.jpg) Cramer in 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1925-04-04)4 April 1925 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Dortmund, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 17 September 2015(2015-09-17) (aged 90) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Reit im Winkl, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1960–1963 | Japan (technical advisor) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1964–1966 | West Germany (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1971–1974 | Egypt | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1974 | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1974 | Hertha BSC | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975–1977 | Bayern Munich | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1981 | Al-Ittihad | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | Aris Thessaloniki | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1985 | Bayer Leverkusen | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984–1985 | Malaysia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | South Korea U-23 (technical advisor) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Thailand | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Dettmar Cramer (4 April 1925 – 17 September 2015) was a Germanfootball manager who ledBayern Munich to the1975 and1976European Cups. He was born inDortmund. Cramer is commonly considered to be the father of modern football in Japan and was a member of theOrder of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class. He coached theEgypt national football team and also briefly coached theUnited States national team.[1]
Known as the "Football Professor",[2] because of his attention to detail and also as "Napoleon" because of his diminutive 1.61 meter stature, Cramer began his career at Viktoria Dortmund andGermania Wiesbaden. The beginning of his managerial career led him to clubs such asTeutonia Lippstadt, VfL Geseke,FC Paderborn, and TuS Eving-Lindenhorst. At the turn of the year 1948–49, Cramer found himself in the service of theGerman Football Association (DFB) for the first time. Until 1963 he served with the designation as Head Coach for Western Germany under the DFB inDuisburg.
Little known, Cramer attempted to make the jump into a career in journalism at this point. He became lead editor for sports forWest German television stationZDF. Feeling largely isolated from the football world, Cramer decided to call it quits after only six months on the job. Afterward he was sent by the DFB to Japan to serve as a football instructor.
In order to strengthen its national team ahead of theTokyo Olympic Games four years later, theJapan Football Association had the idea in 1960 of bringing in a foreign professional coach. Cramer was ultimately selected for this role. Through Cramer's coaching and leadership, and the efforts of his players, theJapan national team achieved a surprise upset overArgentina at the Tokyo Olympics. The significance of this result was not lost on Cramer who saw it as a confirmation that Japanese football was vastly improving. Cramer's efforts were not limited to the national team, as he also formulated and implemented policies for general development. The foundation of a first national league, the training of other coaches, and the strengthening of the national team would all contribute to Japan's success at theMexico City Olympics four years later, where Japan would take home the bronze medal.
On 1 January 1964, Cramer returned to West Germany to serve as an assistant to West Germany national coachHelmut Schön. In this capacity he was a part of the coaching staff at theWorld Cup in 1966, whereWest Germany lost in the final to England. His talents were highly regarded byFIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association), which contracted him as a coach from 1967 to 1974 and sent him on a tour of the globe. During this time, Cramer also ran the 1st FIFA Coaching Course in Japan in 1969, and sowed the seeds for a coach training structure in Japan. Additionally, on 1 August 1974, Cramer was selected by theUnited States Soccer Federation to become the head coach of theUnited States national team.
During his time in national team service, Cramer received numerous coaching offers from West German clubs in theBundesliga, although he consistently turned them down. Then, on 16 January 1975, he took over the reins as manager of West German giantsFC Bayern Munich. At the beginning, Cramer faced heavy criticism inMunich, mostly because of his passive management style. With rumors of a sacking swirling around Cramer, he was strongly backed by team captainFranz Beckenbauer, who felt indebted to him because of his insistence that Beckenbauer be allowed to join theWest Germany U19 national team after initially being banned for impregnating a girl out of wedlock; He served as best man at Beckenbauer's wedding in 1966.
Cramer led Bayern to victory in the 1975 and 1976European Champions Cup, in addition to capturing the1976 Intercontinental Cup. The 1976 Bundesliga season, however, saw Bayern unable to recapture their form and, after a season that saw them fail to defend their domestic title, Cramer was forced to resign his position. Cramer was involved in a trade between Bayern andEintracht Frankfurt, which saw him take the top spot at Frankfurt, while Frankfurt coachGyula Lóránt made his way to Bayern. Neither club was happy with the trade, as Bayern finished a club worst 12th in the table, while Frankfurt's results were mediocre at best. As a result, the club parted ways with him on 30 June 1978.
Not until the 1982–83 season did Cramer find himself employed in the Bundesliga again, this time with clubBayer Leverkusen. At Leverkusen he managed to lead the club to their first top 9 finish in the league during his second year in charge. Failure to build on that accomplishment led to his dismissal after his third season in charge. Never to coach in the Bundesliga again, Cramer instead found coaching positions with various international clubs and associations around the world. In 2002 Cramer officially announced his retirement from football. In 2005, he was inducted into the Japan Football Hall of Fame.
Cramer served inWorld War II as aSenior Lieutenant with a Germanparatrooper division. For his international achievements, Cramer was awarded two honorary doctorates in addition to being presented with theBundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Cross of Merit) in Germany. In 1971,Emperor Hirohito also personally presented him with membership in theOrder of the Sacred Treasure for his service to Japan. Furthermore, Cramer was an honorary chieftain in the Native AmericanSioux andMohican tribes. Cramer died at the age of 90 on 17 September 2015.[3]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Hertha BSC | 1 July 1974 | 9 July 1974 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | |
| United States | 1 August 1974 | 16 January 1975 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 000.00 | |
| Bayern Munich | 16 January 1975 | 27 November 1977 | 136 | 63 | 31 | 42 | 046.32 | |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 9 December 1977 | 30 June 1978 | 23 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 047.83 | |
| Saudi Arabia | 3 September 1978 | 1 December 1980 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 035.29 | |
| Al-Ittihad | 3 September 1978 | 1 December 1980 | ||||||
| Aris Thessaloniki | 1 December 1980 | 30 May 1981 | ||||||
| Bayer Leverkusen | 108 | 36 | 30 | 42 | 033.33 | |||
| Total | 286 | 116 | 70 | 100 | 040.56 | |||
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | European Cup Winning Coach 1974–75 & 1975–76 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
