Bayern Munich
In March 1970 Lattek took over the reins of Bayern Munich as successor of the Croatian Branko Zebec. He was recommended to the club by their star Franz Beckenbauer, but his appointment was controversial as he had no coaching experience with a club. Besides Beckenbauer Bayern had the striker legend Gerd Müller and the superb goal keeper Sepp Maier amongst their ranks. Lattek complemented the team with the young talents of Paul Breitner and Uli Hoeneß and formed the global top team of its era. Until 1975 he led the club to a win in the national cup competition and three consecutive championships, a first in German football history. The highlight of this time was the win of the European Champions Cup in 1974 in the finals against Atlético Madrid (1-1, 4-0) - the first triumph for a German team in this tournament.
Six players from this Bayern side were also part of the German team that won with Germany the World Cup in the same year and the European Championship in 1972. Motivational shortcomings were a natural outcome. A dry spell in the domestic league in the 1974–75 season saw Lattek's tenure terminated prematurely and Bayern replaced him with Dettmar Cramer, who was also recommended to the club by Beckenbauer. "I told the president Wilhelm Neudecker 'we need some changes'. 'That's right, you are sacked' he replied", Udo Lattek recalls this episode.
Read more about this topic: Udo Lattek