The best managers of all time: #20 Ernst Happel
#20 Ernst Happel
It should be no surprise that Ernst Happel finds himself in this distinguished list. He is one of only four managers along with Jose Mourinho and Giovanni Trappatoni to have won domestic league championships in four different European countries.
The Austrian earned more than a half century of caps for the Austrian national team as a defender, and started his managerial career when he was 36 years old at ADO Den Haag. The Dutch club was struggling in the lower end of the division when he took over, but he turned them into a cohesive outfit that would win the Dutch Cup in his tenure.
His talents didn’t go unnoticed, and Feyenoord swooped in to appoint him in 1969. Happel would win a magnificent trio of trophies with them that include the League title, European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, stamping his legacy on the club for all time. His European Cup win remains Feyenoord’s solitary success in the competition.
They defeated a strong Celtic side managed by another managerial legend, Jock Stein. Stein would famously remark after the match that his team hadn’t lost to Feyenoord, but ‘to Happel’.
Happel would go on to manage Sevilla in Spain and Club Brugge in Belgium, winning 3 league titles and finishing as runner-up in the European Cup in the 1977-78 season with Club Brugge.
By this time, the Austrian had cemented his reputation as one of the best managers in the world and he would land the prestigious role of the Netherlands national team head coach. The scintillating Dutch team headed into the 1978 World Cup poised to win the trophy, but with Johan Cruyff withdrawing because of personal reasons Happel was faced with a daunting challenge.
He was unfazed, though, mostly a man of few words he chose to do his talking on the pitch, and steered the Dutch team to the final, even deprived of the seismic talents of Cruyff.
They would suffer a heartbreaking extra-time loss to Argentina though, and Happel would return to club football.
He would go on to win 4 more league titles and 4 domestic trophies in Germany, Belgium, and Austria. Happel would also add another European Cup to his collection in the 1982-83 season with Hamburg, which is the solitary success they’ve had in the competition as well.
The Austrian’s former players all speak of his clarity of thought and precision, and his ability to come up with concise game plans for every match. He was also willing to let his team weigh in on critical tactical plans, including his Hamburg players on the eve of the European Cup final against Juventus. Happel asked his players whether they should man mark Michel Platini, the French midfield superstar, and they replied in the negative. They left Platini alone and emerged with a 1-0 victory.
Happel would rarely show his emotions, and his former goalkeeper Uli Stein once remarked that for Happel to show his emotions was as unusual “as seeing the Pope in swim wear”. He always had an answer to tough match situations, though, and seemed full of thought on the touchline mulling over his next move.
Happel will always be one of the great sporting icons of Austria. The Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna is, of course, a testament to that. The magnificent 50,000 plus capacity arena was renamed after the manager, following his death in 1992 and is one of the country’s finest stadiums.
The Austrian died at 66 from lung cancer as he had been a heavy smoker for most of his adult life. He passed away in 1992 and he had only just become coach of the Austrian national team. Fans must wonder what he could achieve with the roster of talented players their country has at their disposal now with his aggressive pressing game and impeccable focus.