Jupp Heynckes turns 80: The face of the Bundesliga
One of ten children, a trained plasterer, hobbies: ice hockey – in 1963, the 18-year-old Josef "Jupp" Heynckes was signed by Borussia Mönchengladbach. On August 14, 1965, the striker made his first appearance for Borussia – against Borussia Neunkirchen.
Gladbach versus 1860 Munich, the lightning-fast Heynckes, all in white, takes the shot. Between 1965 and 1967, Heynckes scored 50 goals in 82 matches, a sensational record. No wonder that in 1967...
...Hannover 96 secures the services of the attacker. Here, the crowds in the background marvel at the presentation of Hans-Josef Hellingrath, Jupp Heynckes, and Josip Skoblar. Years later, Skoblar emerged in Hamburg as the successor to HSV coaching legend Ernst Happel and managed the feat of being sacked after just 15 games. After his career, Hellingrath opened the restaurant "Zum Libero" in Neuss. And Heynckes?
He returned to Borussia Mönchengladbach, immediately won the German championship in 1971, and, alongside Günter Netzer, matured into one of the most famous players of the great Foals era. Here he marvels at the blissful kickoff by pop singer Heino during a friendly match between Ajax Amsterdam and a selection of Düsseldorf and Gladbach players.
A national player since 1967, Heynckes celebrated the first European Championship win with the German dream team in 1972. Although the striker didn't score a single goal, he was involved in all three goals in the 3-0 final against the Soviet Union.
DFB Cup final in 1973, Cologne versus Mönchengladbach. Günter Netzer initially just sits sulking on the bench, then substitutes himself – and the rest is football history. Jupp Heynckes comes very close.
The 1974 World Cup, despite winning the title, was perhaps the biggest disappointment of Heynckes' playing career. He played in the preliminary round against Chile (1-0) and Australia (3-0), but sustained an injury against Australia and spent the rest of the tournament on the bench. Shortly before the final against the Netherlands, Heynckes was fit to play again, but coach Helmut Schön preferred Bernd Hölzenbein.
Jupp, the trophy collector. During his second spell as a player at Borussia Mönchengladbach (1970-1978), Heynckes won four German championships and one DFB Cup. In 1975, he celebrated his greatest success at club level with the UEFA Cup. Heynckes scored three goals in the 5-1 victory in the second leg of the final against Twente Enschede (the first leg was 0-0).
1978: Heynckes retires. After 369 games for Borussia Mönchengladbach and Hannover 96, he receives a wet kiss from Berti Vogts.
In 1979, Heynckes joined the coaching ranks immediately after the end of his playing career, initially as Udo Lattek's assistant coach and then as his successor. In the years that followed, he discovered and developed future top players such as Lothar Matthäus and Uli Borowka.
Jack of all trades: Between 1979 and 1987, Heynckes didn't lead Borussia Mönchengladbach to a major title, but he did lead them to big games like the legendary 1987 DFB Cup final against FC Bayern and various European Cup matches. And when the need arises, the coach would even stand by the stove and bake cookies for the Christmas party.
Heynckes coached Athletic Bilbao for two years before returning to the Bundesliga in 1994 as coach of Eintracht Frankfurt, where he quickly became the most unpopular employee in the club's history. In 1995, he returned to Spain.
Cheers! From 1987 to 1991, Heynckes coached FC Bayern, winning the championship twice (1989 and 1990) and becoming a good friend of Uli Hoeneß. Hoeneß fired him anyway in 1991.
After two years at CD Tenerife, Heynckes became coach of Real Madrid in 1997. And only because preferred candidate Ottmar Hitzfeld had previously turned down the offer. With Real, Heynckes won the Supercup and even the Champions League in 1998 – but his tenure as Real Madrid coach ended with the Champions League final victory. Heynckes joined Benfica Lisbon, finished third, and was already history with the Portuguese club by 2000.
In 2003, there was still great joy over the appointment of Jupp Heynckes as Schalke coach; a year later, manager Rudi Assauer said: "Jupp is an old-school footballer. But it's 2004!" Their paths diverged again.
2006, the big reunion between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Jupp Heynckes. But the former hero's engagement ended in a fiasco. Heynckes fell apart with Borussia and received death threats. His time at Gladbach ended at the end of January 2007.
April 27, 2009: Bayern declare the Jürgen Klinsmann experiment a failure, and Jupp Heynckes is brought back from retirement until the end of the season. Under "Don Jupp," Bayern finishes second, and new coach Louis van Gaal is handed a well-prepared field. And Heynckes?
Retirement was still too soon for him. On June 5, 2009, Heynckes signed for Leverkusen and remained unbeaten in the first 24 matchdays, breaking his own record from the 1988/89 season with FC Bayern. Perhaps his greatest achievement, however, was his work with the highly talented Toni Kroos, who matured into an exceptional player in Leverkusen and ultimately, just like his mentor...
...is moving to FC Bayern. There, not just the duo, but the entire team has only one goal: to win the Champions League, ideally in their own stadium.
But Heynckes and Bayern failed in the "final at home" against Chelsea and their own misfortune. When will that opportunity return?
Just one year later! A few days before Jupp Heynckes retires for the first time, he wins the league title, the DFB Cup, and the Champions League with FC Bayern. Heynckes thus becomes the first German coach to win the major European treble. Naturally, new offers come after this superlative season, but Heynckes fends them all off, even one from Real Madrid. He says: "First of all, I'm going to retire and be a private person. There's life after work."
A statement that didn't stop Bayern from bringing their coach back from retirement for one (perhaps) final time. After a disastrous start to the season, Jupp Heynckes led FC Bayern to the German championship by a wide margin. The club was desperate to keep Heynckes, but he refused. Bayern narrowly lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals. Which is why Heynckes ended his coaching career with a double. Since then, it's really over. Unless Bayern call again (and Heynckes actually answers).
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