Ottmar Hitzfeld: Why the champion coach never became national coach

Berlin. Mental health issues and exhaustion have prevented Ottmar Hitzfeld from becoming national football coach in the past. This is revealed in excerpts from the book "Mensch Fußballstar" (Men, Football Star) by Swiss journalist Andreas Böni, published on August 18th by the "Bild" newspaper.

"For three days, I almost just lie in bed and brood. It's brutal. On the one hand, the offer to coach the German national team is tempting," the now 76-year-old Hitzfeld is quoted as saying. "On the other hand, I know I have no strength. I would have preferred to just pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep." Hitzfeld reports back pain and sleep problems: "It's horrible when you suddenly have no strength left."

Because of the mentally and physically stressful situation, it was clear to him "that I would decline the offer to become German national coach. You have to be rested for a new job. And quite honestly: At that point, I never want to be a coach again."

Ottmar Hitzfeld as coach at Bayern Munich, together with general manager Uli Hoeneß. He was head coach of Bayern Munich from 1999 to 2007.

Source: imago images/Sven Simon

For a year and a half, Hitzfeld retreated to Engelberg in the Swiss mountains and took a deliberate break. "It wasn't until almost three years later that I was truly ready to work again," he reported. "Since then, by the way, I've also put my phone on silent. I used to think: every message is important, I have to be available day and night. That was the biggest mistake."

The former coach of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich recounted a particularly memorable moment. "My pivotal experience was in the car. I suddenly had severe claustrophobia. I started having trouble breathing, everything felt cramped, a terrible feeling. Only when I rolled down the windows did it get better," said Hitzfeld. "That's when I realized: I need help. I need a psychiatrist. He prescribed me pills, antidepressants. They helped me calm down."

His body repeatedly sent him signals that it was all too much. "The problem as a football coach is that your inner and outer image are sometimes far apart. In public, you can't and don't want to show any weakness. You keep a lot of things to yourself," Hitzfeld said.

You ignore the signals. "Because you think: It's impossible for me to do nothing for three or four weeks and just recover," Hitzfeld emphasized. "You're trapped in the hamster wheel. (...) Back then, before 2004, I slowly and steadily lost my strength: I can't switch off anymore."

RND/dpa