.jpg) Happel in a commemorative banner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ernst Franz Hermann Happel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1925-11-29)29 November 1925 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Vienna, Austria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 14 November 1992(1992-11-14) (aged 66) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Innsbruck, Austria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1938–1942 | Rapid Wien | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1942–1954 | Rapid Wien | 177 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1955–1956 | RC Paris | 42 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1956–1959 | Rapid Wien | 63 | (17) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 282 | (34) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1947–1958 | Austria | 51 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1962–1969 | ADO Den Haag | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967 | San Francisco Gales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969–1973 | Feijenoord | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1974 | Sevilla | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1974–1978 | Club Brugge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | Harelbeke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1981 | Standard Liège | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1987 | Hamburger SV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1991 | Swarovski Tirol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Austria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ernst Franz Hermann Happel (29 November 1925 – 14 November 1992) was an Austrianfootballplayer andmanager.
Happel is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time,[1][2][3] winning both league and domestic cup titles in the Netherlands, Belgium, West Germany, and Austria. Happel won theEuropean Cup twice, in1970 withFeyenoord and1983 withHamburger SV, managedClub Brugge to a European Cup runner-up finish in1978, and won a runners-up medal withthe Netherlands at the1978 FIFA World Cup. This is the best result ever for a non-domestic manager in aWorld Cup alongside EnglishmanGeorge Raynor'sSwedish runner-up campaign in1958.[4] He was the first of the six managers to have won the European Cup with two clubs (Carlo Ancelotti,Ottmar Hitzfeld,José Mourinho,Pep Guardiola andJupp Heynckes being the other five). He is also one of six managers–– along with Ancelotti, Mourinho,Giovanni Trapattoni,Tomislav Ivić, andEric Gerets–– to have won top-flight domestic league championships in at least four countries.
Happel started his professional playing career atRapid Wien, where he made his first team debut at age 17. Forming a solid defensive partnership withMax Merkel, he played 14 years for Rapid, from 1943 until 1954 and 1956 until 1959, winning theAustrian Championship title six times. He was chosen in Rapid's Team of the Century in 1999.[5]
The two years in between Happel played forRacing Club de Paris inFrance.
Happel made his debut forAustria in September 1947 againstHungary. He played for Austria at the1948 Summer Olympics.[6] He was a participant at the1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland, where he helped them reach third place, and also at the1958 World Cup. His last international was a September 1958 match againstYugoslavia. He earned 51 caps and scored 5 goals.[7]
After retiring as a player, Happel went on to become one of the greatest coaches of all time. He won the league title in four countries. He also took two clubs to gold in the European Champions' Cup (now theUEFA Champions League) and the Netherlands to second place in the1978 World Cup. His first club wasADO Den Haag in 1962, with whom he won theDutch Cup in 1968. After Den Haag he coachedFeyenoord, with whom he won the European Cup (defeatedGlasgow Celtic in the1970 final) and theIntercontinental Cup in 1970, and theDutch championship in 1971.
At the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, Happel was coach ofThe Netherlands national team and reachedthe final against theArgentina national team. Always a man of few words, Happel's pre-match pep talk is said to have consisted of just one sentence: "Gentlemen, two points." The Dutch, however, lost the final 3–1 in extra time.
During his career as coach, Happel worked for several clubs, includingSevilla,Club Brugge (winning theBelgian Championship title several times) andHamburger SV (1981–1987,German champions in 1982 and 1983,German Cup winner 1987).
In 1983, he won the European Cup again, 13 years after the triumph with Feyenoord, this time withHamburger SV, defeatingJuventus in the final. He is one of six coaches in the history of the European Cup (now called Champions League) to win the title with two clubs, the others beingOttmar Hitzfeld, who won withBorussia Dortmund andBayern Munich;José Mourinho, who won withPorto andInter Milan;Jupp Heynckes, who won withReal Madrid andBayern Munich;Carlo Ancelotti, who won withMilan andReal Madrid; andPep Guardiola, who won withFC Barcelona andManchester City.
In 1987, Happel returned to Austria as coach ofSwarovski Tirol. With the club, he won theAustrian Championship title twice (1989 and 1990) before becoming coach of theAustria national team in 1992.
All youth players ofRapid Vienna automatically became member of theHitler Jugend in 1938. Ernst reported he refused to sing along to their songs until he was kicked out of their gatherings.[8]
He was conscripted and dispatched to theEastern Front in 1943. Although he never saw action, he was arrested by the Americans in 1945. He escaped by jumping out of the train wagon inMunich and took several months to make his way back toVienna. He smuggled himself into theSoviet occupation zone with the excuse that he had seen from afar his house was still standing and that he'd started playing at Rapid Vienna again.[8]
Ernst Happel never married. He was described by one of his ex-playersBirger Jensen as a bit of a loner, always accompanied by his cigarettes and cognac.[9] He nevertheless would meet up with Austrian friends, enjoying card games, pool and darts.[9]
A heavy smoker for most of his adult life, Happel died oflung cancer in 1992 at age 66. In the wake of his death, the biggest football stadium in Austria, the Praterstadion in Vienna, was renamed theErnst-Happel-Stadion. Four days after his death, Austria played againstGermany and reached a 0–0 draw; Happel's cap lay on the bench during the entire match.
| Club | From | To | Competition | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| ADO Den Haag | 26 August 1962 | 22 May 1969 | Eredivisie | 222 | 94 | 66 | 62 | 042.34 |
| KNVB Cup | 31 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 077.42 | |||
| European Cup Winners' Cup | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 050.00 | |||
| ADO Den Haag Total | 257 | 120 | 71 | 66 | 046.69 | |||
| San Francisco Golden Gate Gales | 28 May 1967 | 1 July 1967 | USA Western Division | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 041.67 |
| San Francisco Golden Gate Gales Total | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 041.67 | |||
| Feyenoord | 10 August 1969 | 20 May 1973 | Eredivisie | 136 | 101 | 23 | 12 | 074.26 |
| KNVB Cup | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 050.00 | |||
| Intercontinental Cup | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 050.00 | |||
| European Cup | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 058.82 | |||
| UEFA Cup | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 061.90 | |||
| Feyenoord Total | 186 | 130 | 34 | 22 | 069.89 | |||
| Sevilla | 2 September 1973 | 17 December 1973 | Segunda División | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 035.71 |
| Copa del Generalísimo | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |||
| Sevilla Total | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 040.00 | |||
| Club Brugge | 27 January 1974 | 25 October 1978 | First Division | 166 | 97 | 39 | 30 | 058.43 |
| Belgian Cup | 19 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 068.42 | |||
| Belgian League Cup | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 062.50 | |||
| European Cup | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 047.06 | |||
| UEFA Cup | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 050.00 | |||
| Club Brugge Total | 222 | 129 | 49 | 44 | 058.11 | |||
| K.R.C. Harelbeke | 11 February 1979 | 1 May 1979 | Second Division | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 054.55 |
| K.R.C. Harelbeke Total | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 054.55 | |||
| Standard Liège | 29 August 1979 | 17 May 1981 | First Division | 68 | 38 | 15 | 15 | 055.88 |
| Belgian Cup | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 085.71 | |||
| Belgian Super Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 000.00 | |||
| UEFA Cup | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 050.00 | |||
| Intertoto Cup | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 033.33 | |||
| Standard Liège Total | 97 | 56 | 21 | 20 | 057.73 | |||
| Hamburger SV | 8 August 1981 | 20 June 1987 | Bundesliga | 204 | 109 | 53 | 42 | 053.43 |
| DFB-Pokal | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 068.18 | |||
| German Supercup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 000.00 | |||
| Intercontinental Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 000.00 | |||
| European Cup | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 063.64 | |||
| UEFA Cup | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 050.00 | |||
| Hamburger SV Total | 259 | 141 | 61 | 57 | 054.44 | |||
| Swarovski Tirol | 18 July 1987 | 30 November 1991 | Bundesliga | 176 | 91 | 45 | 40 | 051.70 |
| Austrian Cup | 20 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 075.00 | |||
| Austrian Supercup | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 000.00 | |||
| European Cup | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 050.00 | |||
| European Cup Winners' Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 | |||
| UEFA Cup | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 050.00 | |||
| Swarovski Tirol Total | 215 | 114 | 50 | 51 | 053.02 | |||
| Totals | 1,274 | 707 | 294 | 273 | 055.49 | |||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Netherlands | 31 August 1977 | 25 June 1978 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 066.67 |
| Austria | 1 January 1992 | 14 November 1992 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 022.22 |
| Total | 21 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 047.62 | ||
Rapid Wien[10]
Austria
ADO Den Haag[11]
Feyenoord[12]
Club Brugge[13]
Standard Liège[16]
Hamburger SV[17]
Swarovski Tirol[18]
Netherlands
Ernst Happel international tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
