Sepp Herberger

Josef "Sepp" Herberger (March 28, 1897 in Mannheim, Germany — April 28, 1977 in Weinheim-Hohensachsen, Germany) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West German national team which won the 1954 FIFA World Cup – The Miracle of Bern.

Herberger played three times for the German football team between 1921 and 1925 before becoming assistant to Dr. Otto Nerz in 1932. Herberger succeeded him as national coach after Germany's uninspired loss to Norway at the 1936 Olympics. After the war he had a short club spell with Eintracht Frankfurt. He remained national coach until 1964, when he was succeeded by Helmut Schön. He died of pneumonia in Mannheim aged 80.

Biography

Early life

'Sepp', as he was affectionately known, was the youngest of six children in a working-class family. When his father died, Herberger was sent out to work at the age of 14, taking odd jobs on building sites before entering employment in a metalworking factory.

Even as a young child, however, he was only really interested in football, and he made his senior debut for home town club Waldhof Mannheim at the tender age of 17.

Army, internationals and university

Herberger was drafted into military service in 1916 and served two years in the army before returning to play for Waldhof, where he earned rave notices as a gifted striker with battling instincts and hard-running stamina.

He received his first international call-up in 1921 and made his...
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