Sepp Piontek

Josef Emanuel Hubertus "Sepp" Piontek (5 March 1940 – 18 February 2026) was a German footballer and manager. As a footballer, he mainly played for Werder Bremen between 1960 and 1973, and was capped six times for West Germany.

As a manager, he notably coached the Denmark national team between 1979 and 1990, and helped them qualify for their first ever FIFA World Cup.

Piontek died on 18 February 2026, at the age of 85, following a short illness.

 Honours 
 Player 
Werder Bremen
 Bundesliga: 1964–65, runners-up 1967–68
 DFB-Pokal: 1960–61

 Manager 
Individual
 Guerin Sportivo Manager of the Year: 1983
 World Soccer Manager of the year: 1983
 Danish Football Hall of Fame: 2011
 Danish Coach of the Year: 1983
 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany: 1986

References

Other websites

 Danish national team profile  


 Sepp Piontek Interview
 German foundation beneath Turkey's rise to greatness
 The forgotten story of...Danish Dynamite, the Denmark side of the mid-80s 
 Danmark's Radio Orbituary


Category:1940 births
Category:2026 deaths
Category:People from Wrocław
Category:German footballers
Category:Association football defenders
Category:Bundesliga players
Category:German football managers
Category:SV Werder Bremen managers
Category:Fortuna Düsseldorf managers
Category:Bursaspor managers
Category:Bundesliga managers