Josef Emanuel Hubertus "Sepp" Piontek (born 5 March 1940) is a German former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager.

Playing career

Born in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Piontek started his playing career with VfL Germania Leer. Between 1963 and 1972, the full-back played 203

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

matches with 14 goals for

SV Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

(he previously registered 75 matches and one goal with the side in

Oberliga Nord The Oberliga Nord was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany. It covered the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. With the introduction of the 3. Liga, the league ceased to exist fr ...

(1960–1963), prior to the creation of Bundesliga). He gained six international

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

(no goals) for the West Germany national team.

Coaching career

After retiring he managed, in Germany, Werder Bremen (1971–1975), and later

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

(1975–1976) and

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. The team plays in the Bundesliga from the 2024–25 Bundesli ...

(1978–1979). In 1979, Piontek became Danish national team coach after having previously managed

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

(1976–1978). He sat through 115 international matches, leading Denmark to their first ever

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

participation in the 1986 tournament. His period as national team coach came just after the introduction of professional players in the national team, and under his reign the Denmark team became known as "Danish Dynamite". He quit as Denmark coach in April 1990 after the Danish national team failed to qualify for 1990 FIFA World Cup, and later coached

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

from an advice by fellow German and Piontek's teacher Jupp Derwall from May 1990 to 1993, in which though they failed to qualify for either

UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having been inv ...

or the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

, helped sparking a massive revival in Turkish football fortunes which would be witnessed by the time Piontek left. In the 1990s, Piontek returned to Denmark, where he coached Danish clubs Aalborg BK and Silkeborg IF, and subsequently worked with the Greenland national team. He currently earns a living as a lecturer.

Honours

Player

Werder Bremen *

: 1964–65, runners-up 1967–68 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

Manager

Individual * Guerin Sportivo Manager of the Year: 1983

References

External links

Danish national team profile
* *
Sepp Piontek Interview

German foundation beneath Turkey's rise to greatness

The forgotten story of...Danish Dynamite, the Denmark side of the mid-80s
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piontek, Sepp Living people 1940 births Men's association football defenders Footballers from Wrocław People from the Province of Lower Silesia German men's footballers Germany men's international footballers Germany men's B international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers Bundesliga players SV Werder Bremen players German football managers UEFA Euro 1984 managers 1986 FIFA World Cup managers UEFA Euro 1988 managers SV Werder Bremen managers Fortuna Düsseldorf managers FC St. Pauli managers Haiti national football team managers Denmark national football team managers Turkey national football team managers Bursaspor managers AaB Fodbold managers Silkeborg IF managers Bundesliga managers 2. Bundesliga managers West German expatriate sportspeople in Denmark German expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate football managers in Denmark Expatriate football managers in Haiti Expatriate football managers in Turkey West German expatriate sportspeople in Haiti West German expatriate football managers West German men's footballers West German football managers German expatriate football managers