After I finished playing, a lot of people wanted to know which coach impressed me most during my professional career. And even if it doesn’t make much sense comparing different characters, coaches with different ways of working and completely different approaches to the game – Jupp Heynckes was the best.
I believe that and I’m sure no other coach I’ve played for would hold it against me for saying so. As Jupp Heynckes, who will be 75 years old on Saturday, has been above it all for a long time. He’s appreciated like hardly anybody else.
As a former world class striker, he had a goals return that would be unbelievable today. And later as a coach, he followed a path with highs and lows to finally become what he is today: A cornerstone of football! A popular figure far beyond Germany’s borders. A sage of our sport, whose opinions carry special weight.
Particularly in the current social crisis, people like Heynckes are more important than ever for football. In the final years of his career, he still had the ability to learn from mistakes. He didn’t take himself too seriously, always remained keen to learn, was modest and warm-hearted. He was able to ‘guide’ teams like nobody else, fill players with enthusiasm for the common good and create a team spirit that led to lots of wins and titles, to fantastic success.
For me, as I said, he was the best! Happy birthday, Jupp Heynckes!
After Jens Nowotny was officially named a Bayer 04 honorary captain last weekend, the long-standing Werkself player is part of the Leverkusen delegation on the trophy tour to New York City next week from 11 to 14 September. In an interview with bayer04.de, the 50-year-old talked about his expectations ahead of the trip to the metropolis on the East Coast of the USA.
Show moreThe German Football League (DFL) has confirmed the dates and kick-off times for matchdays 6 to 12 of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. Full details of the Bayer 04 fixtures.
Show moreMarkus Rehm, a long jumper at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, won the gold medal for the fourth time in succession at the Paralympics on Wednesday.
Show moreThe fixture details for the second round of the DFB Pokal 2024/25 have been confirmed. The home tie for Bayer 04 against second division SV 07 Elversberg is on Tuesday, 29 October with the kick off at 18.00 CET (live on Sky). That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday.
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