Jupp Derwall

Football coach

Friday 28 September 2007 00:00 BST
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Josef "Jupp" Derwall, footballer and manager: born Würselen, Germany 10 March 1927; married (one son, one daughter); died St Ingbert, Germany 26 June 2007.

The football coach Jupp Derwall took the West German national team to victory in the 1980 European championship in Italy and under his guidance they were World Cup runners-up in Spain in 1982. Known as "Häuptling Silberlocke" ("Chief Silver Curls"), he played a significant part in Germany's footballing successes in the 1970s and 1980s.

Born in Würselen near Aachen in 1927, the son of a railway official, Josef Derwall (known as "Jupp", a diminutive of Josef) played football for the junior side of his local team, Rhenania Würselen, from 1938. After the Second World War, he played an important role in Rhenania's promotion to the newly constituted Oberliga West. In 1949, Derwall transferred to Alemania Aachen, before moving again, to play for Fortuna Düsseldorf from 1953 to 1959.

Derwall attracted the attention of the national coach, Sepp Herberger, who chose him twice to play for West Germany, but did not send him to the World Cup final in Switzerland in 1954. Perhaps disappointed, Derwall's next move was to Switzerland, where he gained a degree as a sports teacher and began working as a trainer.

From 1963, he was employed by the Saarland Football Federation becoming, in 1969, assistant to the Bundestrainer (the national coach/manager) Helmut Schö*. Although his first responsibility was for the amateur national team, he gained increasing support, being seen as fatherly, fair and calm. He assisted Schö* in every aspect of the game and the German team won the European championship in 1972 and then the World Cup in 1974.

After the 1978 World Cup, Derwall took over from Schö*. In Euro 80 he led West Germany to victory. But in the 1982 World Cup his image, and that of German football, took a beating. First, there was a surprise 2-1 defeat to Algeria. But much worse was to come.

They were strongly criticised for what became known as "Das Skandalspiel von Gijon" ("the scandal game of Gijon"), in which Germany and Austria co-operated to ensure that both teams reached the second stage of the competition, at the expense of the Algerians, who protested, but to no avail.

In 1984 Derwall resigned as coach of the national team after it failed to retain its title at the European championships. Nonetheless, he set a German record of 23 international matches unbeaten, which still stands.

To the surprise of many, Derwall then turned his back on the Bundesliga and took charge of Galatasaray, winning the Turkish cup in 1985 and the league titles in 1987 and 1988. He was awarded the German Order of Merit, first class, for his work as "architect of friendship between Germany and Turkey".

David Childs

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