Otto Rehhagel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Otto Rehhagel

Rehhagel in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth	(1938-08-09) 9 August 1938 (age 86)
Place of birth	Essen, Germany
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1948–1957	TuS Helene Altenessen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1957–1960	TuS Helene Altenessen
1960–1963	Rot-Weiss Essen	90	(3)
1963–1965	Hertha BSC	53	(6)
1965–1972	1. FC Kaiserslautern	148	(17)
International career
1960	West Germany Amateur	2	(0)
Managerial career
1972	FV Rockenhausen
1972–1973	1. FC Saarbrücken
1974–1975	Kickers Offenbach
1976	Werder Bremen
1976–1978	Borussia Dortmund
1978–1979	Arminia Bielefeld
1979–1980	Fortuna Düsseldorf
1981–1995	Werder Bremen
1995–1996	Bayern Munich
1996–2000	1. FC Kaiserslautern
2001–2010	Greece
2012	Hertha BSC
Medal record Men's football Representing  Greece (as manager) UEFA European Championship Winner 2004 Portugal
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Otto Rehhagel (born August 9, 1938) is a famous German former football coach and player. He is known for his long and successful career in football.

Rehhagel is one of only two people who have been involved in over 1,000 matches in the Bundesliga. The Bundesliga is Germany's top football league. He holds many records there, like the most wins (387) and most goals scored by his teams (1,473).

He coached Werder Bremen for 14 years, from 1981 to 1995. During this time, he helped them win the Bundesliga twice and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1992. Later, he led 1. FC Kaiserslautern to a surprising Bundesliga title. This was special because they had just been promoted to the top league.

Internationally, Rehhagel coached the Greek national team from 2001 to 2010. This was their most successful time in football. Greece amazingly won the 2004 European Championship. They also qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which was only their second time in the World Cup finals. A movie called King Otto was made in 2022 about his amazing win with Greece in 2004.

Playing Career: A Strong Defender

Otto Rehhagel was born in Altenessen, Germany. He started playing football for his local club, TuS Helene Altenessen, in 1948. He later played for Rot-Weiss Essen and Hertha BSC. From 1965 to 1972, he played for 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

He played 201 games in the Bundesliga. As a player, Rehhagel was known as a very tough and strong defender.

Managerial Career: From Challenges to Triumphs

Early Coaching Days

Rehhagel started his coaching career in 1972. In 1974, he took charge of Kickers Offenbach. Early in his career, he faced some tough moments. For example, in 1978, while coaching Borussia Dortmund, his team lost a game 12–0. This was a record loss. Because of this, newspapers jokingly called him Otto Torhagel, which means "Otto Goal-Hailstorm."

In 1980, Rehhagel won his first trophy as a coach. His team, Fortuna Düsseldorf, won the DFB-Pokal, which is Germany's main cup competition.

Werder Bremen: Building a Powerhouse

Rehhagel managed Werder Bremen for 14 years, from 1981 to 1995. These were very successful years for the club. He turned Werder Bremen from a smaller team into a strong one. His teams played exciting, fast-paced football and had a very strong defense.

During this time, Werder Bremen became one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. They even became rivals with Bayern Munich. In the mid-1980s, Rehhagel's team often finished second or lost in cup finals. This earned him the nickname Otto II or Vizeadmiral ("Vice Admiral").

However, Rehhagel eventually led Werder Bremen to great success. They won two German championships in 1988 and 1993. They also won the DFB-Pokal twice, in 1991 and 1994. In 1992, they won the European Cup Winners' Cup, a big European trophy. Many international football stars developed under his coaching at Werder Bremen.

Bayern Munich: A Short but Eventful Time

After his long success at Werder Bremen, Rehhagel moved to coach Bayern Munich in 1995. Bayern had spent a lot of money on new players, and everyone expected them to win easily.

However, Rehhagel's coaching style did not fit well with the Bayern team. He was known for his old-school methods. He was fired just four days before Bayern was set to play in the 1996 UEFA Cup final. Even though he was fired, Bayern went on to win that final with a new coach.

1. FC Kaiserslautern: A Fairytale Story

After leaving Bayern Munich, Rehhagel took over 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1996. The club had just won the German Cup but had also been moved down to the second division.

Rehhagel's team quickly won the 1996–97 2. Bundesliga (the second division) by a large margin. This meant they were promoted back to the top league.

In Rehhagel's second season, Kaiserslautern did something amazing. They won the Bundesliga title! This was the first and only time a team that had just been promoted won the German championship. Many people thought this was one of the greatest achievements in German football history. Rehhagel himself said it was "something that will never happen again."

He left Kaiserslautern in October 2000 after a difficult start to the new season.

Greece National Team: European Champions

In August 2001, Otto Rehhagel became the new manager of the Greek national team. His first game was a big loss, but he quickly rebuilt the team.

In October 2003, Greece qualified for UEFA Euro 2004. No one expected much from them. They were considered huge underdogs. But Greece surprised everyone! They beat the host nation Portugal, the defending champions France, and the strong Czech Republic. In the final, they beat Portugal again 1–0.

Rehhagel was seen as the main reason for this success. He became the first foreign coach to win a European Championship. The Greek team won the tournament without letting in any goals in the knockout rounds.

Rehhagel giving instructions to players of the Greece national football team before the changes

Rehhagel used a very defensive style of play for Greece. He focused on having energetic midfielders and many defenders to stop the other team's attacks. He once said that a coach should use tactics that fit the players he has.

After this big win, many people thought Rehhagel would become the coach of the German national team. But he decided to stay with Greece.

Greece did not qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, they qualified for Euro 2008. They finished the qualifying stage with the most points of any team. But Euro 2008 was disappointing, as they lost all three of their group games.

For the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Greece qualified after winning a play-off match against Ukraine. At 71 years old, Rehhagel became the oldest national team coach to lead a team in a FIFA World Cup. Greece won one game at the World Cup, scoring their first-ever World Cup goal. But they did not make it past the group stage. Rehhagel announced he would leave his coaching job after the World Cup. He resigned on June 23, 2010.

The 2021 documentary King Otto tells the story of Rehhagel's success in Greece.

Hertha BSC: A Final Challenge

Rehhagel during his stint as Hertha Berlin manager

Rehhagel took over Hertha BSC in February 2012. He tried to save them from being moved down to a lower league. However, Hertha lost in a play-off and was relegated. Rehhagel left the club in June 2012.

Style of Management: "Controlled Offence"

Rehhagel became famous for a phrase called kontrollierte Offensive, which means "controlled offence." He liked a strong defense with big, tall players in the middle. His teams often used a special defender called a libero. He preferred strong and tall players in defense.

His teams also created pressure on the sides of the field. They often had a strong central striker who was good at heading the ball.

Rehhagel usually relied on older, more experienced players. But he was also very good at finding new talent. He discovered many famous players like Rudi Völler, Miroslav Klose, and Angelos Charisteas.

With Greece, he used a tactic called man-marking. This was unusual at the time, which made it hard for opponents to play against them.

Rehhagel was also known for being a great motivator. His teams had a lot of team spirit. He could also help older players play well again.

He was also known for being a strong leader within clubs. He liked to have a lot of control, which some people called an ottocracy, a funny name combining his name with "autocracy" (meaning rule by one person).

Many famous players worked with Rehhagel, including Klaus Allofs, Mario Basler, Marco Bode, Rune Bratseth, Theofanis Gekas, Angelos Charisteas, Traianos Dellas, Dieter Eilts, Andreas Herzog, Miroslav Klose, Olaf Marschall, Rudi Völler, and Theodoros Zagorakis.

Personal Life

Otto with wife Beate Rehhagel in 2017

Otto Rehhagel has been married to Beate Rehhagel since 1963. They have one child, Jens Rehhagel, who played football at a lower professional level.

Rehhagel often calls himself Kind der Bundesliga ("Child of the Bundesliga"). This is because he played in the very first Bundesliga game and spent his whole club career there. In Greece, he is sometimes called King Otto (βασιλιάς Όθων). He is also an honorary citizen of Athens.

Managerial Statistics

Honours: Trophies and Awards

Managerial Honours

Fortuna Düsseldorf

• DFB-Pokal: 1979–80 (German Cup)

Werder Bremen

• Bundesliga: 1987–88, 1992–93 (German League Championship)
• DFB-Pokal: 1990–91, 1993–94
• DFL-Supercup: 1988, 1993, 1994 (German Supercup)
• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1991–92 (European Trophy)

1. FC Kaiserslautern

• Bundesliga: 1997–98
• 2. Bundesliga: 1996–97 (German Second Division)

Greece

• UEFA European Championship: 2004 (European Championship)

Individual Awards

• Order of the Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic: (2005) - A high honor from Greece
• Laureus World Sports Awards with the Greece: (2005) - A major sports award
• "Greece's Coach of the Year" (2004, 2007) - First foreign coach to win this
• IFFHS World's Best National Coach: 2004 - Recognized as the best national team coach in the world
• World Soccer 36th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
• France Football 46th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2019

See also

In Spanish: Otto Rehhagel para niños

• National team managers with 100 or more games
• List of football managers with the most games