Helmut Schön

Helmut Schön spent his entire career as a footballer with Dresdner SC, playing with them from 1932 through 1950, except for a brief loan to FC St. Pauli during the 1946-1947 season. During that time, the team won the German Cup in 1940 and 1941 and the German Championship in 1943 and 1944. Schön fled to West Germany in 1950 and spent part of a season with Hertha BSC, before retiring from active competition. He also scored 17 goals across 16 appearances with the German national team from 1937 through 1941.

Schön began his international coaching career in 1952, when he became the second, and final, head coach of the short-lived Saarland national football team, which was absorbed into West Germany in 1956. During that time, the squad was entered into the tournament at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, but withdrew before playing any matches. The team also attempted to qualify for the 1954 World Cup, but was unsuccessful. During this time, he also coached 1. FC Saarbrücken for the 1953-1954 season.

After Saarland merged into West Germany, Schön served as an assistant coach to Sepp Herberger and succeeded him in 1964. He had an auspicious start by coming runner-up in the World Cup in 1966, and four years later the team came in third. He won the European Championship in 1972 and followed that up with a victory at the World Cup in 1974. At the 1976 European Championships, West Germany lost the final 5-3 after a penalty shootout. In 1978 he announced that he would retire after that year’s World Cup, where his team was eliminated in the second round, and left with a final record of 87 wins, 22 losses, and 30 draws. He received the FIFA Order of Merit in 1984 and in 2013 World Soccer ranked him among the top 25 greatest managers of all time.