Otto Rehhagel

Honorary Award Recipient of the DFL
Champion coach of the then promoted 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1998

Otto Rehhagel, born in 1938, was recognised as an Ehrenpreisträger (Honorary Award Recipient) in 2019. A “child of the Bundesliga”: after being transferred from Rot-Weiss Essen in his birthplace to Berlin, he turned out for Hertha Berlin in their 1:1 draw with 1. FC Nürnberg when the first-ever Bundesliga season kicked off on 24 August 1963. And when he ended his career with 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1972 after 201 Bundesliga appearances (scoring 22 goals), Otto Rehhagel spent 40 years as a coach. Again, he managed mainly in the Bundesliga, most notably with SV Werder Bremen, whom he managed in 1976 and for 14 years from 1981. He guided the North German club to two Bundesliga titles (1988 and 1993) and also won the DFB-Pokal twice (1991 and 1994), having already lifted it with Fortuna Düsseldorf (1980), and the European Cup-Winners’ Cup (1992).

However, the greatest triumphs and most sensational achievements were yet to come for Otto Rehhagel, who also managed in the Bundesliga with Kickers Offenbach, Borussia Dortmund, Arminia Bielefeld, FC Bayern München and Hertha Berlin: in 1998, Otto Rehhagel led newly promoted 1. FC Kaiserslautern to the Bundesliga title – a unique feat to this day. In the same stunning vein, he won the 2004 European Championship with rank outsiders Greece, who beat hosts Portugal 1:0 in the final.

Otto Rehhagel accepts the DFL Honorary Award in 2019.
Photo: Witters

^{Photo: Witters/Tim Groothuis}