Who are The Greatest German Managers in Football History?
Who are The Greatest German Managers in Football History?
There is no doubt that Germany is one of the greatest footballing nations, having won four World Cups, participated in eight World Cup finals (a record), and claimed three European Championships.
They have had some of the greatest players to ever grace a football pitch in Fritz Walter, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Lothar Matthaus, Toni Kroos and many more.
As a country, they have had the most individual Ball d’Or winners (5) and the second most overall wins (7).
But behind every great team is a great manager.
10. Hansi Flick
1996-present day
The only person on this list who is still managing, Hansi Flick, came to true prominence over the past six years.
His first season at Bayern was one of pure dominance, and it nearly did not happen.
After a 5-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, Niko Kovac was sacked, and Flick was replaced as an interim manager.
And what followed was nothing short of magical.
The Bundesliga title, DFB-Pokal, Champions League, DFL-Supercup, UEFA Supercup, and the Club World Cup were all won by the German side, making them the second European team in history to win the sextuple.
Nowadays, Flick is managing Barcelona, where he just won the league title.
Only Pep Guardiola (Barcelona 2009) and Hansi Flick (Bayern Munich 2020) have won the Sextuple in football history 🏆 pic.twitter.com/zbWGtn6cRW
— Urban Football (@ufs_ng) June 29, 2022
9. Joachim Low
1992-2021
The second-longest German national team manager of all time—longest by single stint—and winner of the 2014 World Cup, there is no list of great German managers without including Joachim Low.
It had been a long 24 years without a World Cup for Germany; they were in their longest drought of World Cups, and it had been 18 years since they had their hands on any silverware.
Low had been appointed in 2006, and he immediately got to work. By the time the 2014 World Cup rolled around, Germany were in amazing form.
They sidestepped sides with ease, with their most impressive game being a 7-1 Semi-Final win against the hosts.
Eventually, they would go on to beat Argentina in the final, courtesy of a Mario Gotze stunner.
Joachim Low, who led Germany to glory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, is to step down after this year's UEFA European Championship.@DFB_Team_EN | #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/7EI8up2JEt
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 9, 2021
8. Otto Rehhagel
1972-2012
Otto Rehhagel is the only person on this list who did not experience sustained success with teams in the Bundesliga or the German national team.
This is not to say he did not experience success in Germany, he won two league titles, two DFB-Pokal’s and a Cup Winners' Cup with Werder Bremen. But Rehhagel’s crowning moment came with Greece.
At the 2004 European Championship, Greece were not seen as real challengers. Dark horses, maybe, but not a threat to traditional contenders.
But in the group stage, Germany, Spain and Italy were all eliminated whilst Greece went through from the group of death.
In the final, they faced hosts Portugal. They had already beaten them once in the group stage, but the final was a drab affair for Greece. They faced 17 shots to their four, yet a 57th-minute goal from Angelos Charisteas saw them win the match and their first ever silverware.
🎉 A belated 85th birthday to the man that orchestrated Greece's EURO 2004 glory, Otto Rehhagel!
— Hellas Football (@HellasFooty) August 9, 2023
Happy Birthday King! 👑 pic.twitter.com/cQg5p6tSds
7. Franz Beckenbauer
1984-1996
Though primarily remembered as a player, Beckenbauer’s managerial career should not be overlooked.
As a player, he was a beast. Without a doubt, the greatest centre-back/sweeper of all time. But his legacy stretches beyond that of just a player.
Between 1984-1990, he was the manager of West Germany. In both finals, they faced Diego Maradona’s Argentina, and whilst in 1986 they defeated the 3-2 in the final, in 1990 an Andreas Brehme 85th minute penalty saw them win 1-0, and Beckenbauer joined Mario Zagello as the only person to win the World Cup as a player, and a manager (there is now three with Didier Deschamps achieving the feat in 2018).
Beckenbauer would also go on to manage Marseille and Bayern Munich, where he won a league title with each, and a UEFA Cup with the latter.
👑 The man known around the world as ‘Der Kaiser’ would have turned 80 today.
— FIFA Museum (@FIFAMuseum) September 11, 2025
Franz Beckenbauer is one of only three individuals to have won the FIFA World Cup both as a player (1974) and as a manager (1990). His influence on football, on and off the pitch, was immense and will… pic.twitter.com/3iGFyqySnw
6. Ottmar Hitzfeld
1983-2012
Nicknamed the general, Ottmar Hitzfeld was a winning machine who let no team stand in his way.
During his time as a coach, he managed both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, bringing them both national and continental success.
At Dortmund, he ended their 32-year-long drought without a league title, and also made them victors for the first time in the Champions League.
At Bayern, he also ended a drought. Bayern had spent 25 years without continental success. They had won three European Cups on the bounce in the 70s, but had felt no love from the competition since. Hitzfeld changed this when his Bayern side flew through the competition in 2000/01, losing just one game.
🎂 🎁 🎉 Happy Birthday, Ottmar Hitzfeld! pic.twitter.com/qu0Pdj5MT5
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) January 12, 2017
5. Jurgen Klopp
2001-2024
A face we all know and love, Jurgen Klopp truly has the Midas touch.
A specialist manager who thrived in taking over fallen clubs, Klopp won silverware with all three of the teams he managed.
Starting with Mainz—a club he played over 300 times for—he helped them gain promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in 2003/04.
He then went to Borussia Dortmund, where he won two Bundesliga titles and even managed to reach the 2012/13 Champions League final.
But his magnum opus would be with Liverpool. Taking over a team that sat 10th, Klopp worked his magic, and by his third full season, they had won the Champions League. A season after, Liverpool would go on to have one of the most dominant performances by any Premier League side as they lifted the title with 99 points.
If he had not been up against Pep Guardiola and two amazing Real Madrid sides, Klopp may have had even more success and been higher up this list.
🏆🏆 It's back-to-back crowns for Jurgen Klopp! Congratulations to the @LFC boss on becoming the first to win #TheBest FIFA Men's Coach twice 🔴#FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/VfsfVdwDqf
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) December 17, 2020
4. Sepp Herberger
1928-1964
The longest serving manager in Germany's history—1936-1942, 1950-64 and a term as assistant between 1932-36— Herberger is remembered for two reasons, both of which are highly controversial.
The first, a non-football-related footnote—being that he was a member of the Nazi party. Not entirely relevant, but it did cause a stir in the German press when he was inducted into the German sports hall of fame in 2008.
The second was the 1954 World Cup final. They faced the Magical Magyrys, or Hungry’s golden side. In the group stage, the two sides had already faced each other, with Hungary smashing through Germany with an embarrassing scoreline of 8-3.
Naturally, the two met again in the final, which was dubbed ‘The Miracle of Bern.’ Despite Hungary going 2-0 up, West Germany would score three and win the game 3-2.
Yet there was a myriad of controversy. Eye-witness reports claim Hans Schafer fouled goalkeeper Gyula Grosics, which led to Germany’s goal. In addition to this, according to Erik Eggers of the Humboldt University of Berlin, it is highly likely that German players injected Pertevin, a form of methamphetamine, a stimulant given to German soldiers in the Second World War.
Nevertheless, the history books show that Germany won the World Cup, with Sepp Herberger as manager.
Our 1954 World Cup winning coach was born 1️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ years ago today.
— German Football (@DFB_Team_EN) March 28, 2022
Thinking of you, Sepp Herberger! 🕯️#DieMannschaft pic.twitter.com/0vSaDzZISH
3. Helmut Schon
1952-1979
Albeit a four-year period at the start of his career, Helmut Schon managed Germany for his entire career. His first eight years at the national team were as an assistant, before taking the reins between 1964-78.
His time at Germany was full of success. His sides came first, second and third at World Cups between 1966-74, and he made the European Championship final in both 1972 and 76, the former Germany winning.
His crowning moments came between 1972-74 when he led Germany to continental and international success. Just like Sepp Herberger, his World Cup side was not the best team; this time, that honour goes to the Netherlands. But this match had no controversies, with the Netherlands side simply not showing up in the final, allowing Germany to win 2-1 and claim their second World Cup.
We go behind Helmut Schon's #WorldCup record of most matches as coach 🏆🇩🇪https://t.co/yY9myX4A0q pic.twitter.com/YcXU2z1QMj
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) August 1, 2017
2. Udo Lattek
1965-2000
The most successful Bundesliga manager of all time, Udo Lattek won eight titles with Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Along with Giovanni Trapattoni and Jose Mourinho, Lattek is the only coach to have won the three major European titles, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, and the now-discontinued UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
Just like Mourinho, Lattek achieved this goal with three separate clubs. He won the European Cup (Champions League) with Bayern Munich, the UEFA Cup (Europa League) with Borussia Monchengladbach, and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with Barcelona.
In his career, he won a total of 17 major honours.
🕊️ Legendary Bayern coach Udo Lattek would’ve turned 90 today.
— Victor Catalina (@vcatalina96) January 16, 2025
🏵️ Bundesliga 1972, 1973, 1974, 1985, 1986, 1987
➡️ Bayern became German record champions under him
🏆 DFB-Pokal 1971, 1984, 1986
🏆 European Cup winner 1974
Rest in peace 🤍🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/rAwtdfFJjB
1. Jupp Heynckes
1979-2018
Finally, at number one in our list of the 10 greatest German managers of all time, we have Jupp Heynckes.
Over his 39 years of management, Heynckes won 14 major honours, including five European trophies—two of which were the Champions League—and nine domestic honours.
Heynckes may not be as successful as other managers on this list, but his ability to adapt from the direct football of the 1980s to the possession-based model that mirrored Pep Guardiola’s philosophy allows him to top this list.
He is the second manager on this list to win the treble, with him achieving this feat with Bayern Munich in the 2012/13 season.
4x Bundesliga Titles with Bayern,
— 🇩🇪²⁰ (@razurax_) May 9, 2025
2x Champions League with Bayern.
1x World Cup and
1x Euro as a Player.
Once held a record of,
71 Wins in 80 Games with Bayern.
Jupp Heynckes turns 80 today! ❤ pic.twitter.com/EUMj4dZVN8
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