Berti Vogts
Legend Helped Mönchengladbach To Glory, Moving Around Globe
Hans-Hubert "Berti" Vogts will forever be connected to the European success of German soccer club Borussia Moenchengladbach in the 1970s. The defender won a World Cup title and a European Championship while helping Gladbach to five domestic league crowns as well two UEFA Cup titles.
Gladbach's "Terrier"
Vogts, born on December 30, 1946, was a real hard-nosed defender while at Moenchengladbach, which he joined in 1965 after playing at minor club VfR Büttgen. The Bütten native played 419 games for Gladbach and earned the nickname "Terrier" for his toughness, which he used because he was not the most talented player. But Vogts definitely got the most out of what he had, playing 419 Bundesliga games - all for Gladbach - before retiring in 1979.
Success At All Levels
Vogts helped Gladbach win the German league crown in 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976 and 1977 and the German Cup in 1973. He was twice named Germany's Soccer player of the Year - in 1971 and 1979. And his two crowning achievements at the club level came in 1975 and 1979 when Moenchengladbach captured the UEFA Cup titles.
World and European Champion
Vogts earned his first cap for the West German national team in 1967 and played 96 times for West Germany, 20 times wearing the captain's armband. The absolute highlight of his career was winning the 1974 World Cup in his native West Germany, beating Netherlands 2-1 in Munich. Two years earlier, he was on the team which knocked off the Soviet Union 3-0 to win the 1972 European Championship hardware.
Switch To The Coaching Sidelines As Beckenbauer Assistant
After retiring, Vogts worked in the German Football Federation's youth system as coach. In 1986, former national team teammate Franz Beckenbauer added Vogts to his West Germany coaching staff. And in 1990, he celebrated his second World Cup title as an assistant coach.
Eight Years Germany National Team Boss
Beckenbauer left in 1990 and Vogts was assigned the post as new national team head coach, which he would serve as until 1998. His biggest success came in 1996, leading Germany to the European Championship title in England. Vogts substituted in Oliver Bierhoff and the striker made his coach seem prophetic, equalizing in the 73rd minute and then winning the game on a Golden Goal in the 95th minute of a 2-1 victory. Germany finished runner-up at the 1992 European Championship in Sweden under Vogts and his teams reached the quarter-finals of the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.
Sacking In 1998, Move To Leverkusen
Vogts decided to stay on as German boss after the 1998 World Cup but then was sacked in September 1998 after some poor results. In November 2000, he took over as head coach at German club Bayer Leverkusen but was sacked in May 2001 after having no success.
Globetrotting Head Coach
Vogts then started a stretch in which he took over the national team head coach duties for a number of smaller soccer nations. From August 2001 to February 2002, he coached the Kuwait team. In March 2002, he took the reigns of the Scotland national team but was unable to get it qualified for the 2004 European Championships. And he was sacked in November 2004 after a poor start to the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. He then joined the Nigerian Football Association and took over as coach in March 2007 only to step down in February 2008. And in April 2008, he signed a contract with the Azerbaijan national team until 2009.
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