Ernst Happel

Infobox Football biography
playername = Ernst Happel


fullname = Ernst Franz Hermann Happel
nickname = "Aschyl"
dateofbirth = birth date|1925|11|29
cityofbirth = Vienna
countryofbirth = Austria
dateofdeath = death date and age|df=yes|1992|11|14|1925|11|29
cityofdeath = Innsbruck
countryofdeath = Austria
height =
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = defender
youthyears = 1938-1942
youthclubs = Rapid Wien
years = 1942-1954 1955-1956 1956-1959
clubs = Rapid Wien RC Paris Rapid Wien
caps(goals) = 177 (8) 42 (9) 63 (17)
nationalyears = 1947-1958
nationalteam = fb|Austria
nationalcaps(goals) = 51 (5)
manageryears = 1962-1968 1968-1973 1973-1975 1975-1978 1978 1979-1981 1981-1987 1987-1991 1991-1992
managerclubs = ADO Den Haag Feyenoord FC Sevilla FC Brugge Netherlands Standard Liege Hamburger SV FC Tirol Austria
pcupdate = 5 July 2008
ntupdate = 5 July 2008

Ernst Franz Hermann Happel [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Happel] (born 29 November 1925 – died 14 November 1992) was an Austrian football player and coach.

He is regarded as one of the most successful managers ever, winning both league and domestic cup titles in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Austria as well as winning the European Cup twice and a runners-up medal at the 1978 FIFA World Cup.

Playing career

Club level

Happel started his professional career at Rapid Wien, where he made his Bundesliga debut at 17 years of age. Forming a solid defensive partnership with Max Merkel, he played 14 years for Rapid, from 1943 till 1954 and 1956 till 1959, winning the Austrian Championship title 6 times. He was chosen in Rapid's Team of the Century in 1999. [ [http://rapidarchiv.at/statistiken/team_des_jahrhunderts.html Team of the Century] - Rapid Archive]

The 2 years in between Happel played for Racing Club de Paris in France.

International level

He made his debut for Austria in September 1947 against Hungary and was a participant at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, where he helped them reach the 3rd place, and at the 1958 World Cup.

His last international was a September 1958 match against Yugoslavia.He earned 51 caps, scoring 5 goals. [ [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/oost-recintlp.html Appearances for Austrian National Team] - RSSSF]

Managerial career

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 different countries. He also tooktwo different clubs to gold in the European Champions' Cup (now the UEFA Champions League) and Holland to second place in the 1978 World Cup. His first club was ADO Den Haag in 1962, with whom he won the Dutch Cup in 1968. After Den Haag he coached Feyenoord, with whom he won the Dutch championship in 1971, as well as the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in 1970.

At the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, Happel was coach of the Dutch national team and reached the final against the Argentine 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."

During his career as coach Happel worked for several clubs, including Sevilla, Club Brugge (winning the Belgian Championship title several times) and Hamburg (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 Rotterdam, this time with Hamburg. He is the only coach in the history of the European Cup (now called UEFA Champions League), besides Ottmar Hitzfeld, to win the title with two different clubs.

In 1987 Happel returned to Austria as coach of FC Swarovski Tirol. With FC Tirol he won the Austrian Championship title 2 times (1989 and 1990) before becoming coach of the Austrian national team in 1992.

Death and legacy

He died of cancer in 1992 aged 66. After his death the biggest football stadium in Austria, the "Praterstadion" in Vienna, was renamed "Ernst Happel Stadion". The stadium was one of the venues selected for the 2008 European Championship co-hosted by Austra and Switzerland and on 30 June, Spain defeated Germany in that stadium during the final to take their second title.

Happel was the mentor of Nikos "Kalos ta paidia" Alefantos.

Honours (as a player)

*Austrian Football Bundesliga (6):
** 1946, 1948, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1957
*Austrian Cup (1):
** 1946
*Zentropa Cup (1):
** 1951

External links

* [http://rapidarchiv.at/spieler/happel_ernst.html Player profile] - Rapid Archive
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=22551 Career stats] - National Football Teams

References