibbe (1998–2000) • Krauss (2000) • Lattek (2000) • Sammer (2000–04) • van Marwijk (2004–06) • Röber (2006–07) • Doll (2007–08) • Klopp (2008–)

FC Bayern Munich – Managers

Čajkovski (1963–68) • Zebec (1968–70) • Lattek (1970–75) • Cramer (1975–77) • Lóránt (1977–79) • Csernai (1979–83) • Saftig (1983) • Lattek (1983–87) • Heynckes (1987–91) • Lerby (1991–92) • Ribbeck (1992–93) • Beckenbauer (1994) • Trapattoni (1994–95) • Rehhagel (1995–96) • Beckenbauer (1996) • Trapattoni (1996–98) • Hitzfeld (1998–2004) • Magath (2004–07) • Hitzfeld (2007–08) • Klinsmann (2008–)

Switzerland national football team – Managers

Rappan (1960–63) • Foni (1964–67) • Ballabio (1967–69) • Hussy (1970) • Maurer (1970–71) • Hussy (1973–76) • Vonlanthen (1977–79) • Walker (1979–80) • Wolfisberg (1980–85) • Jeandupeux (1986–89) • Stielike (1989–91) • Hodgson (1992–95) • Artur Jorge (1996) • Fringer (1996–97) • Gress (1998–99) • Trossero (2000–01) • Kuhn (2001–08) • Hitzfeld (2008–)