Ranking the 5 best German Managers in Football to date
The football manager has a special place in German culture. Football is a traditional sport in Germany. The introduction of the DFB, which was founded by 86 clubs in 1900, played a major part in bringing regional leagues into a single competition. Germany's national side has seen great success, with four FIFA World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) to their name. The country's footballing prominence can be witnessed on several fronts, from national teams to professional clubs.
Germany has introduced us to many renowned managers. German managers are becoming a hot prospect in Europe right now. This is largely attributed to Gegenpressing, which is a tactical philosophy popularized by German coaches. It is a heavy metal style of football played with high intensity.
German football philosophy blends effective tactics with organized and physical play. German managers are very intelligent and can balance young and experienced players in a team.
The nation's top managers throughout history have become known for their crafty tactics. They've also grown popular in a variety of different coaching aspects.
With that said, here are a few German managers who will always be remembered for their achievements, game sense, and philosophy.
#1. Jupp Heynckes
Jupp Heynckes, born in 1945, was a prominent striker as a player, scoring 338 goals in his career. He started coaching after completing his training at Cologne Sports University. He spent most of his coaching career in the Bundesliga. He is one of the most successful managers, having won four Bundesliga titles and one Champions League title in his four spells with Bayern Munich.
Heynckes is also the first German manager to win the treble. He further won two European competitions with Real Madrid. Heynckes predominantly preferred a 4-2-3-1 formation with man-to-man pressing. In a total of 1,265 matches in his managerial career, he totaled a win rate of 51.94 %.
#2 Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel, born in 1938, is another player-turned-manager. He is one of two players as a coach and player who has completed a total of over 1000 matches in the Bundesliga. He coached 11 Bundesliga clubs, including Werder Bremen, where he had the most successful season, winning 8 trophies. Over his career, he won 12 trophies in total.
Rehhagel has an unforgettable history of European Championship achievements with Greece in 2004. Against all odds, he beated Scolari's Portugal, which included players like Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He is still famous for his defensive solidarity and use of aggressive custody. He preferred the Grass Roots approach with a strong header and a physically strong defender. "King Otto" had a winning rate of 49.47 % in the 1225 games he managed.
When I see Arsenal now I think of the quote of the legendary manager Otto Rehhagel:
- You have to plan long term, but you have to win short term
#3 Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp, born in 1967 is one of the hottest managers right now. Klopp has a fantastic ability to keep the team organized. He was introduced as a coach after his Mainz campaign, where he helped Mainz get promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history. He became the perfect coach while he was with Borussia Dortmund.
In an era where Bayern Munich were dominating the league. Klopp helped Dortmund win back-to-back domestic titles as well as a Champions League final. Klopp helped Liverpool with the start of their rebuilding phase and drove them to their first English Premier League title in 2019/20 as well as the Champions League in 2018/19. In only 7 years with the team, he has already helped Liverpool achieve 6 titles.
🥺“It’s for Kenny, it’s for Stevie.” 🔴🥺
Klopp’s interview after we won our first Premier League title 2 years ago today. Off to cry again.
https://t.co/xF4B4vucpJ
He is known for taking the art of Gegenpressing to the next level. As he once commented,
"The best moment to win the ball is immediately after your team just lost it."
His career is still at a high level, but nobody can argue the point that he is a legend already. In a total of 968 games to date, he has a winning rate of 53.8%.
#4 Dettmar Cramer
Dettmar Cramer, known as the "Football Professor," was born in 1925 and is famous for his attention to detail in football. Cramer has experience serving with the German Football Association. He also worked as a sports journalist but quit his job to wittness and manage the game on the pitch again.
Cramer influenced Japanese football when he helped the Japanese 1960 Olympic team as an advisor. He even helped build football infrastructure and provided coaching facilities in Japan. He also has manga in tribute written and illustrated by writer Naoshi Arakawa named "Sayonara Cramer".
He might not have been successful with titles, but he can be regarded as one of the greatest tacticions. He is considered to be the father of Japanese Football. In a total of 286 games that he managed, he had a win rate of 40.56%. On 17 September 2015, he ultimately passed away at the age of 90.
#5 Joachim Löw
Joachim Löw, born in 1960, has been in coaching for 26 years now. After being the German national side's assistant manager for two years, he was appointed head of the team in 2006. He is famous for making the German national team a true force to reckon with. Löw demonstrated tactical mastery during Germany's World Cup-winning campaign in 2014, which included a 7-1 win against Brazil.
However, he put in a subpar performance with the national side after the 2017 Confederations Cup and left Germany.
Nonetheless, despite his poor run in recent years, he will remain a successful manager. In his 26 years as a coach, he has 54.79% of win rate.