Udo Lattek

Udo Lattek

Udo Lattek in the early 1970s
Personal information
Full name Udo Lattek
Date of birth (1935-01-16)16 January 1935
Place of birth Bosemb, German Reich
Date of death 31 January 2015(2015-01-31) (aged 80)
Place of death Cologne, Germany
Playing position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
SSV Marienheide
Bayer Leverkusen
VfR Wipperfürth
1962–1965 VfL Osnabrück 70 (34)
Teams managed
VfR Wipperfürth
1965–1970 West Germany (Assistant coach)
1970–1975 Bayern Munich
1975–1979 Borussia Mönchengladbach
1979–1981 Borussia Dortmund
1981–1983 Barcelona
1983–1987 Bayern Munich
1991 1. FC Köln
1992–1993 Schalke 04
2000 Borussia Dortmund

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Udo Lattek (16 January 1935 – 31 January 2015) was a German football player, coach, and TV pundit.

With 14 major titles, Lattek is one of the most successful coaches in the history of the game, and the most successful coach with German teams, especially Bayern Munich. He further won important trophies with Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Barcelona. Further to that he coached Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04 and 1. FC Köln. Alongside the Italian Giovanni Trapattoni he is the only coach to have won all three major European club titles, and he is the only one to do so with three different teams.

Early life

Lattek was born in Bosemb, East Prussia, German Reich (now Boże, Poland).[1] Whilst Lattek was preparing for a career as a teacher, he played football with SSV Marienheide, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfR Wipperfürth. In 1962, he joined VfL Osnabrück. There he played in his first season in the first division (the northern division of the "Oberliga"), and the remainder of his time in the second division as the club did not qualify for the new Bundesliga at its inception 1963. The centre forward, who was famed for his headers, scored between 1962 and 1965 34 goals in 70 league matches.

Early 1965, Lattek was prematurely released from his contract to join the German football association DFB as coach for their youth team and, beside Dettmar Cramer as one of the assistants to head coach Helmut Schön. In this role he was also part of the coaching staff which led Germany into the final of the 1966 World Cup.[2]

Career

Bayern Munich

In March 1970, Lattek took over the reigns of Bayern Munich as successor of the Croatian Branko Zebec. He was recommended to the club by their star Franz Beckenbauer, but his appointment was controversial as he had no coaching experience with a club. Besides Beckenbauer Bayern had the striker legend Gerd Müller and the superb goal keeper Sepp Maier amongst their ranks. Lattek complemented the team with the young talents of Paul Breitner and Uli Hoeneß and formed the global top team of its era. Until 1975, he led the club to a win in the national cup competition and three consecutive championships, a first in German football history. The highlight of this time was the win of the European Champions Cup in 1974 in the finals against Atlético Madrid (1–1, 4–0) – the first triumph for a German team in this tournament.

Six players from this Bayern side were also part of the German team that won with Germany the World Cup in the same year and the European Championship in 1972. Motivational shortcomings were a natural outcome. A dry spell in the domestic league in the 1974–75 season saw Lattek's tenure terminated prematurely and Bayern replaced him with Dettmar Cramer, who was also recommended to the club by Beckenbauer. "I told the president Wilhelm Neudecker 'we need some changes'. 'That's right, you are sacked' he replied", Lattek recalls this episode.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

At the beginning of the 1975–76 season, Lattek became the successor of Hennes Weisweiler at league rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he stayed until 1979. In this period he added two more German championships and the 1979 UEFA Cup – won against Red Star Belgrade (1–1, 1–0) – to his record. A third consecutive championship for him and a record fourth consecutive championship for the club eluded Mönchengladbach only due to having conceded three goals too many. 1. FC Köln under Latteks predecessor Hennes Weisweiler were the beneficiaries.

In 1977, the club reached the European Champions Cup final against Liverpool F.C. which was lost 3-1 in Rome. As Liverpool declined to participate in the ensuing matches for the Intercontinental Cup, Borussia as finalists were given an opportunity of playing in their stead against South American champions Boca Juniors in the finals of this competition. After a respectable 2–2 away, the club abused the return match as a warm up for the 1978–79 season and lost in Karlsruhe 3-0.

Borussia Dortmund

By the end of that season, Lattek quit Mönchengladbach and spent two undistinguished years with Borussia Dortmund. In Mönchengladbach he was followed by the legendary striker Jupp Heynckes (226 goals in 375 league matches / 51 goals in 64 European competition matches). Heynckes – besides the diminutive, but great Danish forward Allan Simonsen, Berti Vogts, Rainer Bonhof, Uli Stielike and Herbert Wimmer – was also one of the great players that accompanied Lattek through his years with Mönchengladbach.

FC Barcelona

In 1981, he was appointed successor to Helenio Herrera at Spanish club FC Barcelona. He led the club to the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1982 where Barcelona defeated Standard Liège in the final 2–1. He is the only coach to lead three clubs to three "major" European trophies.[3] Barcelona's probably most distinguished players in this era were Migueli, Alexanco, Rexach, Asensi, Quini, the German Bernd Schuster and the old acquaintance from Mönchengladbach days, Dane Allan Simonsen. In the second season, Diego Maradona, then just 22 years of age, was signed up for a record transfer fee. Nevertheless, perceived lack of success on the domestic scene saw him being replaced at the end of the 1982–83 season by the World Cup winning Argentine coach César Luis Menotti, who was also hoped to be better able to bring out the best in Maradona.

Return to Bayern Munich

Lattek got his next engagement from his former player Uli Hoeneß, who was by then in charge as commercial manager with his old side Bayern Munich. There existed a vacancy after the exit of the Hungarian coach Pal Csernai. In the next years he won two more national cups and another championship hattrick with the club – the 'Double" in 1986 was only the fourth in German football history. The ultimate farewell gift was denied to him, when Bayern lost the 1987 European Champions Cup final against FC Porto with 1–2. Great players of his second stint with Bayern were amongst others Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Lothar Matthäus, Klaus Augenthaler, striker Dieter Hoeneß, the delightful Danish midfielder Søren Lerby and the Belgian goal keeping legend Jean-Marie Pfaff. As it was with Borussia Mönchengladbach, his former player Jupp Heynckes followed him as coach here, too.

Cologne and Schalke

After these hea days, Lattek retired for a few years. In 1991 he joined 1. FC Köln as Sporting Director[4] and was head coach for one match as coach, where he achieved a home draw against Bayern. The rest of the season he spent with the club as technical manager. 1992 he returned once more to the dugout and led Schalke 04 through the first half of the season. Incidentally, there he drew his last match in Munich with 1–1 against Bayern.

Return to Borussia Dortmund

Lattek officially retired and took up a role as TV commentator and newspaper columnist with the national broadsheet "Die Welt" and the bi-weekly sports magazine "kicker". Were it not for the 1997 Champions League winners Borussia Dortmund reaching panic mode by the end of the 1999–2000 season as they found themselves in free fall and only one point removed from the relegation ranks five match days before the end of the season, the story could have ended here. For what is rumored to be a most generous lump sum, some say 250,000 Euros, the then 65-year-old Lattek let himself be reactivated as saviour. His magic did the job once more. Two wins, two draws and only one defeat – against Bayern Munich – were enough to keep the club in the league. His last match was dignified by a 3–0 away triumph against Hertha BSC in front of a crowd of 75,000. At Dortmund he left a working base for his successor Matthias Sammer, who two years later, at the age of 34, became the youngest coach ever to lead a team in Germany to championship honours.

Coaching record

As of 16 January 2014
Team From To Record
G W D L Win % Ref.
Bayern Munich 13 March 1970[5] 2 January 1975[5] 223 137 46 40 61.43 [5]
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1 July 1975[6] 30 June 1979[6] 176 87 48 41 49.43 [6]
Borussia Dortmund 1 July 1979[7] 10 May 1981[7] 72 32 15 25 44.44 [7]
Barcelona 1 July 1981[8] 3 March 1983[8] 76 42 18 16 55.26 [9]
[10]
Bayern Munich 1 July 1983[5] 30 June 1987[5] 188 116 45 27 61.70 [5]
1. FC Köln 30 August 1991[11] 4 September 1991[11] 1 0 1 0 00.00 [11]
Schalke 04 1 July 1992[12] 16 January 1993[12] 19 6 6 7 31.58 [12]
Borussia Dortmund 14 April 2000[7] 30 June 2000[7] 5 2 2 1 40.00 [7]
Total 760 422 181 157 55.53 —

Later life

Lattek retied winning 14 trophies.[4] He lived in a nursing home in Cologne,[3] remained renowned for his continuous fondness of beer ("all great coaches have enjoyed a drink"). In 2012, Lattek suffered a stroke.[13] Lattek, who had Parkinson's disease and dementia,[2] died on 31 January 2015.[14][15] On the news of his death, Franz Beckenbauer tweeted: "Sad news: The great Udo Lattek is dead. Rest in peace, my friend."[16]

Career overview

Coach

Period Club Titles
1965–70German Football Association (DFB)
1970–75FC Bayern Munich1971 DFB-Pokal
1972 Championship
1973 Championship
1974 Championship
1974 European Cup
1975–79Borussia Mönchengladbach1976 Championship
1977 Championship
1979 UEFA Cup
1979–81Borussia Dortmund
1981–83FC Barcelona1982 European Cup Winners Cup
1983 League Cup
1983–87 FC Bayern Munich 1984 German Cup
1985 Championship
1986 Championship
1986 German Cup
1987 Championship
19911. FC Köln
1992FC Schalke 04
2000Borussia Dortmund

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Trainerlegende Udo Lattek ist tot" (in German). Die Welt. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Udo Lattek: Former Bayern Munich and Barcelona coach dies at 80". BBC Sport. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Legendary Bayern Munich coach Udo Lattek dies". Deutsche Welle. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Deutscher Erfolgstrainer: Udo Lattek ist tot" (in German). Der Spiegel. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bayern München" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "Bor. Mönchengladbach" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Borussia Dortmund" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  8. 1 2 "FC Barcelona » Trainerhistorie". World Football. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "FC Barcelona » Dates & results 1981/1982". World Football. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "FC Barcelona » Dates & results 1982/1983". World Football. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 "Udo Lattek" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 "FC Schalke 04" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "Udo Lattek ist tot" (in German). kicker. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "Deutschlands Fußball-Größen erweisen Udo Lattek die letzte Ehre". Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  15. ↑ Udo Lattek: Football coach who won the European Cup, Uefa Cup and Cup-Winners' Cup with three different clubs
  16. ↑ "Franz Beckenbauer tweeted about Lattek's death". kicker. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Udo Lattek.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Ștefan Kovács		 European Cup Winning Coach
1973–74 		Succeeded by
Dettmar Cramer
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