A legend as a striker and a coach: Jupp Heynckes turns 80

Jupp Heynckes had his first home game as the Bayer 04 coach on 15 August 2009 in the match against TSG Hoffenheim. The Werkself won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Stefan Kießling. It was the first fixture at the rebuilt BayArena. The modern multifunctional arena was built on the foundations of the Ulrich Haberland Stadium opened in 1958. This place suits somebody like Jupp Heynckes, an old hand in the Bundesliga. The then 64-year-old brought a lot of tradition with him to Leverkusen. And he again and again created new things over the course of his time here.

The qualified plasterer had long been retired as a coach in the spring of 2009 with his last job ending over two years before. Bayern Munich rang him up at the end of April to make him caretaker coach and the successor to Jürgen Klinsmann at the record champions and he took them into the Champions League in the last five games of the season. Mission accomplished. Louis van Gaal took over at Säbener Straße. And Bayer 04 seized the opportunity to approach Heynckes. He immediately said yes. It was a coup as a transfer that was rounded off with the return of assistant coach and Bayer 04 legend Peter Hermann from Nürnberg.

World cup winner as a player, ucl winner as a coach

Heynckes, the ninth of ten children, was born in Mönchengladbach on 9 May 1945, a day after the end of the Second World War and the day of liberation, enjoys a worldwide reputation as a former player and a coach. As a player in the 1960s and 1970s, he played alongside the biggest names in German football including legends like Franz Beckenbauer, Günter Netzer and Gerd Müller. He won the UEFA European Championship in 1972 and the World Cup with Germany in 1974. Plus: four times a champion of Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach, UEFA Cup winner 1975, DFB Pokal winner 1973 and twice top goalscorer of the year (1974 1975). With 220 goals in 13 Bundesliga seasons, he is still in fourth place in the all-time goalscoring records. Only Gerd Müller (365), Klaus Fischer (268) and Robert Lewandowski (227) scored more goals than Heynckes. In his last Bundesliga match, he put the ball in the back of the net five times in a game for the first time in an incredible 12-0 win against Borussia Dortmund on 29 April 1978. What a farewell!

As a coach, Heynckes won the UEFA Cup with Borussia Mönchengladbach (1979) and the Champions League with Real Madrid (1998). He won the Bundesliga title twice with Bayern Munich in 1989 and 1990.

Now, in the summer of 2009, he succeeded Bruno Labbadia at Leverkusen after the Werkself only finished ninth in the 2008/09 campaign and had just lost the DFB Pokal final against Werder Bremen. Heynckes was there to put things right as an "old school coach" as he ironically called himself at times. What does "old school" mean? Heynckes, whose expertise was beyond doubt, placed great value on discipline, hard work and punctuality. He was initially known as the "Prussian on the Lower Rhine". Above all, he understood how to lead a team with advancing age. Heynckes was absolutely top as a psychologist and empathetic listener. He proved that impressively in his two years under the Bayer Cross.

Rolfes on Heynckes: "modest and warm-hearted"

Simon Rolfes calls Heynckes the "best coach I've ever had." The current sporting managing director at Bayer 04 said about his former coach: "He never took himself too seriously, always remained inquisitive, modest and warm-hearted. He could look after teams like nobody else, enthused players for the common good and created a team spirit that led to lots of wins and titles and brilliant success. Heynckes did not win any trophies with the Werkself. But he was very successful in his two years at Leverkusen. Under his leadership, the team around goalkeeper René Adler, central defender Sami Hyypiä, captain Simon Rolfes and striker Stefan Kießling were unbeaten at the top of the table in the winter of 2009. The team went 24 games without defeat – a new Bundesliga record that Bayern broke a few years later. And that was topped again by Bayer 04 in the historic 2023/24 season.

Heynckes took the Werkself back into Europe in 2010 after an absence of two years. Bayer 04 finished fourth in the Bundesliga at the end of his first season. The position that did not bring a place in the Champions League back then. But the Black and Reds were back in the Europa League. And that despite key players like Patrick Helmes, Simon Rolfes, Renato Augusto and Gonzalo Castro being sidelined with injury for long periods. A big part in the successful season was played by Toni Kroos who was on loan from FC Bayern. "Jupp Heynckes was outstanding coach, he had an incredibly good touch at Leverkusen in terms of dealing with the team," Kroos said later.

And the second season under Heynckes went even better for Bayer 04. With the return of Michael Ballack, the Werkself finish runners-up in 2010/11 and were therefore back in the Champions League for the first time in seven years. For Heynckes, "two really great years at Bayer 04" came to an end as he said himself in an interview with the Werkself Magazine last year. The successful time at Leverkusen was crucial for his return to FC Bayern. Heynckes made himself immortal in Munich by winning the treble two years later. Bundesliga champions, DFB Pokal winners and Champions League winners. Unsurpassable. That meant the coach had achieved everything at the age of 68. Nevertheless, Bayern brought him back four years later as the successor to Carlo Ancelotti. Heynckes took over at the record champions for the fourth time – and led them to the Bundesliga title again as a 73-year-old in 2018.

"In life your successes don't count any more at some point but what does count is the legacy you leave, what you have given to people and the attitude, empathy and respect you have encountered," Jupp Heynckes said in his supposed farewell as a coach in 2013. Wise words that are not clichés but rather from the bottom of his heart.

It's great that somebody like him came to Leverkusen during his long career. Many happy returns on your 80th birthday, dear Jupp!