The hero of Kaiserslautern and Greece is 80

A true local hero of my club - Otto Rehhagel - celebrated his 80th birthday last week. A legend that deserves a mention here on the global platform of sports too. Obviously I link a lot personal experience with this man from his time in Kaiserslautern when he led our team directly from division 2 straight to become German champion ahead of Bayern Munich, that was 20 years ago. 

Otto Rehhagel turned 80 (Source)

Otto is a special guy

Otto was known for several famous quotes and for being very self-confident, some people called him stubborn but he was successful with his way! 

"The decisions I make are always correct!" is one of the sentences he was used to say but Rehhagel was not all talk. The Kaiserslautern victory was a first in German football history and will probably never happen and the Greece victory to become European Champion 2004 is similar. 

After the Euro Victory with Greece (Source)
In Bundesliga Otto Rehhagel is one of only two people - the other being Jupp Heynckes - who, as player and manager combined, has participated in over 1000 Bundesliga matches. In the Bundesliga, he holds the records for the most victories (387), most draws (205), most losses (228), and his teams have scored the most goals (1473) and conceded more (1142) than any other.

Source of the quoted area above from Wikipedia

His main achievements as team manager

As coach of the Greece national team he realised a miracle many football fans still are surprised about as the team he led was not even considered to be a top 8 team based on the quality of the players but Otto formed a real team, which also did with his Bundesliga squads. The Kaiserslautern time is the one I followed most closely obviously as I lived in the region that time still being a bi weekly guest in the stadium.  Back in 1996 he was sacked by Bayern Munich and then became manager of Kaiserslautern that had been relegated into division two after a scandalously weak season. By hiring Rehhagel the club became new energy and motivation and made their return to Bundesliga in 1997 and with their victory in the first match of the next season in Munich they started a massive steamroll and it did not stop within the season. 

1998 after the German Championship in Kaiserslautern (Source)

Some of his nice and favourite quotes below:

  • "Anyone can say what I want."
  • "I don't want them to line up like that. I only count smooth fractures as injuries."
  • "I'm not offering myself anywhere but to my wife."
  • "Sometimes you lose - and sometimes the others win."
  • "The truth is on the court."