Ottmar Hitzfeld
Encyclopedia
Ottmar Hitzfeld is a German former football
player (striker) and manager, nicknamed der General ("the general").
With a total of 18 major titles, mostly accumulated in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund
and Bayern Munich, the trained mathematics and sports teacher is one of the most successful coaches of German and international football. He has been elected "World Coach of the Year" twice. He is one of only three managers to win the European Cup/UEFA Champions League
with two different clubs, along with Ernst Happel and José Mourinho
. He is currently the Head Coach of the Swiss national football team.
. 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 in Switzerland. In 1975 also he won the cup with Basel.
In 1973, while playing at Basel, he graduated from nearby Lörrach college as a teacher of mathematics and sports.
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 between the 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 his five goals in the tournament.
In 1975, the 26 year old Ottmar Hitzfeld accepted an offer by the then German second division side VfB Stuttgart
. At the Swabia
n side, he was part of a legendary "100 goal offense" (the goal difference that season being 100:36) and in one match against SSV Jahn Regensburg he scored six goals. After two years, in 1977, the team achieved promotion to the first division the Bundesliga. Hitzfeld had by that time scored 33 goals in 55 league matches. In the Bundesliga, the club finished the season a remarkable fourth. Hitzfeld contributed five goals in 22 matches.
After three years with Stuttgart, Ottmar 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.
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. The next year he followed up with the double before finishing his engagement with the defence of the Swiss Championship in 1991.
, which had just finished the season tenth. In his first year he and his assistant Michael Henke
, with whom he would collaborate for the next 13 years, took the team to second spot in the league, securing a 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 1989 German 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 Ottmar 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 witnessed his successor Nevio Scala taking the team to Intercontinental Cup
honours.
. 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 Ottmar 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 Ottmar 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", 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
Ottmar 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. On February 1, 2007, following the sacking of Felix Magath
, he returned to Bayern Munich. Hopes that he might lead Bayern to another championship, despite trailing by eight points with 15 games remaining were not fulfilled, though. Eventually Bayern finished fourth, thereby 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 several 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 would not be available for another season at the helm. Jürgen Klinsmann
became his successor at Bayern.
in summer 2008. Switzerland qualified for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, and won the opening match 1–0 against the heavily favoured European Champions, Spain
.
Although Switzerland beat the eventual champions, Spain
, they went on to lose 1-0 against Chile and get a 0-0 draw against Honduras which eliminated their chances of qualifying from the group. Switzerland was the only team to have beaten Spain
during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
A group of FC Luzern supporters were so enraged by Hitzfeld's failure to select David Zibung
for the Swiss national team
that they sent him an open invitation to attend matches with the supporters.
, he can speak fluent English
. Due to his growing up close to the Swiss border, where Alemannic German
dialects are spoken, and then playing and coaching in Switzerland
for decades, he is also able to speak the Swiss German
variant of German, especially that of Basel
(Basel German
), as he has demonstrated in numerous interviews in the Swiss media. In fact, he rarely spoke Standard German
prior to taking over at Dortmund
and had to first learn it properly, therefore being viewed as a Swiss by the local Dortmund media.
FC Basel
FC Aarau
Grasshopper
Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player (striker) and manager, nicknamed der General ("the general").
With a total of 18 major titles, mostly accumulated in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
and Bayern Munich, the trained mathematics and sports teacher is one of the most successful coaches of German and international football. He has been elected "World Coach of the Year" twice. He is one of only three managers to win the European Cup/UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
with two different clubs, along with Ernst Happel and José Mourinho
José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho is a Portuguese football manager and the current manager of Real Madrid. He is commonly known as "The Special One".Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches and critics as the best ever coach in football....
. He is currently the Head Coach of the Swiss national football team.
Career as player
Born in 1949 as the youngest of five children, Ottmar Hitzfeld started playing football 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 BaselFC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 14 times, the third most for any Swiss club. They were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the...
. 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 in Switzerland. In 1975 also he won the cup with Basel.
In 1973, while playing at Basel, he graduated from nearby Lörrach college as a teacher of mathematics and sports.
He retained his amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
status in order to be able to participate in the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. 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 between the 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 his five goals in the tournament.
In 1975, the 26 year old Ottmar Hitzfeld accepted an offer by the then German second division side VfB Stuttgart
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons...
. At the Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
n side, he was part of a legendary "100 goal offense" (the goal difference that season being 100:36) and in one match against SSV Jahn Regensburg he scored six goals. After two years, in 1977, the team achieved promotion to the first division the Bundesliga. Hitzfeld had by that time scored 33 goals in 55 league matches. In the Bundesliga, the club finished the season a remarkable fourth. Hitzfeld contributed five goals in 22 matches.
After three years with Stuttgart, Ottmar Hitzfeld returned to what by then had become his second home, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. There he played from 1978 to 1980 with FC Lugano
AC Lugano
FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was founded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lugano. They play at the Stadio Cornaredo...
before joining FC Luzern, where he finished his playing career in 1983, aged 34.
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 AarauFC Aarau
FC Aarau is a Swiss football club, based in Aarau. They play in the Swiss Challenge League.-History:FC Aarau was formed on 26 May 1902 by workers from a local brewery. The early days of the club were a success and they won the Swiss championship in 1911/12 and then again in 1913/14...
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
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. 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. The next year he followed up with the double before finishing his engagement with the defence of the Swiss Championship in 1991.
Borussia Dortmund
In 1991 Ottmar Hitzfeld received an offer from Bundesliga club Borussia DortmundBorussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
, which had just finished the season tenth. In his first year he and his assistant Michael Henke
Michael Henke
Michael Henke is a German football coach and a former player. His most notable post was managing 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the 2005/06 season for 14 games. He has spent much of his career working as assistant to Ottmar Hitzfeld. After spending the 2009 season with Koln, Henke moved to Iran in order...
, with whom he would collaborate for the next 13 years, took the team to second spot in the league, securing a UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
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
German football champions
The German football champions are the annual winners of the highest association football competition in Germany. The history of the German football championship is complex and reflects the turbulent history of the country through the course of the 20th century.Brought to the country by English...
with Dortmund, their first trophy since the 1989 German Cup
DFB-Pokal 1988–89
The 1988–89 DFB-Pokal was the 46th season of the competition. It began on 6 August 1988 and ended on 24 June 1989. 64 teams competed in the tournament of six rounds. In the final Borussia Dortmund defeated Werder Bremen 4–1.- 1st round :- Replays :...
, 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
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
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
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
, Didier Deschamps
Didier Deschamps
Didier Claude Deschamps is a retired French footballer and current manager of Marseille. He played as a defensive midfielder. As an international, he assisted France with victories in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000...
, and Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri is a retired Italian footballer who played as a centre forward.Vieri was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations...
amongst others.
For his success Ottmar 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 witnessed his successor Nevio Scala taking the team to Intercontinental Cup
Intercontinental Cup (football)
The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
honours.
Bayern Munich
In 1998 Ottmar Hitzfeld was hired by Germany's most successful club, FC Bayern MunichFC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
. In his first year he led the club to renewed championship glories, winning the league title
German football champions
The German football champions are the annual winners of the highest association football competition in Germany. The history of the German football championship is complex and reflects the turbulent history of the country through the course of the 20th century.Brought to the country by English...
by a record margin. The club lost the German Cup
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
final to Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
on penalites, though. Most important was their run to the Champions League final
1999 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1999 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on Wednesday, 26 May 1999. The match was played at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, to determine the winner of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. The final was contested by Manchester United and Bayern Munich...
. 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
The Double
The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
. 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
SpVgg Unterhaching
Spielvereinigung Unterhaching is a German sports club in Unterhaching, a semi-rural municipality on the southern outskirts of the Bavarian capital Munich....
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
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
.
2000–01 Ottmar Hitzfeld led Bayern not only to the league championship hattrick, but once again into the Champions League final
2001 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2001 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at San Siro in Milan, Italy, on 23 May 2001, to decide the winner of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League. The match pitted Bayern Munich against Valencia. The match finished in a 1–1 draw, but Bayern clinched their fourth...
, 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
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
. This made Ottmar 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", but this time he remained in control over his team in the ensuing Intercontinental Cup
Intercontinental Cup (football)
The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
final against Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....
from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. A sole goal by Ghanean defender Samuel Kuffour
Samuel Kuffour
Samuel Osei Kuffour is a retired Ghanaian professional footballer who played as a defender.Known for his great physical power, he is best remembered for his time with Bayern Munich, whom he represented for over a decade, winning a total of 17 major titles, and playing in nearly 250 official...
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
1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, also known as 1. FCK, FCK or simply Kaiserslautern, is a German association football club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. On 2 June 1900, Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to create FC 1900...
Ottmar 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. On February 1, 2007, following the sacking of Felix Magath
Felix Magath
Wolfgang-Felix Magath is a former German football central midfielder and current manager of VfL Wolfsburg.-Playing career:...
, he returned to Bayern Munich. Hopes that he might lead Bayern to another championship, despite trailing by eight points with 15 games remaining were not fulfilled, though. Eventually Bayern finished fourth, thereby failing to qualify for the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
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
DFB-Ligapokal
The DFB-Ligapokal, or German League Cup, was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous Fußball-Bundesliga season and the winners of the DFB-Pokal in Germany...
, the DFB-Pokal
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
, and the 2007-08
Fußball-Bundesliga 2007-08
- Managerial changes :-League table:-Results:...
championship. After several 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 would not be available for another season at the helm. Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann is a German football manager and former player who is currently the coach of the United States Men's National Team. As a player, Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the German one that...
became his successor at Bayern.
Swiss national team
Ottmar Hitzfeld took over as coach of the Swiss national teamSwitzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
in summer 2008. Switzerland qualified for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, and won the opening match 1–0 against the heavily favoured European Champions, Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
.
Although Switzerland beat the eventual champions, Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
, they went on to lose 1-0 against Chile and get a 0-0 draw against Honduras which eliminated their chances of qualifying from the group. Switzerland was the only team to have beaten Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
A group of FC Luzern supporters were so enraged by Hitzfeld's failure to select David Zibung
David Zibung
David Zibung is a Swiss footballer who currently plays as goalkeeper for FC Luzern in the Swiss Super League.At the end of the 2009-10 season Zibung enraged his own supporters by swearing at his own supporters during a match against FC ST Gallen.A group of FC Luzern supporters were so enraged by...
for the Swiss national team
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
that they sent him an open invitation to attend matches with the supporters.
Language skills (Swiss German dialect)
Additionally to his native GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, he can speak fluent English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Due to his growing up close to the Swiss border, where Alemannic German
Alemannic German
Alemannic is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France and Italy...
dialects are spoken, and then playing and coaching in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
for decades, he is also able to speak the Swiss German
Swiss German
Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...
variant of German, especially that of Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
(Basel German
Basel German
Basel German or Baseldytsch is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland. Among the Swiss German dialects, it is the only Low Alemannic one.- Aspirated plosives :...
), as he has demonstrated in numerous interviews in the Swiss media. In fact, he rarely spoke Standard German
Standard German
Standard German is the standard variety of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas...
prior to taking over at Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
and had to first learn it properly, therefore being viewed as a Swiss by the local Dortmund media.
Statistics
| eam | at | rom | o | ompetition | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
| F.C. Zug | |
1983 | 1984 | ||||||
| Swiss Super League Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League or Axpo Super League is the top tier of the Swiss Football League. The Swiss Super League is currently ranked 16th according to UEFA's ranking of league coefficients, which is based upon Swiss team performances in European competitions.-Names:-Participating clubs:The teams... |
|||||||||
| Swiss Cup | |||||||||
| Total | |||||||||
| F.C. Aarau FC Aarau FC Aarau is a Swiss football club, based in Aarau. They play in the Swiss Challenge League.-History:FC Aarau was formed on 26 May 1902 by workers from a local brewery. The early days of the club were a success and they won the Swiss championship in 1911/12 and then again in 1913/14... |
|
1984 | 1988 | ||||||
| Swiss Super League Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League or Axpo Super League is the top tier of the Swiss Football League. The Swiss Super League is currently ranked 16th according to UEFA's ranking of league coefficients, which is based upon Swiss team performances in European competitions.-Names:-Participating clubs:The teams... |
126 | 54 | 36 | 36 | 42.9% | ||||
| Swiss Cup | |||||||||
| Europe | |||||||||
| Total | |||||||||
| Grasshopper Club Zürich | |
1988 | 1991 | ||||||
| Swiss Super League Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League or Axpo Super League is the top tier of the Swiss Football League. The Swiss Super League is currently ranked 16th according to UEFA's ranking of league coefficients, which is based upon Swiss team performances in European competitions.-Names:-Participating clubs:The teams... |
|||||||||
| Swiss Cup | |||||||||
| Europe | |||||||||
| Total | |||||||||
| Borussia Dortmund Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football... |
1991 | 1997 | |||||||
| Bundesliga Fußball-Bundesliga The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga... |
208 | 111 | 52 | 45 | 53.4% | ||||
| DFB Cup | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 46.7% | ||||
| Europe | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 57.9% | ||||
| Total | 242 | 129 | 58 | 55 | 53.3% | ||||
| Bayern Munich | 1998 | 2004 | |||||||
| Bundesliga Fußball-Bundesliga The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga... |
204 | 128 | 41 | 35 | 62.7% | ||||
| DFB Cup | 29 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 86.2% | ||||
| Europe | 76 | 38 | 24 | 14 | 50.0% | ||||
| Total | 309 | 191 | 67 | 51 | 61.8% | ||||
| Bayern Munich | 2007 | 2008 | |||||||
| Bundesliga Fußball-Bundesliga The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga... |
49 | 30 | 12 | 7 | 61.2% | ||||
| DFB Cup | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 85.7% | ||||
| Europe | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 38.8% | ||||
| Total | 74 | 43 | 20 | 11 | 58.1% | ||||
| Switzerland | 2008 | Present | |||||||
| Friendlies | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 30.8% | ||||
| International competition | 21 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 47.6% | ||||
| Total | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 41.1% | ||||
| Total | Career | ||||||||
As player
FC BaselFC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 14 times, the third most for any Swiss club. They were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the...
- 2 × Swiss Super LeagueSwiss Super LeagueThe Swiss Super League or Axpo Super League is the top tier of the Swiss Football League. The Swiss Super League is currently ranked 16th according to UEFA's ranking of league coefficients, which is based upon Swiss team performances in European competitions.-Names:-Participating clubs:The teams...
: 1971-1972Swiss Super League 1971-72-League standings:-References:...
, 1972-1973Swiss Super League 1972-73-League standings:-References:... - 1 × Swiss Cup: 1975
As manager
FC AarauFC Aarau
FC Aarau is a Swiss football club, based in Aarau. They play in the Swiss Challenge League.-History:FC Aarau was formed on 26 May 1902 by workers from a local brewery. The early days of the club were a success and they won the Swiss championship in 1911/12 and then again in 1913/14...
- 1 × Swiss Cup: 1985
Grasshopper- 2 × Swiss Super LeagueSwiss Super LeagueThe Swiss Super League or Axpo Super League is the top tier of the Swiss Football League. The Swiss Super League is currently ranked 16th according to UEFA's ranking of league coefficients, which is based upon Swiss team performances in European competitions.-Names:-Participating clubs:The teams...
: 1989-1990, 1990-1991 - 2 × Swiss Cup: 1989, 1990
- 1 x Swiss Supercup 1989
Borussia DortmundBorussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
- 1 × UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 1996–97 - 2 × Fußball-BundesligaFußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
: 1994–95, 1995–96 - 2 x DFB-SupercupDFB-SupercupThe DFL-Supercup is a match between the winner of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. In 1997, this was superseded by a league cup called DFB-Ligapokal. In 2008, although not officially sanctioned by the DFB, the match returned as the T-Home Supercup featuring Bundesliga champions FC...
1995; 1996
Bayern MunichFC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
- 1 × UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 2000–01 - 5 × Fußball-BundesligaFußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
: 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2007-08 - 3 × DFB-PokalDFB-PokalThe DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
: 1999–00, 2002-03, 2007-08 - 1 × Intercontinental CupIntercontinental Cup (football)The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
: 20012001 Intercontinental CupThe 2001 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 27 November 2001 between Bayern Munich, winners of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, and defending champions Boca Juniors, winners of the 2001 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the neutral venue of the National Stadium in Tokyo... - 4 x DFB Ligapokal: 19981998 DFB-LigapokalThe 1998 DFB-Ligapokal was the second edition of the DFB Liga-Pokal. In a repeat of last year's competition, Bayern Munich beat VfB Stuttgart in the final.-Preliminary round:-----Semi-finals:----- Final :...
, 19991999 DFB-LigapokalThe 1999 DFB-Ligapokal was the third edition of the DFB Liga-Pokal, and, for the third consecutive year, was won by Bayern Munich. Bayern, the previous year's League champions, beat Werder Bremen in the final, a reverse of the previous year's cup final....
, 20002000 DFB-LigapokalThe 2000 DFB-Ligapokal was the fourth edition of the DFB Liga-Pokal. Bayern Munich won the competition for the fourth consecutive year, beating Hertha BSC 5–1 in the final.-Preliminary round:-----Semi-finals:----- Final :...
, 2007
Individual honours
- 1 Top scorer of Switzerland (1973 with 18 goals)
- 2 World Coach of the Year (1997 and 2001)
- UEFA Coach of the Year 2001
- German Football Manager of the YearGerman Football Manager of the YearThe title Football Manager of the Year has been awarded in Germany since 2002. The award is determined by a poll of German football journalists from the Association of German Sports Journalists and the publication Kicker...
2008 - Voted Bayern Munich's greatest coach ever
- Rated the best Bundesliga-coach of all time