On February 10, 2025, the Dutchman Leo Beenhakker died at the age of 82 - a world-class coach. However, he was a resounding failure at GC in the early 90s. Alain Sutter and Erich Vogel remember.
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- Dutch coaching legend Leo Beenhakker has died at the age of 82.
- Beenhakker celebrated numerous successes as a club coach during his long career. In the 1992/93 season, Beenhakker was at GC. However, his engagement as a "fireman" at the Grasshoppers did not go according to plan.
- Alain Sutter and Erich Vogel remember their former companion for blue Sport.
He was "Don Leo", a man of international renown. He coached the Dutch national team, Zaragoza, Real Madrid and Ajax, and won championships in Spain and Holland. At the age of 50, Leo Beenhakker moved to the Hardturm in August 1992, just a few months after leaving the Bernabeu - and plunged into the promotion/relegation round with players such as Ciri Sforza, Heinz Hermann, Alain Sutter and Giovane Elber. A sporting disaster.
Nevertheless, Beenhakker was a witty conversationalist who entertained players and staff alike with anecdotes and quips. Alain Sutter, already a celebrated national team star, said of him the day after his death: "I loved Beenhakker. He was a great coach and person, very charismatic and consistent. A great personality. And he had a great sense of humor." And: He always went the way he thought was right. He also impressed Sutter with his footballing ideas: "Dutch style: offensive, in a 3-4-3, he wanted a neat game and total control."
Sutter: "When he arrived, there was already a lot wrong"
Sutter says that it was certainly not Beenhakker's fault that GC plunged into the relegation round despite having a star ensemble. "When he arrived, there was already a lot wrong, especially in terms of hierarchy and team dynamics."
However, Beenhakker's tenure was not entirely free of successes. There were bright spots. For example, victory in the first round of the UEFA Cup at Sporting Lisbon. With a 3:1 win at the Estádio José Alvalade after extra time, GC erased the 2:1 defeat from the first leg.
Incidentally, the Portuguese club was coached by Sir Bobby Robson and his translator José Mourinho. The Hoppers also celebrated a respectable success one round later with a 4:3 win against AS Roma - which, however, was worthless due to the 0:3 in the first duel.
Vogel: "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time"
In December 1992, GC fell below the line due to a 2-1 defeat at Young Boys. Significant and unforgettable: Beenhakker summoned manager Erich Vogel to the touchline via the Wankdorf stadium announcer to find out whether GC needed a win or whether a draw would suffice. GC lost and missed out on the final round for the only time in the club's history.
The man who brought him in was Erich Vogel, the manager and strong man at the Hardturm in the 1990s. He says today: "Beenhakker was undoubtedly a good coach, but he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ultimately, he was the biggest mistake of my tenure."
Vogel believes that Beenhakker underestimated Switzerland and GC and suffered from motivation problems. "That's also understandable. A few weeks earlier, he entered the Bernabéu, where 90,000 fans cheered him on. A few weeks later, he was sitting in the Hardturm with a few thousand fans. Anyone would have had trouble getting fully motivated."
Beenhakker may have failed at GC: The two-time Dutch national team coach won a total of six league titles with Ajax Amsterdam, Real Madrid and Feyenoord Rotterdam.
