He discovered Thomas Müller
Trainer veteran Hermann Gerland ends career
Updated on July 9, 2025 – 6:35 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
The “tiger” in football was valued for his special eye for talents for many years, shaped FC Bayern, and also worked at the DFB. Now he has made a decision.
Hermann Gerland ends his decades of coaching career. The German Football Association (DFB) announced this on Wednesday. The 71-year-old was recently assistant coach of the German U21 national team, was still at the European Championships in Slovakia on the bench alongside national coach Antonio di Salvo. Before that, Gerland worked in football for almost half a century, including for 20 years at Bayern Munich, both as a coach of the amateurs and as an assistant coach under Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Jupp Heynckes or Hansi Flick. From this time he is considered a discoverer and sponsor of countless talents, among other things he is said to have recognized and promoted the talent of Thomas Müller.
“I am pleased to have more time for my wife and grandchildren now, they should still have something from their grandfather,” Gerland is quoted in the communication of the DFB. “And I will certainly remain connected to football. In this sense: luck!”
Gerland says goodbye to Di Salvo with praising words: “To be there and sing the national anthem was a dream for me. It was great fun for me, and the boys were great. Toni is on the way to become a top coach for me – and I have worked with some of the most successful coach the highest level. “
“Hermann Gerland is a legend in German football, and we are very proud that we have been able to fall back on his expertise and personality at the DFB in the past four years,” explains DFB Managing Director Andreas Rettig. “Hermann gave the young players in the area of U 21 a lot of his experience during this time, on the square, but with his straightforwardness and honesty also next to the square.” Gerland was “with his enormous experience and his assessments, an important part of Antonio di Salvo’s coaching team”. “After more than 50 years in professional football as a player and coach, Hermann has decided to quit. We have great respect for this and wish him all the best for the future time.”