Hennes Weisweiler

The architect of Borussia Mönchengladbach's golden era.

Hans 'Hennes' Weisweiler (5 December 1919 – 5 July 1983) was a German professional football player and coach. As a coach, he won major titles with Bundesliga clubs Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1. FC Köln in the 1970s. With eleven titles, eight with West German clubs, Weisweiler was one of the most successful European coaches of his time. His influence went well beyond. Between 1957 and 1970, at the German Sports Academy in Cologne, Weisweiler was responsible for the training of hundreds of coaches from all over the world. In 2005, the training centre for coaches there was named the Hennes-Weisweiler-Academy in his honour.

Quick Facts

Full name: Hans Weisweiler
Born: 5 December 1919
Birthplace: Erftstadt-Lechenich, Germany
Died: 5 July 1983
Place of death: Zürich, Switzerland
Position: Midfielder

Lore & Background

Weisweiler is most closely associated with the fortunes of Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 1960s and 1970s and with 1. FC Köln in the late 1970s. He is also famous for having developed the talents of many outstanding players, including Günter Netzer, Berti Vogts, Jupp Heynckes, Rainer Bonhof, Allan Simonsen, Uli Stielike, Bernd Schuster and Pierre Littbarski. He took over as manager of Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1964. The club's most recent major title had been its win in the German cup in 1960, and it had found itself in the second division after the inception of the Bundesliga, finishing eighth in the year before he arrived. Weisweiler found a team with young local talent, such as the 19-year-old Günter Netzer and Jupp Heynckes, as well as Bernd Rupp and Herbert Laumen, who later played for the national team. The next year Borussia, the average age of the players a mere 21.5, finished first in its division and gained promotion to the Bundesliga. With the beginning of the new season another 19-year-old, Berti Vogts, joined the team. The first two years in the Bundesliga were learning years. Despite the later addition of another talented player, Herbert Wimmer, Borussia finished in 13th and 8th place in the league. In its third year the club came to the attention of a wider audience and finished third, despite losing Heynckes to Hannover 96. The team, by now known for their attacking style, repeated that success the following year. At the beginning of the 1969–70 season Borussia was even widely tipped as being the holders Bayern Munich's main rival for the Championship, as the defense had been strengthened with the arrival of international Ludwig Müller, and the attack boosted by the addition of Danish international Ulrik Le Fevre. Decisive also was Weisweiler's ability to find and add further gifted young players, and younger talents including players like Horst Köppel reached sufficient maturity to hold their own on the highest level. This 'youth culture' eventually gave Borussia the nickname they still carry today: the Foals. At the end of the year the team was crowned champion for the first time, and twelve months later the club from the small town became the first side in Bundesliga history to defend the league title. This was secured with a 4–1 away win in Frankfurt, which enabled Borussia to fend off a late Bayern challenge on the last match day.

Reader's Guide

Weisweiler moved in the summer of 1975.

A Master of Talent Development

Weisweiler's ability to find and add further gifted young players gave Borussia the nickname they still carry today: the Foals. Younger talents including players like Horst Köppel reached sufficient maturity to hold their own on the highest level. The 19-year-old diminutive lightweight Allan Simonsen was immediately regarded a dud by everyone who saw him in one of his rare appearances in the first team. Weisweiler's expressions of belief in Simonsen were met with general disbelief, but five years later Simonsen was voted Europe's Player of the Year. Weisweiler also developed talents including Rainer Bonhof, Uli Stielike, and others.

The Match of the Can and European Drama

During Borussia's second European Champions Cup challenge, Helenio Herrera's catenaccio specialists Inter Milan visited the Bökelberg stadium. During the first half of the match, with Borussia leading 2–1, Inter's Roberto Boninsegna was allegedly hit in the head by a soft drink can thrown from the stands, and had been stretchered off. It is disputed that he had actually been struck, or if it had truly caused him injury. Borussia had obliterated Inter by a final score of 7–1. Netzer later said his team had played so well they would have defeated any side in Europe by a huge margin, however Inter players said that when Boninsegna got stretchered off they essentially stopped playing. The empty can was presented to the referee, and afterwards when Inter's officials complained, the governing authorities annulled the match and ordered it to be replayed on a neutral ground. Inter won its home leg against Borussia 4–2, and the neutral match played in Berlin ended 0–0. The annulled match has come to be called 'the Match of the Can'.