At the end of his career: Ten things about Hermann Gerland – Of oaks and tigers

"Basically, he fits in at FC Bayern like a male choir at a techno party," the Süddeutsche Zeitung once said of Hermann Gerland. What a spectacular misjudgment! To mark the end of his career: ten stories about the Tiger from the Isar.

1. They never come back? It's a shame that Hermann Gerland never tried his hand at boxing. As assistant coach at FC Bayern, he certainly broke all comeback records. Hansi Flick was the eighth coach Gerland assisted in Munich. Flick's predecessors included Sören Lerby, Erich Ribbeck, Louis van Gaal, Andries Jonker, Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, and, of course, Jupp Heynckes.

The Munich resident has never made a secret of his origins. On the contrary, Gerland, a native of Bochum, is probably one of the main reasons why the decades-old fan friendship between the big FCB and the small VfL still exists. Exactly one month before the 1954 World Cup final, Gerland was born as the eldest of four siblings in a mining settlement. His father died of a heart attack when his son Hermann was nine years old. "We were very, very poor," Gerland later recounted in an 11FREUNDE interview , "which wasn't uncommon in our settlement. From then on, I had to look after my siblings."

Because he devotedly fulfilled the role of big brother and protector on the football pitch, his colleagues at VfL Bochum nicknamed him "Oak." According to Gerland, the now popular nickname "Tiger" originates from a Bochum journalist who thought it was fashionable to rename VfL players accordingly in the late 1970s. Gerland: "He called one of them "Rocket," and I suddenly became the Tiger. I have no idea why. Maybe because I used to be quite aggressive with the man."

The oak tree was part of Bochum's defense until 1984, before Gerland earned his coaching license and moved to the sidelines. His second stint as head coach took him to 1. FC Nuremberg in 1988. Apparently, it was an extremely demanding job. A few months before he was bullied out of his position in the spring of 1990, "Sport Bild" was allowed to publish Gerland's coaching diary. Excerpts: "I hate medication. But two weeks ago in Hanover, I let our team doctor Dr. Haage give me a tablet for the first time. The strain, the pressure of the relegation battle are unbearable. It all usually upsets my stomach. Severe cramps, diarrhea, and nights without sleep."

"Defeats," Gerland once said, "wear me out. Then I sit on the bus, right behind the driver, and don't say a word. I can't understand why the players are laughing and joking. The fans are crying, the players are laughing - I can't get my head around it. When I get home, I stare at the white wall. I can't get back to sleep and I wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat." So perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea that the Bochum veteran officially introduced himself as FC Bayern's coach for the first time on July 1, 1990. Just under a year later, he was promoted to assistant coach of the first team for the first time. For you nostalgics, here's a small selection of the players he drove around the pitch back then: Toni Schumacher, Alois Reinhardt, Hansi Pflügler, Jan Wouters, Michael Sternkopf, Mazinho, Alan McInally.

6. Severe cramps, diarrhea? From then on, those were generally a thing of the past. Instead of the gastrointestinal tract, it was now the oak's liver that was allowed to show what it was made of. Because: "If we've played a really good game, I go home and don't drink wine or pilsner, but rather a nice whiskey and coke." Apparently, this concoction has been served in the record champions' VIP area for several years now if you utter the magic words "A Gerland drink, please."

Aside from a five-year trial as a coach in Nuremberg, Bielefeld, and Ulm, Gerland was a fixture at FC Bayern for years, and in his roles as assistant coach, youth coach, and scout, he saw a lot of water flow down the Isar. The Ruhrpott native's relationship with the snazzy southern Germans wasn't always free of conflict. Because he was rarely seen without his beloved Birkenstock sandals, Uli Hoeneß begged him shortly before sending his employee to Colombia to observe a certain Adolfo Valencia: "Hermann, please don't fly in your Birkenstocks. I'll even pay for your shoes!" Gerland eventually found himself sitting in the stands, sweating profusely in a suit, tie, and patent leather shoes, among short-skirted South Americans. Conclusion: "Once and never again."

Gerland's ability to spot talented young players and prepare them for the big, wide world of professional football is legendary. "How do you recognize talent?" the coach was once asked, and Gerland replied: "God gave me an eye for it. Incidentally, I can also go shopping for my wife, and she gets compliments afterwards. And once I was sitting with her in front of the TV and asked her: What do you notice about Kai Pflaume? Probably no one else notices it, but Pflaume is missing a fingertip." Another lesson learned.

Gerland once persistently tried to get his perhaps best-known and best-known protégé, Philipp Lahm, to sign on loan to another club, but even then-Gladbach coach Hans Meyer refused to employ the future world champion. Another colleague even demanded Gerland's travel expenses back after watching Lahm in training. The Tiger told his wife at the time: "Gudrun, if he doesn't become a super player, I'll give up my license and become a water polo coach."

10. In 1999, while still coaching Arminia Bielefeld, Gerland fulfilled a long-held dream and began breeding competition horses on his farm near Gütersloh. Gerland: "This is my greatest passion after football and my wife." The Bochum native later sold two of his breeding horses to animal lover Thomas Müller. Is he as creative as his former athletic mentor when it comes to giving horses unusual names? A small selection: Fandango G, Coconut Chocolate, Sando Khan 65, Blue Danube, Erdinger, Fürstenberg 13, and the absolute favorite of the 11FREUNDE editorial team: Be A Womaniser.