Otto Rehhagel (born August 9, 1938 in Essen) is a German football coach and former football player. With Helmut Schön, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Udo Lattek and Hennes Weisweiler, he is one of the most successful German managers ever. He is currently manager of the Greece national football team, having led them to a shock European Championship title in 2004. is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Essen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... In sports, a coach or manager is an individual involved in the direction and instruction of the on-field operations of an athletic team or of individual athletes. ... Helmut Schön (15 September 1915 in Dresden, Germany - 23 February 1996 in Wiesbaden, Germany) was a German football player and manager. ... Ottmar Hitzfeld (born 12 January 1949 in Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg) is a German former football player and manager, now serving in his second stint with FC Bayern Munich. ... Udo Lattek - early 1970s Udo Lattek (Born January 16, 1935 in Bosemb, East Prussia, Germany, now Poland, Masuria region) was a football (soccer) player and coach, and is now a now television sports commentator. ... Hennes Weisweiler (* 5/12/1919, Cologne, Germany - † 5/7/1983, Zürich, Switzerland) was a German football (soccer) player and coach. ... First international Greece 1 - 4  Italy (Athens, Greece; 7 April 1929) Biggest win Greece 8 - 0  Syria (Athens, Greece; 25 November 1949) Biggest defeat  Hungary 11 - 1 Greece (Budapest, Hungary; 25 March 1938) World Cup Appearances 1 (First in 1994) Best result Round 1, 1994 European Championship Appearances 3 (First... The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly called Euro 2004, was held in Portugal between June 12 and July 4, 2004. ...

Rehhagel is the only person who, as player and as manager, has participated in over 1000 Bundesliga-matches. This also explains his nickname Kind der Bundesliga (child of the Bundesliga). In the Bundesliga, he holds the records for the most victories (387), most draws (205), most losses (228), and his teams have scored the most goals (1473) and allowed more (1142) than any others.

Playing career

Rehhagel played for the local club Rot-Weiss Essen (1960-63), after the start of the Bundesliga for Hertha Berlin (1963-65), and until 1972 for Kaiserslautern. He played 201 games in the Bundesliga. As a player, Rehhagel was known as a tough-as-nails defender. Rot-Weiss Essen is a German football club based in Essen, Nordrhein-Westfalen. ... The Bundesliga is the highest level of Germanys football league system. ... Hertha BSC Berlin is a German football club based in Berlin. ... 1. ...

Managerial career

Early years

He first became a coach in 1974 with Kickers Offenbach, but failed to make an immediate impact. Most famously, with Borussia Dortmund, he suffered a historical, record-setting 0:12 loss after which the tabloids called him Otto Torhagel ("Tor" means goal in German, and "Hagel" means a hailstorm). BV Borussia Dortmund is a German football club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia and one of the most successful clubs in German football. ...

Werder Bremen

After several short assignments including Arminia Bielefeld and Fortuna Düsseldorf he worked for Werder Bremen from 1981 to 1995. During these fourteen years, Rehhagel transformed Werder from a small minnow into a powerhouse, dazzling spectators with powerful up-tempo play and a smothering defence. During this spell, Werder Bremen established themselves as one of the main teams in the Bundesliga, overtaking hated rivals Hamburg as the top club in the north and sparking an intense feud with Bayern Munich. In the mid-eighties, Rehhagel often fell just short of success and had a string of second places and Cup Final losses. In that time, his nickname was Otto II or Vizeadmiral ("Vice Admiral"). After this unfortunate period, Rehhagel led them to two German championships, in 1988 and 1993 and two German Cup victories, as well as one win in the Cup Winners' Cup. In this period, Rehhagel produced a host of international stars, such as Rudi Völler, Karlheinz Riedle, Dieter Eilts, Marco Bode, Mario Basler, Hany Ramzy or Andreas Herzog. His Werder Bremen team of 1988 was the squad with the least allowed goals ever in the Bundesliga (22). His stint with Werder Bremen (14 years Bundesliga) is the second longest consecutive occupation as a manager ever in the Bundesliga. It was only recently surpassed by Volker Finke of Freiburg (15 years - 10 Bundesliga, 5 2nd Division). DSC Arminia Bielefeld is a German football club that plays in Bielefeld, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. ... Fortuna Düsseldorf is a German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia. ... Werder Bremen is a German football club playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. ... Cheeseburger SV is a new burger being sold for a limited time only by Burger King. ... Wikinews has related news: 2007/08 Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs. ... The German Cup trophy The German Cup (official German name: DFB-Pokal, after Deutscher Fußball Bund Pokal or German Football Association Cup) is an elimination football (soccer) tournament held annually. ... The Cup Winners Cup was a football club competition between the winners of the European domestic cup competitions. ... Rudolf Rudi Völler (born April 13, 1960) is a German former international football striker, and a former manager of the German national team. ... Karlheinz Riedle (b. ... Dieter Eilts (born December 13, 1964 in Upgant-Schott) was an acclaimed German football (soccer) player and is currently the trainer of the German U21 squad. ... Marco Bode (born July 23, 1969) is a former German footballer. ... Mario Basler (born December 18, 1968) is a German soccer player. ... Hany Guda Ramzy (born in March 3, 1969 in Cairo, Egypt) is the great egyptian international defender. ... Andreas Andy Herzog (born September 10, 1968 in Vienna) is a retired Austrian football player, the countrys all-time cap leader. ... Werder Bremen is a German football club playing in Bremen in the northwest German federal state of the same name. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Volker Finke (born March 24, 1948 in Nienburg, Lower Saxony) is a German football (soccer) manager and former player. ... Sport-Club Freiburg, commonly known as SC Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg in the Breisgau district of Baden-Württemberg. ...

Bayern Munich

After fourteen golden years, Rehhagel left Bremen to coach Bayern Munich in the 95-96 season. After a disappointing, but financially lucrative year (only 6th place in the Bundesliga, but semi-finals in the Champions League), Bayern spent a lot of money, buying Jürgen Klinsmann, Andreas Herzog, Rehhagel and others, and it was widely expected that Munich would steamroller the opposition. However, from Day 1, Rehhagel clashed with the team and the team environment. His single-minded and occasionally eccentric ways did not mesh at all with Bayern, who quickly felt that Rehhagel was at heart a country bumpkin that had no clue about how to behave in the glitzy Munich environment. Moreover, Rehhagel's old-fashioned tactics and patronizing of the players caused major antipathy in the Bayern team, especially from Klinsmann, who never missed an opportunity to take shots at Rehhagel. The team literally disintegrated in the second half of the season. Rehhagel was famously ousted three weeks before they were to play in the final of the 1996 UEFA Cup, after a disappointing end to their league campaign. His position was taken by Franz Beckenbauer who led the team to victory in the cup. FC Bayern Munich (German: FC Bayern München) is a German football club based in Munich, the capital of the state of Bavaria. ... Jürgen Klinsmann (born July 30, 1964 in Göppingen) is a German football manager and former football player, who played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup. ... Andreas Andy Herzog (born September 10, 1968 in Vienna) is a retired Austrian football player, the countrys all-time cap leader. ... The UEFA Cup (also known as European Cup 3, CE3 or C3) is a football competition for European club teams, organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). ... Franz Anton Beckenbauer (born September 11, 1945) is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed der Kaiser (the emperor) because of his elegant style, his leadership qualities, his first name Franz (reminiscent of the Austrian emperors), and his dominance on the football pitch. ...

Kaiserslautern

After this, Otto Rehhagel coached Kaiserslautern 1996-2000, which had just been relegated after a catastrophic season. He injected new energy into the team which led to FCK's comfortable promotion back to the Bundesliga. Prior to the season, FCK was seen as a dark horse for a place in the UEFA Cup, but Rehhagel's team simply steamrollered the opposition. With sparkling offence and sheer never-ending energy (half a dozen games were won in injury time), Kaiserslautern won a sensational German championship in 1998. Rehhagel coached FCK to some less spectacular, but very decent results, but heavy internal conflicts and a massive smear campaign against him caused him to leave. Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

Greek national squad

In 2001 Rehhagel became the coach of the Greek national team. The team qualified directly for Euro 2004, ahead of Spain and Ukraine. Ranked 100-1 outsiders, they sensationally defeated Portugal, France and the Czech Republic, favourites for many, on the way to the final where they defeated Portugal again to lift the cup. Rehhagel, who was seen as the man most responsible for the team's success, became the first foreign coach ever to win a European Championship. Despite not having a star-studded lign-up, the Greek team won the championship, conceding no goals in the knock-out stage. First international Greece 1 - 4  Italy (Athens, Greece; 7 April 1929) Biggest win Greece 8 - 0  Syria (Athens, Greece; 25 November 1949) Biggest defeat  Hungary 11 - 1 Greece (Budapest, Hungary; 25 March 1938) World Cup Appearances 1 (First in 1994) Best result Round 1, 1994 European Championship Appearances 3 (First... The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly called Euro 2004, was held in Portugal between June 12 and July 4, 2004. ... The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the mens national football teams governed by the UEFA. Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the European Nations Cup, changing to the name European Football...

Rehhagel adopted a defensive approach in playing his Greek side, using energetic midfielders to wear down the opponents and the policy of defending in numbers to numb the opposition's attacks. When charged with boring play, he said, "No one should forget that a coach adapts the tactics to the characteristics of the available players." Interestingly, his time at Werder Bremen is remembered for the flashy and spectacularly attacking football the team favoured.

After Rudi Völler resigned as Germany coach in the wake of that country's first-round exit in Euro 2004, Rehhagel was considered by many to be a strong candidate for his homeland's job. He had the support of the public, despite being considered a maverick by the footballing establishment. After three other candidates removed themselves from consideration, Rehhagel received an offer to take over as Germany coach, which he officially turned down on July 10. Rudolf Rudi Völler (born April 13, 1960) is a German former international football striker, and a former manager of the German national team. ... is the 191st day of the year (192nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

In their qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the Greek side failed to make the grade, finishing fourth in a tough group which saw Ukraine advance as group winner and Turkey go on to the play-off. The team returned to success though by qualifying for Euro 2008, ending the qualifying stage with the highest points total of any team and ensuring they would be able to defend their title. Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for UEFA teams. ... 2006 World Cup redirects here. ... The 2008 European Football Championship (EURO 2008) will take place in Austria and Switzerland. ...

Accolades

• European Champion with the Greek soccer team (2004)
• Cup Winners' European Cup (1993)
• 3x German champion (1988, 1993, 1998)
• 3x German Cup (1980, 1991, 1994)
• Bundesverdienstkreuz of the German Federal Republic (2005)
• "Greek of the Year" (2004), first-ever foreigner to win this award
• Laureus World Sports Awards with the Greek soccer team (2005)

The Bundesverdienstkreuz (the official name is Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) is the only general Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Laureus World Sports Awards are awarded annually to sportspeople who have been outstanding during the previous year. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Coaching style

Rehhagel has popularized the phrase kontrollierte Offensive (controlled offence). He prefers a grass-roots approach to football, stressing the importance of at least two (often also three) big, strong headers in central defence. His defensive schemes often use a dominant libero, such as Miroslav Kadlec, Rune Bratseth or Traianos Dellas. In defence Rehhagel usually prefers robustness and height over footballing abilities (the most notorious example being Ulrich Borowka). In the period of all-round, fluid defence, many have criticized this as dated and anachronistic, but Rehhagel loves to reply that his success makes him right. Libero can refer to: A specialist defensive position in soccer (also known as a sweeper). ... Miroslav Kadlec (born June 22, 1964 in Uherské Hradiště), is a Czech football defender. ... Rune Bratseth Rune Bratseth (born March 19, 1961 in Trondheim, Norway is a former football player. ... Traianos Dellas (Τραϊανός Δέλλας) (born January 31, 1976 in Greece, is a Greek football player. ... Ulrich Borowka (born May 19, 1962) is a former German footballer. ...

Rehhagel's teams also regularly develop a lot of pressure on the wings, e.g. Mario Basler/ Marco Bode (Bremen) or Andreas Buck/ Marco Reich (FCK), who were dominant wingers when Rehhagel coached them. His teams also regularly employ at least one dominant header as the central striker (Karlheinz Riedle, Rudi Völler, Frank Neubarth, Olaf Marschall, Angelos Charisteas). The wing play and the header-strong striker obviously complement each other. Mario Basler (born December 18, 1968) is a German soccer player. ... Marco Bode (born July 23, 1969) is a former German footballer. ... Marco Reich recently joined Crystal Palace Football Club, he plays across the midfield and was previously playing for Derby County, in The Championship. ... Karlheinz Riedle (b. ... Rudolf Rudi Völler (born April 13, 1960) is a German former international football striker, and a former manager of the German national team. ... Olaf Marschall (b. ... Angelos Charisteas (Greek: ; IPA: ) (born February 9, 1980 in Strimoniko,Serres) is a Greek football striker who currently plays for Feyenoord Rotterdam. ...

The backbone of his teams are usually older, more experienced players, talents rarely find themselves taking responsibility. Under him, even the young Michael Ballack often sat on the bench as a substitute. However, Rehhagel is also known for being an excellent talent scout, having discovered Völler, Riedle, Marco Bode, Dieter Eilts, Marco Reich, Miroslav Klose, Angelos Charisteas, Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Theofanis Gekas and many others. Michael Ballack (born September 26, 1976 in Görlitz, Saxony) is a German football player. ... Marco Bode (born July 23, 1969) is a former German footballer. ... Dieter Eilts (born December 13, 1964 in Upgant-Schott) was an acclaimed German football (soccer) player and is currently the trainer of the German U21 squad. ... Miroslav Klose (born MirosÅ‚aw Marian Kloze on June 9, 1978) is a German footballer who plays as a striker. ... Angelos Charisteas (Greek: ; IPA: ) (born February 9, 1980 in Strimoniko,Serres) is a Greek football striker who currently plays for Feyenoord Rotterdam. ... Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Σωτήριος Κυργιάκος; born July 3, 1979 in Trikala, Greece) is a football (soccer) player. ... Theofanis (Fanis) Gekas (Greek: Θεοφάνης Γκέκας, born May 23, 1980, Larissa, Greece) is a footballer who currently plays for German side Bayer 04 Leverkusen. ...

Rehhagel is also known for being a good motivator. His teams regularly have a lot of team spirit, most famously the Greek national squad, which he turned from a dead-end squad nobody wanted to play for into a must-be-there-at-all-costs team. He is also famous for re-ignating the careers of older, seemingly dead-end players, such as Manfred Burgsmüller, Mirko Votava, Olaf Marschall or Theodoros Zagorakis. Manfred Burgsmüller (born: 22nd December 1949 in Essen} is a former German soccer player who was also a kicker in American football. ... Miroslav Mirko Votava (born April 25, 1956 in Prague) is a German former footballer, now a coach. ... Olaf Marschall (b. ... Theodoros Zagorakis (Greek: ) (born October 27, 1971 in Kavala) is the President of PAOK FC, in Thessaloniki, Greece. ...

Rehhagel is also a deft and ruthless club politician. He is notorious for restructuring clubs so that he wields absolute power, making friends with powerful people and using them to eliminate the opposition. He prefers the system of a benign dictatorship. His way of handling a club - in a competent and innovative, but also highly patronizing and condescending way - has been immortalized as ottocracy, a pun on his name making an illusion to the style of management/government; autocracy. Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      An autocracy is a form of government in which the political power is held by a single person. ...

Finally, Rehhagel is considered somewhat of a maverick in Germany. In decades of interviews, he has established a reputation for being elitist, eccentric and unwilling to admit mistakes, similar to e.g. José Mourinho. However, seeing his impressive record, he is apparently able to back up his words. José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho, GOIH (pron. ...

Famous players associated with Rehhagel include Klaus Allofs, Mario Basler, Marco Bode, Rune Bratseth, Manfred Burgsmüller, Angelos Charisteas, Traianos Dellas, Dieter Eilts, Andreas Herzog, Marian Hristov, Miroslav Klose, Olaf Marschall, Hany Ramzy, Karl-Heinz Riedle, Wynton Rufer, Thomas Schaaf, Ciriaco Sforza, Rudi Völler and Theodoros Zagorakis. Klaus Allofs (born December 5, 1956 in Düsseldorf) was a German footballer, and, since July 13, 1999 has been the manager of Werder Bremen. ... Mario Basler (born December 18, 1968) is a German soccer player. ... Marco Bode (born July 23, 1969) is a former German footballer. ... Rune Bratseth Rune Bratseth (born March 19, 1961 in Trondheim, Norway is a former football player. ... Manfred Burgsmüller (born: 22nd December 1949 in Essen} is a former German soccer player who was also a kicker in American football. ... Angelos Charisteas (Greek: ; IPA: ) (born February 9, 1980 in Strimoniko,Serres) is a Greek football striker who currently plays for Feyenoord Rotterdam. ... Traianos Dellas (Τραϊανός Δέλλας) (born January 31, 1976 in Greece, is a Greek football player. ... Dieter Eilts (born December 13, 1964 in Upgant-Schott) was an acclaimed German football (soccer) player and is currently the trainer of the German U21 squad. ... Andreas Andy Herzog (born September 10, 1968 in Vienna) is a retired Austrian football player, the countrys all-time cap leader. ... Marian Hristov (born March 29, 1973) is a Bulgarian football player who, as of 2005, is playing for VfL Wolfsburg of the German Bundesliga. ... Miroslav Klose (born MirosÅ‚aw Marian Kloze on June 9, 1978) is a German footballer who plays as a striker. ... Olaf Marschall (b. ... Hany Guda Ramzy (born in March 3, 1969 in Cairo, Egypt) is the great egyptian international defender. ... Karl-Heinz Riedle (born 16 September 1965 in Weiler im Allgäu) is a former German professional footballer, who won the FIFA World Cup with West Germany in 1990 and the UEFA Champions League in 1997 with Borussia Dortmund. ... Wynton Rufer, born 29 December 1962 to a Swiss father and a mother of Ngati Porou (part Maori) descent, was a New Zealand international footballer remembered as his countrys greatest ever player, finishing his international career with 38 caps and 17 goals. ... Thomas Schaaf (born April 30th, 1961 in Mannheim, Germany) is a German football trainer. ... Ciriaco Sforza (born March 2, 1970, in Wohlen, Switzerland) is a Swiss football player who currently plays for Kaiserslautern. ... Rudolf Rudi Völler (born April 13, 1960) is a German former international football striker, and a former manager of the German national team. ... Theodoros Zagorakis (Greek: ) (born October 27, 1971 in Kavala) is the President of PAOK FC, in Thessaloniki, Greece. ...

Personal life

He is married to Beate Rehhagel. Beate is also remarkable in her own light, because she acts as a sort of player scout for her husband. They have one child, Jens Rehhagel.

In Greece, he is occasionally called King Otto (βασιλιάς Όθων), probably in allusion to King Otto of Greece, however he already had this nickname during his coaching career in Germany. As a wordplay referring to Herakles, son of Zeus, he has been nicknamed "Rehakles" as well. Rehhagel himself likes to call himself Kind der Bundesliga ("Child of the Bundesliga"). King Otto or Othon of Greece, (Greek: , Othon, Vasileus tis Ellados) also Prince of Bavaria (June 1, 1815 – July 26, 1867) was made the first modern king of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers... For the son of Alexander the Great, see Heracles (Macedon). ... For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ...

Although being more than 60 years old, Rehhagel still has very little grey hair, and this seems to be natural. Once, the tabloid newspapers had a barber examine Rehhagel's hair (SPORT-BILD, 1998), and he confirmed that fact. Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

External links

• Rehakles.com Site of Otto Rehhagel
• Career stats for Otto Rehhagel at fussballdaten.de