Josef Derwall

Josef “Jupp” Derwall was a German football player as well as coach who was born on March 10, 1927 in Wurselen, Rhine Province, and passed away on June 26, 2007 in St. Ingbert, Saarland. Aside from being a coach and player, Derwall was also able to manage the German national football team sometime between 1978 and 1984. During his management, the team was able to win the European Football Championship in 1980, as well as reach the World Cup’s final round in 1982.

During his time in the football world, Derwall sported a rather unique hairdo, which led to his being dubbed as “Hauptling Siberlocke” otherwise known as “Cheiftain Silver Curl.” In 1938, Derwall started playing as a midfielder and forward for Rhenania Wurselen. Later, he transferred to Alemannia Aachen as well as Fortuna Dusseldorf, which was in the western division of the German league. While he was with Aachen, he was a part of the team that reached the 1953 German Cup final round where scored the single goal, but was defeated.

After he retired from professional football playing, Derwall became a coach, taking a gig with FC Biel, a club in Switzerland. He then spent a year coaching FC Schaffhausen after his stint with FC Biel. By 1970, he was appointed as the German national team’s assistant coach under the tutelage of Helmut Schon, a legendary coach. During this time, it was during the 1972 Summer Olympics where his efforts shone when he was responsible for the team’s reaching the last eight teams.