Ottmar Hitzfeld (b. January 12, 1949 in Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg) is a German former football player and works now as manager (coach). With a total of sixteen major titles, mostly accumulated in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, the trained mathematics teacher is not only the most successful German coach, but also one of the most outstanding in the history of the game. Twice he was elected "World Coach of the Year". Also, besides the legendary Ernst Happel, he is the only manager to win the European Cup/UEFA Champions League with two different clubs.

Career as player

Ottmar Hitzfeld played in the late 1960s with TuS Stetten and FV Lörrach in the lower German leagues before he captured the attention of Swiss first division side FC Basel, which he joined in 1971. With this club the forward won the Swiss championship in 1972 and 1973, in the latter season even contributing as the top striker of Switzerland. In 1975 also he won the cup with Basel.

He retained his amateur status in order to be able to participate in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. There he played, amongst others also with Uli Hoeness, the later Bayern Munich general manager who should hire him as coach in the late 1990s. One of the highlights of this tournament was the first encounter of national sides of West and East Germany on the football pitch. West Germany lost this match 2-3 and thus failed to reach the semi-finals. In this match Hitzfeld scored one of the five goals he made in the course of the tournament.

In 1975 the 26 year old Hitzfeld accepted an offer by the then German second division side VfB Stuttgart. After two years, in which Hitzfeld scored 33 goals in 55 league matches - in one match he even scored six goals, which is still a record - the team achieved promotion to the first division, the Bundesliga. There the club finished the season a remarkable fourth. Hitzfeld contributed to this five goals in 22 matches.

After three years with Stuttgart Hitzfeld returned to what by then had become his second home, Switzerland. There he played from 1978 to 1980 with FC Lugano before joining FC Luzern, where he finished his playing career in 1983, aged 34.

Career overview

1949 births | Living people | Natives of Baden-Württemberg | German footballers | VfB Stuttgart players | German football managers | Bayern Munich managers | Footballers at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Ottmar Hitzfeld | Ottmar Hitzfeld | オットマー・ヒッツフェルト | Ottmar Hitzfeld | Ottmar Hitzfeld | 希斯菲特