Which club did you start to kick?

Jupp Heynckes: at BV Grün-Weiß Holt. I think I was twelve years old at the time.

Were you a striker as a child?

Jupp Heynckes: At that time we actually didn’t have such thoughts, everyone played everywhere on the football field, but always with the primary goal of scoring goals. And I was in front in the youth teams.

Did you have a role model?

Jupp Heynckes: When I became a professional and in international football, which of course could not be followed at the time, Ferenc Puskas saw in Hungary team – especially at the 1954 World Cup on a small screen – I said: ” I want to be once too. “

What was your most important goal?

Jupp Heynckes: A important goal for me was the goal for 3-1 in Frankfurt and then a few minutes later my goal for the 4-1 on the last matchday of the 1970/71 season, because it is ten minutes before the The final whistle was secured and I became German champion for the first time. For Borussia Mönchengladbach, it meant the shell for the second time, with a two -point lead over Bavaria, who lost 0-2 in Duisburg on this 34th matchday.

Manni Kaltz from Hamburger SV was my uncomfortable opponent. For me, he is one of the three best German full -backs of all time.

Jupp Heynckes

Who was your best player?

Jupp Heynckes: We had top players in our Mönchengladbach team at the time, so it is difficult to lift an individual out. In the storm we had the three Danes Allan Simonsen, Ulrik Le Fevre and Henning Jensen, as well as Bernd Rupp and Herbert Laumen. And Günter Netzer fed us from midfield before moving to Real Madrid in 1973.

Who was your best opponent?

Jupp Heynckes: Manni Kaltz from Hamburger SV was my most uncomfortable opponent. For me, he is one of the three best German full -backs of all time because he was very good and offensive. Manni distinguished a large running strength and enormous speed, plus precisely flanks. He was constantly switching on forward. Against him it was always complicated games.

Which opposing goalkeeper was the best?

Jupp Heynckes: The best goalkeeper of that time was undoubtedly Sepp Maier, although I managed to score a few goals against him too. At that time Seppi was already strong with his feet and always good for a fun insert. As a colleague in the national team, he was also exceptional.

What was your strength?

Jupp Heynckes: Oh, I don’t like to describe my own strengths. If it has to be: I was two -footed, fast, dynamic, strong and – so I think – also good football; In addition professional.

What your weakness?

Jupp Heynckes: Sometimes I was overheating

Who is the best goal scorer ever?

Jupp Heynckes: Gerd Müller. You don’t have to think big

Which amateur club are you still connected?

Jupp Heynckes: Grün-Weiß naturally fetches. The club gets balls for its teams every year.

Do you still kick occasionally?

Jupp Heynckes: It is better, I don’t do it (laughs). The risk of injury is too great…

Where is your goalkeeper cannon?

Jupp Heynckes: at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the showcase. But at some point she has to give me back the club.

Jupp Heynckes collected numerous titles as a player and coach. Imago Images/Sven Simon

_Josef “Jupp” Heynckes played at his home club BV Grün-Weiß Holt until he was 17. This was followed by the move to Borussia Mönchengladbach, where, except for a three -year stopover at Hannover 96, he played for the duration of his entire active football career until 1978

In 369 Bundesliga games he scored 220 goals. Heynckes is in rank 4 in the eternal leaderboard in 1974 (30 goals) and in 1975 (27 goals) top scorer in the Bundesliga. In the 1970s he won four German championships, the DFB and the UEFA Cup with the foals and became European champion with the national team in 1972 and in 1974. For the DFB team, he scored 14 goals in 39 international matches.

ALS coach worked Heynckes at several clubs in Germany and Spain as well as briefly in Portugal. In 1998 he won the Champions League with Real Madrid for the first time before repeating this with Bayern in 2013. In the same year he won the German championship and the DFB Cup for the third time after 23 years, with which he won the triple with FC Bayern as the first German club. Then he went into the (preliminary) retirement. In 2017, Heynckes returned to FC Bayern and won his fourth German championship.

Seit 2018 he is in a well -deserved retirement. On May 9th, Heynckes 77.