Klaus Schlappner
Encyclopedia
Klaus Schlappner is a football manager. He is predominately remembered for his first spell with SV Waldhof Mannheim
, where he led them to the Second Fußball-Bundesliga title and several seasons in the Bundesliga
as well as being the first foreign coach to manage the Chinese national football team.
to achieve a certificate in teaching football management.
to win the Second Fußball-Bundesliga in the 1982–83 league season. During his time with them he would help establish them within the Bundesliga
for the next several seasons and oversee them through some of their most successful periods in the clubs history until he left in 1987. He would go on to rejoin former club SV Darmstadt 98
in the second tier to help them fight for promotion during the 1987–88 league season where they narrowly missed out on a position to the Bundesliga by losing a play-off position. The following seasons would see other second tier clubs 1. FC Saarbrücken
and FC Carl Zeiss Jena
call for his services in their push for promotion, however Klaus Schlappner was unable to achieve this with either team.
In 1992, he led the Chinese national football team to the semi-finals of the 1992 AFC Asian Cup
, but he was dismissed after the team failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
. He would nevertheless stay within China as a technical adviser for the football federation until he returned to Germany to manage SV Waldhof Mannheim again in 1996 to help them for their promotion bid to return to the Bundesliga, however his return was disappointing and he left before the season ended. He would move away from senior management but would return to Asia to help Iran
to establish the newly re-branded Iran Pro League during 2000 as well as acting as an adviser for the Mongolian Football Federation
in 2006.
SV Waldhof Mannheim
SV Waldhof Mannheim is a German association football club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. The club today has a membership of over 2,400.-History:...
, where he led them to the Second Fußball-Bundesliga title and several seasons in the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
as well as being the first foreign coach to manage the Chinese national football team.
Early career
Klaus Schlappner's early career in football was not particularly eventful he would play for his local football team in Lampertheim in his youth and only progress up to amateur football or lower league regional football. He would instead move into coaching before he retired playing and achieve the necessary coaching certificates in 1976 before carrying on with his studies in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
to achieve a certificate in teaching football management.
Managerial career
Klaus Schlappner's career as a manager rose to prominence when he was able to lead SV Waldhof MannheimSV Waldhof Mannheim
SV Waldhof Mannheim is a German association football club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. The club today has a membership of over 2,400.-History:...
to win the Second Fußball-Bundesliga in the 1982–83 league season. During his time with them he would help establish them within the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
for the next several seasons and oversee them through some of their most successful periods in the clubs history until he left in 1987. He would go on to rejoin former club SV Darmstadt 98
SV Darmstadt 98
SV Darmstadt 98 is a German association football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919 the association was briefly known as Rasen-Sportverein Olympia before merging with Darmstädter Sport Club 1905 on 11 November that year to...
in the second tier to help them fight for promotion during the 1987–88 league season where they narrowly missed out on a position to the Bundesliga by losing a play-off position. The following seasons would see other second tier clubs 1. FC Saarbrücken
1. FC Saarbrücken
1. FC Saarbrücken is a German association football club based in the city of Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club began its existence as the football department of Turnverein Malstatt formed in 1903...
and FC Carl Zeiss Jena
FC Carl Zeiss Jena
FC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German association football club based in Jena, Thuringia.-History:The club was founded in May 1903 by workers at the Carl Zeiss AG optics factory as the company-sponsored Fussball-Club der Firma Carl Zeiss. The club underwent name changes in 1911 to Fussball Club Carl Zeiss...
call for his services in their push for promotion, however Klaus Schlappner was unable to achieve this with either team.
In 1992, he led the Chinese national football team to the semi-finals of the 1992 AFC Asian Cup
1992 AFC Asian Cup
The Asian Football Confederation's 1992 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan between October 29 and November 8. The host nation, Japan, defeated the defending champion Saudi Arabia in the final in Hiroshima.-Stadiums:...
, but he was dismissed after the team failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
-Qualified teams:The following 24 teams qualified for the 1994 FIFA World Cup: - qualified automatically as hosts - qualified automatically as defending champions-Notes:...
. He would nevertheless stay within China as a technical adviser for the football federation until he returned to Germany to manage SV Waldhof Mannheim again in 1996 to help them for their promotion bid to return to the Bundesliga, however his return was disappointing and he left before the season ended. He would move away from senior management but would return to Asia to help Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
to establish the newly re-branded Iran Pro League during 2000 as well as acting as an adviser for the Mongolian Football Federation
Mongolian Football Federation
The Mongolian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Mongolia. It was founded in 1959, and gained both FIFA and AFC affiliation in 1998. Its current coach is Erdenebat Sandagdorj.-External links:* * at the FIFA website....
in 2006.
Honours
SV Waldhof Mannheim- Second Fußball-Bundesliga: 1982/83