Werner Heinz Erich Lorant (born 21 November 1948) is a German former

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a defender or as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He later became a manager, notably managing

TSV 1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football. 1860 Munich was one of the founding members o ...

for nine years between 1992 and 2001.

Playing career

Born in

Welver Welver is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History The town was once known as Villinghausen or Vellinghausen. The Seven Years' War Battle of Villinghausen was fought nearby. Geography Welver is situat ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

, Lorant commenced his professional career 1970 in the second division with

Westfalia Herne SC Westfalia Herne is a German football club based in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club was founded on 13 June 1904 by the sons of the more well-heeled residents of the city as a rival to the worker-based club SV Sodingen. History Aft ...

. In 1971 he moved to

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

. There he was part of a team that lost 11–1 against Bayern Munich and was relegated in 1972. He stuck with the club in its first second division season, but later joined

Rot-Weiss Essen Rot-Weiss Essen is a German association football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße. The team won the DFB-Pokal in 1953, and the German championship in 195 ...

in 1973, who had just been promoted to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

. Lorant stayed with the struggling club around their star

Willi Lippens Willem Gerard "Willi" Lippens (born 10 November 1945) is a former football player. He is nicknamed "Ente" (German for "duck") due to his waddling. Born in Germany, he represented the Netherlands national team. Born near the German-Dutch border ...

and players like

Manfred Burgsmüller Manfred "Manni" Burgsmüller (22 December 1949 – 18 May 2019) was a German professional footballer who played mainly as a striker; he also occasionally operated as a midfielder. He appeared in 447 Bundesliga games over the course of 17 sea ...

and

Horst Hrubesch Horst Hrubesch (; born 17 April 1951) is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed Hamburger SV. As a player, Hrubesch won three West German championships with his club side, Hamburger SV, as well as the European C ...

until relegation in 1977. Then he joined 1. FC Saarbrücken for a season, experiencing his third relegation. The next four-and-a-half years he spent with

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

. With the club, he won the UEFA Cup 1980, prevailing in the finals against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

. In 1981, he helped win the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

with a 3–1 victory in the final against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. With Frankfurt, Lorant played, amongst others, alongside the World Cup winners of 1974

Jürgen Grabowski Jürgen Grabowski (7 July 1944 – 10 March 2022) was a German footballer. He played for Eintracht Frankfurt. He became European champion in 1972 and world champion in 1974. Grabowski is considered the greatest Eintracht Frankfurt player ever. ...

and

Bernd Hölzenbein Bernd Hölzenbein (born 9 March 1946) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker or winger. At international level, he was a member of the West German team that won the World Cup in 1974. Hölzenbein is best known fo ...

. Other notable players were

Norbert Nachtweih Norbert Nachtweih (born 4 June 1957) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played in 325 Bundesliga games over the course of 13 seasons (46 goals), playing for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich and winni ...

Bernd Nickel Bernd Nickel (15 March 1949 – 27 October 2021) was a German professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or striker. Due to his straight shots his nickname was ''"Doktor Hammer"''. Nickel began his career in 1957 at SV Eisem ...

and the Austrian international

Bruno Pezzey Bruno Edmund Pezzey (3 February 1955 – 31 December 1994) was an Austrian professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Regarded as one of Austria's greatest defenders of all time, Pezzey started his professional career at loc ...

. Lorant left Eintracht mid-season 1982–83 for

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...

, who had just been promoted to the Bundesliga. By the end of the season, he had to face the fourth relegation of his career. He then quickly moved on to second division team Hannover 96, where he ended his time as a professional player after one season.

Coaching career

After a brief stint as part-time coach of an amateur team in 1982, he commenced a full-time coaching career as player-manager of SV Heidingsfeld from 1984 to 1986 and with 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 from 1986 to 1990, with which he achieved the then-amateur third division championship and promotion. From 1990 to 1992, he coached

Viktoria Aschaffenburg SV Viktoria 01 Aschaffenburg is a German football club based in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria. Even though Aschaffenburg is located in Bavaria, Viktoria Aschaffenburg historically played its football in the Hessenliga (V) and the associated Hessian le ...

, also in the third division, where he won the championship in 1992. After this he was hired by

, a team that had been dwelling for some years in the third division. He took the club to the first division within two years and in 1997 qualified for the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

, where 1860 was ousted in the first round by Austrian team

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

. In 2000, he led 1860 into the qualification for the Champions League, where the team lost against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

with 2–1 and 1–0. In the ensuing UEFA Cup campaign, 1860 Munich was stopped by Italian club AC Parma; after a respectable 2–2 draw away, 1860 Munich lost the home leg 2–0. During the season, a sweltering conflict with club president Karl-Heinz Wildmoser came to a head after the team lost the derby against Bayern Munich 5–1, and Lorant was let go. Notable players during his tenure with 1860 were the German internationals

Thomas Häßler Thomas Jürgen "Icke" Häßler (; born 30 May 1966) is a German former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder throughout his career. At club level, he made a century of appearances for four teams: 1. FC Köln, Karlsruher SC and 1860 ...

and

Martin Max Martin Max (born 7 August 1968) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. One of the oldest winners of the Bundesliga's top scorer crown, at the age of 32 and 34, he represented four teams in his country of adoption. ...

, who played there from 1999 in the twilight of their careers. Max became top scorer of the Bundesliga twice in this phase. German international

Jens Jeremies Jens Jeremies (born 5 March 1974) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Best known for his tackling abilities, he played for three clubs during his professional career, most notably Bayern Munich which ...

was discovered at the club during Lorant's tenure. Foreign internationals were, amongst others,

Abédi Pelé Abedi Ayew ( ; born 5 November 1964), known professionally as Abedi Pele, is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and who served as captain of the Ghana national team. He is regarded as one of the gr ...

from Ghana,

Harald Cerny Harald Cerny (; born 13 September 1973) is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a right midfielder. He played mostly for TSV 1860 Munich. Club career After coming through the youth ranks at Admira Wacker, Cerny began his pr ...

from Austria, Miroslav Stevic from Serbia, as well as Australians

Paul Agostino Paul Agostino (born 9 June 1975) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played the majority of his club football outside Australia, most notably with 1860 Munich in Germany for ten years. He played 18 times f ...

and

Ned Zelic Nedjeljko Zelic (born 4 July 1971), commonly known as Ned Zelic, is an Australian former footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. Club career Zelic started his career in the old Australian National Soccer League, where he ...

Horst Heldt Horst Heldt (born 9 December 1969) is a German football executive and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the former general manager of 1. FC Köln. Playing career Heldt was born in Königswinter. He played at 1. FC Köln from 1990 ...

, Olaf Bodden, Manfred Schwabl and

Bernhard Trares Bernhard Trares (born 18 August 1965) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a centre-back, and Manager (association football), manager, who last managed Würzburger Kickers. Playing career Trares w ...

were further players of note in this era. In the ensuing years, Lorant coached

SpVgg Unterhaching Spielvereinigung Unterhaching () is a German sports club in Unterhaching, a semi-rural municipality on the southern outskirts of the Bavarian capital Munich. The club is widely known for playing in the first-division association football league ...

and

LR Ahlen Rot Weiss Ahlen is a German football club based in Ahlen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 2006 the club was known as ''LR Ahlen'' for its major sponsor, but underwent a name change when the sponsor withdrew its support after the team was relegated ...

in Germany, Fenerbahçe,

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Demir Grup Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department competes in Süper Lig, as of 201 ...

Kayseri Erciyesspor Kayseri Erciyesspor was a Turkish sports club based in Kayseri. History In 1965, Orhan Şefik Apak, then president of the Turkish Football Federation, asked cities in Turkey to combine their amateur football clubs into one singular club that wo ...

and Kasımpaşa in Turkey,

APOEL APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

in Cyprus, Saipa Teheran in Iran,

Incheon United Incheon United FC is a South Korean professional football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is a so-called "community club", with the government of the city ...

in South Korea,

Liaoning Hongyun Liaoning Football Club (), officially known as Liaoning Hongyun (), was a professional association football club with a long history in Chinese football. The club can predate their formation to 1953, when Shenyang government sports body joined ex ...

in China, and DAC Dunajská Streda in Slovakia. Most of these engagements ended up being very short term and the clubs were often struggling to retain the class. With Apoel in Cyprus, where Lorant spent two months in 2005, he became runner-up in the championship; however, the club hoped that he would take them to the title. In March 2010, he was appointed sporting director of German fourth division club

Tennis Borussia Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in the locality of Westend in Berlin. History The team was founded in 1902 as ''Berliner Tennis- und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia'' taking its name from its origins as a tennis and ta ...

; however, the club folded in May. In April 2015, Lorant was appointed as manager of TSV Waging until the end of the season. In January 2017, he took charge of Austrian club ÖTSU Hallein. In April 2019, he took charge of Austrian fifth division club FC Hallein 04 until the end of the season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorant, Werner 1948 births Living people Association football defenders Association football midfielders German footballers German football managers Borussia Dortmund players Rot-Weiss Essen players Eintracht Frankfurt players 1. FC Saarbrücken players FC Schalke 04 players Hannover 96 players TSV 1860 Munich managers Fenerbahçe football managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Süper Lig managers Bundesliga managers Slovak Super Liga managers SpVgg Unterhaching managers Incheon United FC managers FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda managers German expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Viktoria Aschaffenburg managers German expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in South Korea Expatriate football managers in Turkey Expatriate football managers in China German expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate football managers in Slovakia German expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia APOEL FC managers Rot Weiss Ahlen managers Kasımpaşa S.K. managers German expatriate sportspeople in Turkey UEFA Cup winning players Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia