The job of the so-called fireman no longer exists in the days of concept coaches in football.
But when the need is greatest, Bundesliga clubs always fall back on old masters who, with decades of experience and clear words, have sometimes already achieved more than others with laptops and tactics boards. The coming weeks will show whether Felix Magath can save Hertha BSC from relegation. Five comparable examples from the past:
Udo Lattek: Udo Lattek had actually retired from coaching in 1993 and only worked as a TV expert. Then he helped Borussia Dortmund again from mid-April 2000 as an interim coach until the end of the season. His assistant back then: Matthias Sammer. After the rescue, the European champion became the new boss. Lattek passed the five games: “I don’t want to fall off the bench dead one day,” he said in farewell.
Otto Rehagel: In February 2012 Hertha was also doing badly. King Otto should help. For this, the Berliners took the former master coach and Greek EM hero out of the coach’s pension at the age of 73. His last Bundesliga engagement in Kaiserslautern was a good eleven years ago. The oldie experiment went wrong. With Rehhagel, Hertha slipped from 15th place to relegation rank in twelve games and failed dramatically against Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Jupp Heynckes: Actually, the then 72-year-old had already settled into his coach’s pension on his converted farm. It was “an affair of the heart” and he couldn’t turn down his fourth engagement with the Munich team, Heynckes later said. It has been more than four years since his last assignment. After Carlo Ancelotti was kicked out, he pacified the team and won the championship again. In the summer of 2018 it will finally be over.
Huub Stevens: Schalke’s coach of the century stepped in twice in the past few years. The successful rescue mission three years ago lasted 67 days. “I hope not to be here anymore,” said the Dutchman after the last game in mid-May 2019. Before Christmas 2020, Stevens helped out again for two competitive games and at least stated: “I had fun in the five days.” At the end of the season, FC Schalke 04 was relegated to the second division.
Friedhelm Funkel: The beer shower after the relegation with 1. FC Köln was enjoyed by the retired trainer. “I’m completely exhausted, but happy,” said Funkel at the end of May 2021 after the 5-1 win in the second leg at Holstein Kiel. It was only in mid-April that he was hired as a rescuer at his ex-club, although he actually didn’t want to take on a coaching job after leaving Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Felix Magath: “Quälix” is back! Felix Magath’s return to the Bundesliga stage with Hertha, which is capable of any surprising turn, causes astonishment, but also malice. The great deeds of the 68-year-old in Nuremberg, Bremen, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich and Wolfsburg were long ago. The failure at Schalke too. However, his image as a tough dog was preserved. Magath has eight games until mid-May to confirm his reputation and still save the Berliners.
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