Jupp Heynckes

Josef “Jupp” Heynckes was born on May 9, 1945, in Mönchengladbach, Germany. His early life was shaped in a town with a strong footballing heritage. Heynckes rose through the youth ranks at Grün-Weiß Holt before joining Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1962. His playing career was marked by significant achievements, including a U19 regional championship in his first season with Mönchengladbach. He was promoted to the first team in 1964/65, playing a crucial role in the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga, scoring 23 goals in 25 games and an additional six goals in six promotion playoff matches. Heynckes spent most of his playing career with Mönchengladbach, leading them through their golden era, winning four Bundesliga titles in 1971, 1975, 1976, and 1977. He also won the DFB Cup in 1973 and the UEFA Cup in 1975, where he scored a hat-trick in the final’s second leg.

His international career saw him represent West Germany, earning 39 caps and scoring 14 goals. He was a member of the West Germany team that won the UEFA European Championship in 1972 and the FIFA World Cup in 1974. Heynckes consistently ranked among the top goalscorers in the Bundesliga, finishing as top scorer in 1973/74 (jointly with Gerd Müller) and outright in 1974/75. By his retirement as a player in 1978, at age 33, Heynckes held the club record for goals scored at Mönchengladbach with 291 goals in 409 games and was second on the Bundesliga’s all-time scoring chart with 218 goals in 368 matches.

Transitioning to management, Heynckes began as an assistant at Mönchengladbach before taking the head coach role in 1979. His managerial journey took him across Germany, Spain, and Portugal, including stints with Bayern Munich, Athletic Bilbao, Eintracht Frankfurt, Tenerife, Real Madrid, Benfica, Schalke 04, and Bayer Leverkusen. He enjoyed considerable success, most notably guiding Real Madrid to their seventh European Cup trophy in 1998, ending a 32-year drought. His most acclaimed period came during his third spell at Bayern Munich, where he achieved a historic treble in the 2012–13 season, winning the Bundesliga, DFB Cup, and UEFA Champions League. This monumental achievement led to him being named FIFA World Coach of the Year in 2013. He later returned for a fourth stint at Bayern in 2017, securing another Bundesliga title in 2017–18 before retiring permanently.