Sepp Piontek was a thoroughly likeable person. Behind the tough guy and the serious angry look there was always a hint of burlesque humour behind his small eyes. He was the perfect boss: demanding and disciplined, but also a kind and friendly spirit. In that sense he was the perfect match for a Danish national team in the 1980s, full of arrogant young superstars who needed both a disciplined manager, as well as one open to their youth indiscretions.
In that regard Piontek turned a second-rate footballing nation into a footballing superpower in the 1980s, taking Denmark to the 1984 Euro semifinals and their first World Cup, in 1986 (incidentally here in Mexico), where the Danish Dynamite awed the world with a fantastic offensive style that Denmark has never managed to replicate.
Because despite the fact that Denmark won the 1992 Euros (under Piontek's assistant; Richard Møller Nielsen) and made it to the 1998 World Cup quarterfinals, I think that every Dane who witnessed the Danish Dynamite of the 1980s would agree that Piontek's team is the best football team that Denmark has ever had; they never won anything, but they made us dream, and that in the end is what football is all about!
RIP Sepp Piontek.
No comments:
Post a Comment