European football mourns Sepp Piontek

Between 1960 and 1972, Breslau-born Piontek played more than 300 competitive matches for SV Werder Bremen. The defender won the DFB Cup in 1961 and the German championship in 1965, and also played six times for Germany during this period.

After retiring as a player, he coached Fortuna Düsseldorf, FC St. Pauli, Türkiye, Greenland and Haiti in addition to Bremen, but will be best remembered for his 11 years in charge of Denmark, reaching the semi-finals of EURO 1984 and the round of 16 at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986.

With players such as Michael Laudrup, Søren Lerby, Morten Olsen, and Preben Elkjaer Larsen, Piontek built one of the best teams in Europe, and was considered the father of the "Danish Dynamite." Two years after the end of his tenure, Denmark sensationally won the European Championship title in 1992.

Peter Möller, director of the Danish Football Association (DBU), said: "It is with great sadness that we have received the news of the death of former national coach Sepp Piontek. Sepp will always be remembered as one of the most influential national coaches in the history of Danish football."