It is the fitting end to an extraordinary career and just reward for a man who won the lot in 2013. Former Bayern München coach Jupp Heynckes has become the first German to win the FIFA World Coach of the Year award since its inception in 2010. Heynckes, who retired in the summer, accepted the award in Zürich on Monday evening, 233 days after winning the treble with Bayern.
"Thank you very much! It means a lot to pick up an award right at the end of my career. Ten years ago, I probably wouldn't even have dreamt of this", said an emotional Heynckes: "Normally in team sports it is often difficult to put things together like this. It isn't just down to me, this is down to the whole club, Bayern München, everybody that has been working with me during this period. We have been blessed with world-class players and they produced amazing performances. The coaching staff has also lent their weight. I want to thank everybody that has pulled together and helped me to produce this winning team."
Coaching legend
Heynckes joins an elite list of coaches to have won the award: Vicente del Bosque, who led Spain to the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, won it 12 months previously, while this year Heynckes came out on top against Borussia Dortmund's Jürgen Klopp and former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Heynckes' achievements in 2013 have confirmed his status as a true coaching legend. His successor at Bayern, Pep Guardiola, recently paid tribute to the 68-year-old at an awards ceremony in Berlin. "Your achievements will always be sacred in the history of football", said the Spaniard. "Jupp is a legend in Germany and every child in Spain knows who he is, too. For me personally, you are a real role model."
Since his coaching debut at Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1979, Heynckes has moved with the times, even managing to reinvent himself at Bayern towards the end of his career as he guided them to an historic treble of Bundesliga, DFB Cup and UEFA Champions League. Bayern's Chief Executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that Heynckes will always have a "special place" at the club due to the "incredible heights" he reached as coach of the team.
Quiet retirement
Since winning the treble with Bayern, Josef "Jupp" Heynckes has been enjoying retirement on his farm in the Bergisches Land. He is in good spirits, admitting it's a relief not to have so many public appearances lined up. Unsurprisingly perhaps, a return to coaching is out of the question: "That's all in the past", he said.
Even offers from Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain, AS Monaco, as well as other Russian and Qatari clubs have failed to lure Heynckes out of retirement: "I was never tempted, neither in a sporting, nor in a business sense", he said. "I think it would be impossible to take on a new club after my time at Bayern München."
He now prefers to follow events, especially those involving his former club, from home. "I don't see a better team in Europe. They are strong enough to remain the top team in Europe in the coming years."
Who better to judge than Europe's top coach?
World Coach of the Year: Vote result
1. Jupp Heynckes (Germany/Bayern München) 37.09 per cent
2. Jürgen Klopp (Germany/Borussia Dortmund) 15.73 per cent
3. Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland/Manchester United) 14.60 per cent
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It is the fitting end to an extraordinary career and just reward for a man who won the lot in 2013. Former Bayern München coach Jupp Heynckes has become the first German to win the FIFA World Coach of the Year award since its inception in 2010. Heynckes, who retired in the summer, accepted the award in Zürich on Monday evening, 233 days after winning the treble with Bayern.
"Thank you very much! It means a lot to pick up an award right at the end of my career. Ten years ago, I probably wouldn't even have dreamt of this", said an emotional Heynckes: "Normally in team sports it is often difficult to put things together like this. It isn't just down to me, this is down to the whole club, Bayern München, everybody that has been working with me during this period. We have been blessed with world-class players and they produced amazing performances. The coaching staff has also lent their weight. I want to thank everybody that has pulled together and helped me to produce this winning team."
Coaching legend
Heynckes joins an elite list of coaches to have won the award: Vicente del Bosque, who led Spain to the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, won it 12 months previously, while this year Heynckes came out on top against Borussia Dortmund's Jürgen Klopp and former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Heynckes' achievements in 2013 have confirmed his status as a true coaching legend. His successor at Bayern, Pep Guardiola, recently paid tribute to the 68-year-old at an awards ceremony in Berlin. "Your achievements will always be sacred in the history of football", said the Spaniard. "Jupp is a legend in Germany and every child in Spain knows who he is, too. For me personally, you are a real role model."
Since his coaching debut at Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1979, Heynckes has moved with the times, even managing to reinvent himself at Bayern towards the end of his career as he guided them to an historic treble of Bundesliga, DFB Cup and UEFA Champions League. Bayern's Chief Executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that Heynckes will always have a "special place" at the club due to the "incredible heights" he reached as coach of the team.
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Quiet retirement
Since winning the treble with Bayern, Josef "Jupp" Heynckes has been enjoying retirement on his farm in the Bergisches Land. He is in good spirits, admitting it's a relief not to have so many public appearances lined up. Unsurprisingly perhaps, a return to coaching is out of the question: "That's all in the past", he said.
Even offers from Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain, AS Monaco, as well as other Russian and Qatari clubs have failed to lure Heynckes out of retirement: "I was never tempted, neither in a sporting, nor in a business sense", he said. "I think it would be impossible to take on a new club after my time at Bayern München."
He now prefers to follow events, especially those involving his former club, from home. "I don't see a better team in Europe. They are strong enough to remain the top team in Europe in the coming years."
Who better to judge than Europe's top coach?
World Coach of the Year: Vote result
1. Jupp Heynckes (Germany/Bayern München) 37.09 per cent
2. Jürgen Klopp (Germany/Borussia Dortmund) 15.73 per cent
3. Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland/Manchester United) 14.60 per cent
