The Most Famous

COACHES from Germany

This page contains a list of the greatest German Coaches. The pantheon dataset contains 471 Coaches, 40 of which were born in Germany. This makes Germany the birth place of the most number of Coaches.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary German Coaches of all time. This list of famous German Coaches is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of German Coaches.

1. Jupp Heynckes (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 71.23, Jupp Heynckes is the most famous German Coach. His biography has been translated into 52 different languages on wikipedia.

Josef "Jupp" Heynckes (German: [ˈjʊp ˈhaɪnkəs]; born 9 May 1945) is a German retired professional footballer and manager. The majority of his player career was as a striker for Borussia Mönchengladbach in its golden era of the 1960s and '70s, when they won many national championships and the DFB-Pokal, as well as the UEFA Cup. During this period the team played in its only European Cup final in 1977, losing to Liverpool. He is the fourth-highest goalscorer in the history of the Bundesliga, with 220 goals. He was a member of the West Germany national team that won the UEFA Euro 1972 and the 1974 FIFA World Cup titles. As manager, Heynckes won four Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich and two UEFA Champions Leagues; with Real Madrid in 1997–98 and Bayern in 2012–13, the latter of which was part of a continental treble. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.

2. Joachim Löw (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 67.95, Joachim Löw is the 2nd most famous German Coach. His biography has been translated into 74 different languages.

Joachim "Jogi" Löw (German pronunciation: [ˈjoːaxɪm ˈløːf]; born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. In March 2021, Löw announced that he would resign from his position after the delayed Euro 2020. Of all head coaches of the German national football team, Löw has managed and won the most matches (189/120).

3. Sepp Maier (b. 1944)

With an HPI of 67.63, Sepp Maier is the 3rd most famous German Coach. His biography has been translated into 48 different languages.

Josef Dieter "Sepp" Maier (German pronunciation: [ˈjoːzɛf ˈdiːtɐ ˈzɛp ˈmaɪ̯ɐ]; born 28 February 1944) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Bayern Munich and the West Germany national team. Regarded as one of football's greatest goalkeepers, he was nicknamed "Die Katze von Anzing" ("the cat from Anzing") for his fast reflexes, agility, flexibility, speed, and consistency. With over 700 matches played across seventeen seasons, he is also Bayern's all-time record appearance holder.In addition to his shot-stopping ability, Maier was also known for his ability to dominate his box, as well as his sense of humour and personality throughout his career, which made him a fan favourite. Regarding his playing style, he once quipped "a keeper should give off a sense of calm, and not fall asleep while doing so."

4. Jürgen Klopp (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 67.40, Jürgen Klopp is the 4th most famous German Coach. His biography has been translated into 69 different languages.

Jürgen Norbert Klopp (German pronunciation: [ˈjʏʁɡn̩ ˈklɔp] ; born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the world.Klopp spent most of his playing career at Mainz 05. He was initially deployed as a striker, but was later moved to defence. Upon retiring in 2001, Klopp became the club's manager, and secured Bundesliga promotion in 2004. After suffering relegation in the 2006–07 season and unable to achieve promotion, Klopp resigned in 2008 as the club's longest-serving manager. He then became manager of Borussia Dortmund, guiding them to the Bundesliga title in 2010–11, before winning Dortmund's first-ever domestic double during a record-breaking season. Klopp also guided Dortmund to a runner-up finish in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League before leaving in 2015 as their longest-serving manager. Klopp was appointed manager of Liverpool in 2015. He has guided the club to UEFA Champions League finals in 2018 and 2022, and won the trophy in 2019 to secure his first – and Liverpool's sixth – title in the competition. Klopp's side finished second in the 2018–19 Premier League, registering 97 points; the then third-highest total in the history of the English top division, and the most by a team without winning the title. The following season, Klopp won the UEFA Super Cup and Liverpool's first FIFA Club World Cup, before delivering Liverpool's first Premier League title, amassing a club record 99 points and breaking a number of top-flight records. These achievements won him back-to-back FIFA Coach of the Year awards in 2019 and 2020. Klopp also won a cup double of the EFL Cup and FA Cup in 2022, as well as another EFL Cup in 2024. Klopp is a notable proponent of Gegenpressing, whereby the team, after losing possession, immediately attempts to win back possession, rather than falling back to regroup. He has described his sides as playing "heavy metal" football, in reference to their pressing and high attacking output. Klopp has cited his main influences as Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi, and former Mainz coach Wolfgang Frank. The importance of emotion is something Klopp has underlined throughout his managerial career, and he has gained both admiration and notoriety for his enthusiastic touchline celebrations.

5. Otto Rehhagel (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 65.42, Otto Rehhagel is the 5th most famous German Coach. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Otto Rehhagel (German: [ˈɔtoː ˈʁeːhaːɡl̩]; born 9 August 1938) is a German former football coach and player. Rehhagel is one of only two people who, as player and manager combined, has participated in over 1,000 Bundesliga matches (the other being Jupp Heynckes). In the Bundesliga, he holds the records for the most victories (387), most draws (205), most losses (228), and his teams have scored the most goals (1,473) and conceded more (1,142) than any other. He served as the trainer of Werder Bremen between 1981 and 1995 and won twice the Bundesliga and in 1992 the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with them. After a rather unsuccessful intermezzo at Bayern Munich, he won the Bundesliga sensationally with the promoted team 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Internationally, Rehhagel coached the Greece national team from 2001 to 2010 in their most successful footballing era – during that period, Greece won the 2004 European Championship unexpectedly and qualified for the 2010 World Cup, their second World Cup finals appearance. A 2022 critically acclaimed film entitled, King Otto, was made on Otto Rehhagel's triumph with the Greece national team for the 2004 European Championships.

6. Hans-Dieter Flick (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 65.16, Hans-Dieter Flick is the 6th most famous German Coach. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Hans-Dieter "Hansi" Flick (German pronunciation: [ˈhanzi ˈflɪk]; born 24 February 1965) is a German professional football manager and former player. A former player at SV Sandhausen, Bayern Munich and 1. FC Köln, Flick began his managerial career at fourth-division club Victoria Bammental as a player-manager. In 2000, he was appointed manager of fellow fourth-division side 1899 Hoffenheim, with whom he gained promotion to the Regionalliga Süd, before departing in 2005. Between 2006 and 2014, he was the assistant coach of Germany under manager Joachim Löw as they won the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and subsequently served as sporting director of the German Football Association until 2017. Having rejoined Bayern Munich as an assistant coach in 2019, Flick was made interim manager following the departure of Niko Kovač in November 2019. He was later appointed permanently, and won the UEFA Champions League that season, completing the club's second continental treble. In 2021, he also led the side to a FIFA Club World Cup and another Bundesliga title. Alongside Pep Guardiola, he is one of the only two managers to achieve a sextuple with their team. He later replaced Löw in charge of the Germany national team in 2021, leading the team to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, before being dismissed in 2023 following a run of disappointing results.

7. Ottmar Hitzfeld (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 64.35, Ottmar Hitzfeld is the 7th most famous German Coach. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages.

Ottmar Hitzfeld (German pronunciation: [ˈʔɔtmaːɐ̯ ˈhɪt͡sfɛlt]; born 12 January 1949) is a German former professional football player and a former manager. He accumulated a total of 18 major titles, mostly in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. A striker in his playing days, Hitzfeld won two Swiss Super League titles (1971–72, 1972–73) with Basel. He was top goalscorer in the league for the 1972–73 season. He earned six caps for the West German national team, all at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. A trained mathematician and sports teacher, Hitzfeld is one of the most successful coaches of German and international football. As manager, he won two Bundesliga titles with Dortmund and five Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich. He won the 1996–97 Champions League with Dortmund, beating a star-studded Juventus team in the final. He won the 2000–01 Champions League with Bayern, defeating Valencia in the final. He has been elected "World Coach of the Year" twice; he is one of only six managers to win the European Cup/UEFA Champions League with two clubs, along with Ernst Happel, Pep Guardiola, José Mourinho, Jupp Heynckes, and Carlo Ancelotti.

8. Bernd Schuster (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 63.16, Bernd Schuster is the 8th most famous German Coach. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Bernd Schuster (born 22 December 1959) is a German former professional footballer of the late 1970s through early 1990s, who won club titles playing for the Spanish sides FC Barcelona (1980–1987) and Real Madrid (1988–1990). He played as a midfielder and was nicknamed "der Blonde Engel" (the Blond Angel). After retiring as a player, he managed a number of European clubs, including Real Madrid, taking them to the league title in the 2007–08 season.

9. Pierre Littbarski (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 61.06, Pierre Littbarski is the 9th most famous German Coach. His biography has been translated into 56 different languages.

Pierre Michael Littbarski (German pronunciation: [ˈpi̯ɛʁ lɪtˈbaʁskiː]; born 16 April 1960) is a German professional football manager and former player of 1. FC Köln and the West Germany national team. Known for his dribbling abilities, he was mainly used as an attacking midfielder or winger. Littbarski was a FIFA World Cup winner with West Germany in 1990, and the runner-up in both 1982 and 1986. Littbarski was the caretaker manager of VfL Wolfsburg after taking over from Steve McClaren from 7 February to 17 March 2011.

10. Matthias Sammer (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 60.04, Matthias Sammer is the 10th most famous German Coach. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages.

Matthias Sammer (German pronunciation: [maˈtiːas ˈzamɐ]; born 5 September 1967) is a German football official and former player and coach. He played as a defensive midfielder and later in his career as a sweeper. With Borussia Dortmund as a player, Sammer won the Bundesliga and DFL-Supercup in 1995, the Bundesliga, DFL-Supercup, and European Footballer of the Year in 1996, and the UEFA Champions League and Intercontinental Cup in 1997. Germany won the UEFA Euro 1996 with Sammer as a player, where he was named the tournament's best player, and was subsequently awarded the Ballon d'Or later that year. Sammer retired with 74 total caps, 23 for East Germany and 51 for the unified side. Known for his exceptional defensive skills, including his ability to read the game, make interceptions, and tackle effectively, Sammer is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time.With Sammer as a manager, Borussia Dortmund won the Bundesliga in 2002.

People

Pantheon has 49 people classified as German coaches born between 1892 and 1988. Of these 49, 41 (83.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living German coaches include Jupp Heynckes, Joachim Löw, and Sepp Maier. The most famous deceased German coaches include Edmund Conen, Hennes Weisweiler, and Otto Nerz. As of April 2024, 9 new German coaches have been added to Pantheon including Edin Terzić, Willi Multhaup, and Vincenzo Italiano.