Jupp Heynckes

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Lore & Background

Josef Heynckes was born 9 May 1945 in Mönchengladbach. He played 369 matches in the German Bundesliga, scoring 220 goals. After playing for amateur club Grün-Weiß Holt as a youth, he started his professional career in 1964 with his hometown club Borussia Mönchengladbach who were then in the second division. In 1965, the club, managed by Hennes Weisweiler, achieved promotion to the Bundesliga, with the teenaged striker scoring 23 goals in 25 matches in his debut season. He scored his first two Bundesliga goals in August 1965 against SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin. He scored 27 Bundesliga goals in two seasons for Borussia before joining Hannover 96, where he spent three years and scored 25 times in 86 league matches. He returned to Mönchengladbach in 1970, with the club having just won the first league title in its history. With Heynckes, who scored 19 times in 33 matches, Gladbach became the first club to retain the Bundesliga title in 1970–71. Heynckes ended his playing career in 1978 and began studying for his coaching licence at the Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln. During his club career, he won four Bundesliga titles, one DFB-Pokal and one UEFA Cup. He is Borussia Mönchengladbach's top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 195 goals. Heynckes made 39 appearances for the West Germany national team and scored 14 goals. He made his international debut in February 1967, scoring in a 5–1 friendly win against Morocco. He was a member of the West Germany team that won the 1972 UEFA European Championship, playing 90 minutes in the 3–0 win over the Soviet Union in the final. He was named by UEFA as one of seven German players in the official Team of the Tournament. He was included in West Germany's squad for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, but spent most of the tournament on the bench due to injury. After his playing career, Heynckes stayed with Borussia Mönchengladbach and served the club for eight more years, first as an assistant and then as a manager, succeeding Udo Lattek in this position in 1979 at age 34. On the final day of the 1977–78 season, Heynckes scored four goals in Borussia Mönchengladbach's 12–0 win against Borussia Dortmund.

In Their Own Story

The path to glory for Heynckes was paved with both historic victories and agonizing near-misses. In the 1973 UEFA Cup final, Gladbach became the first German side to reach the showpiece event but lost to Liverpool on aggregate after a penalty save by Ray Clemence denied them an away goal in the away leg. Conversely, in the 1974–75 UEFA Cup, Heynckes scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 away win against Twente to secure the trophy, making Gladbach the first German winners of the competition. His international career saw him play 39 times for West Germany, scoring 14 goals. He was named to UEFA's official Team of the Tournament after the 1972 European Championship final win over the Soviet Union. However, his 1974 World Cup experience ended in personal heartbreak; despite excellent club form, he spent most of the tournament on the bench behind Gerd Müller and was sidelined by injury for the final against the Netherlands.

Reader's Guide

Heynckes is a retired German footballer and manager. As a player, he was a striker for Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning four Bundesliga titles, one DFB-Pokal, and one UEFA Cup. He is the fourth-highest goalscorer in Bundesliga history with 220 goals. As a manager, he won four Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich and two UEFA Champions Leagues (with Real Madrid in 1997–98 and Bayern in 2012–13).

Did You Know?

• Heynckes scored 23 goals in 21 UEFA Cup matches, the only player in the top ten all-time scorers to average over a goal per game.
• He was joint top scorer in the 1972–73 UEFA Cup with 12 goals and top scorer in the 1974–75 UEFA Cup with 10 goals.
• Heynckes scored five goals in Borussia Mönchengladbach's record 12–0 win against Borussia Dortmund on the final day of the 1977–78 season.