The best managers of all time : #15 - Ottmar Hitzfeld

Ottmar Hitzfeld after the loss to Argentina in the 2014 World Cup

#15 Ottmar Hitzfeld

Ottmar Hitzfeld has often been called the ‘General’ in his tenure as a remarkably successful football coach, and for good reason. The former German manager was an unmissable presence on the sidelines, radiating a sense of leadership that drove on his teams. He is one of only five managers to win the European Cup/ Champions League with different clubs, along with Ernst Happel, Jose Mourinho, Jupp Heynckes and Carlo Ancelotti.

Hitzfeld began his coaching career in Switzerland, winning 5 trophies with FC Aarau and Grasshoppers including 2 consecutive league titles with the latter. His success didn’t go unnoticed, and Borussia Dortmund moved swiftly to appoint him as their head coach.

Dortmund had finished 10th in the 18 team Bundesliga the year before and hadn’t won the league title since 1963, and Hitzfeld would take them to 2nd place in his very first year. They would only miss out on winning the League title to Stuttgart on goal difference, finishing the season on equal points. It was a stunning turnaround.

The Lorrach native wouldn’t be denied for long though, and won 2 Bundesliga titles with Dortmund eventually, in 1995 and 1996. The year after winning two successive league titles, things would get even better. Dortmund would not only make a dream run to the 1996-97 Champions League final would also beat a star-studded Juventus team that comprised of Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero and Christian Vieri.  It remains the only Champions League title they have won.

Hitzfeld would later be appointed at Bayern Munich, and he would capture the league title by a record 15 points. They would also dominate the 1999 Champions League final, only to lose to Manchester United with 2 goals in stoppage time. The German would lay rest to the trauma of that defeat just a couple of years later, defeating Manchester United, Real Madrid and Valencia to win the coveted European crown for the second time in his career.

He would also win 5 league titles and another 7 domestic trophies in his 7-year spell at Bayern (not including a considerable sabbatical in between), where he is fondly remembered as a legend.

The German was a phenomenal man manager; he had a calm and determined demeanour about him and managed players with big egos with ease. He hardly ever shouted at his players, and the way he remained serene and objective after Bayern’s devastating loss to Manchester United in the Champions league final says a lot about his character.

He made it a point to call in his players for one of his longest team meetings of his tenure and explain to them that luck wasn’t the only reason they had lost out. They could have easily won the trophy, but they had made mistakes and needed to cut out their errors. If they did that, they would win the cup in the future. And of course, they would go on to prove him right.

Hitzfeld has had praise showered on him from all of his ex-players, with Oliver Kahn always being particularly effusive in his praise for his countryman. 

Ottmar Hitzfeld would also experience some great memories with the Switzerland national team, a job he held for 6 years. He led the Swiss to two successive World Cups, in 2010 and 2014 and in the former they would famously beat Spain in their opening match.

Hitzfeld’s final match in football management would end up being in the Round of 16 in the 2014 World Cup to Argentina, in a 1-0 loss in extra time. He retired immediately after and walked off into the sunset leaving a remarkable legacy in his wake. 

Here is Hitzfeld looking back at that incredible victory over Juventus all those years ago.