Sch?n became the head coach of Wiesbaden Sporting Club in the 1951-52 season and led the Hessian team to ninth place in the II. Division Süd. Finish. He and his family found a residence in Wiesbaden, but in 1952 he accepted the invitation of the Saarland Football Association and began to serve as the head coach of the Saarland football team at that time. In this role, Sch?n is able to visit clubs, follow the performances of top players and include them in the national team squad. He admits that the job is much better than being a club manager. Sch?n does not need to arrange additional training sessions with the national team because he has already learned how to inspect players when he was the coach of the Saxony football representative team. He expanded his horizons here and met many different people through the various activities he had to attend. He built, split, adjusted and replaced the team's lineup. This experience became an example of Sch?n's success as a head coach and laid a solid foundation for him to become the head coach of the West Germany national team. On June 24, 1953, the Saarland team coached by Sch?n unexpectedly defeated Norway 3-2 in the first game of Group 1 of the 1954 World Cup qualifiers; and then faced Sepp Herberg. When leading the West German team, Sarr only lost 0-3 and 1-3 at home and away respectively. The Saarland football team has shown that they can achieve impressive results as a weak team.

After the Saarland Football Association was re-incorporated into the German Football Association as a state organization, Sch?n was transferred to the assistant coach of the West German national football team on May 26, 1956 and became Herberger's assistant coach. Deputy, starting salary is 1100 DM. He is also responsible for leading the West German second team, the West German amateur team and the West German youth team to participate in various events organized by UEFA. In addition, he has also served as a coach training instructor and has always been responsible for the match coordination of the West German first team. Herberg is satisfied with Sch?n's role as assistant coach. The team accepted him as the No. 2 figure, and he also tried to create a good working atmosphere, which is the most important prerequisite for Herberg to handle national team affairs. Sch?n accumulated valuable coaching experience with Herberg in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and the 1962 World Cup in Chile. After eight years as an assistant coach, Sch?n finally officially took over the coaching reins of the West German team from Herberger in the summer of 1964. Beginning

On June 7, 1964, the game against Finland in Helsinki was the last time Schon assisted Herberger as an assistant coach of the West German team. Towards the end of the Herberger era, the top level of the German football league system was replaced by the newly formed Bundesliga in the 1963-64 season, which was no longer internationally competitive. The new national team head coach needs to shoulder the arduous task of immediately leading the team to the 1966 World Cup finals in England. Sweden and Cyprus are their qualifier opponents. The first game was against Sweden at home on November 4, 1964 without a warm-up match. After two teaching-cum-selection games in Augsburg with Southern United in September and Dusseldorf with Sheffield Wednesday in October, Sch?n and his assistant Detmar Kramer confirmed The roster and formation of this national team. After his first official game against Sweden after taking over as head coach of the national team ended in a 1-1 draw, the pressure on the West German team in the World Cup qualifiers increased sharply. Due to his shy and sensitive personality, Sch?n needs to carefully consider before responding to even the slightest doubts, and is therefore described by the media as "difficult". However, due to public pressure, he still made personnel adjustments to follow the trend. In the last World Cup qualifier against Sweden on December 26, 1965, Sch?n boldly used the 20-year-old Munich man Franz Beckenbauer to make his national team debut and appointed Uwe Schiller is the captain, although the latter has only just returned from injury after being sidelined for 6 months due to Achilles tendon surgery. In the end, with goals from Werner Klemer and Uwe Schiller, Sch?n's team won the game 2-1 and successfully advanced to the 1966 World Cup finals. In the finals held from July 11 to 30, 1966, the West German team not only entered the finals, they also showed a gorgeous playing style and had Beckenbauer, Helmut Haller and Offensive players like Wolfgang Overat with infectious energy and good technique.

The final was impressive, not only because the new world champion England rewritten the score to 3-2 with a famous controversial goal; the West Germany team, which was still defensive in the last World Cup, under the new coach Under his leadership, he also left an offensive mark on the game.

However, Sch?n immediately suffered a setback in the 1968 European Football Championship qualifiers. A month after the opening game against Albania 6-0 at home on April 6, 1967, the West German team lost 0-1 away to Yugoslavia on May 3. Critics immediately responded as expected. They believed that the team There should be more emphasis on defense. On October 7 of the same year, the West German team completed its revenge and defeated Yugoslavia 3-1 at home. So they only need to defeat their opponents in the away game against Albania on December 17 to advance. However, the West German team unexpectedly finished the game 0-0 and missed the European Championship finals. Sch?n was widely criticized subsequently. With this painful experience, the West German team participated in the 1970 World Cup qualifiers. In two rounds of home and away matches against group stage opponents Austria, Scotland and Cyprus, Sch?n led his team to advance to the World Cup finals with an unbeaten record of 5 wins and 1 draw. The last game was a 3-2 victory over Scotland in Hamburg on October 22, 1969: Reinhard Libda scored the winning goal in the 79th minute with a solo performance in front of 72,000 spectators. The decisive factor for Sch?n's team to advance smoothly.

1970 World Cup to 1976 European Championship

With a juggling philosophy, Sch?n’s team finally completely broke away from its predecessor in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. The shadow of P. Herberg. Even in the group stage games against Bulgaria and Peru, superb game art was displayed. Beckenbauer, Overat and Schiller formed the core of the center. Gerd Müller, who has grown into an international forward, constantly cooperated with Reinhard Libda and Jurgen on the wing. Grabowski, Hannes L?hr and Siegfried Held crossed positions to confuse their opponents and provide the audience with a very attractive game. After West Germany came back from 2-0 down to beat England 3-2 in the exciting quarter-finals, the French sports magazine "L'Equipe" published this evaluation:

In the subsequent semi-finals, the West German team, which insisted on attacking, lost dramatically to Italy 3-4. In this game that was often described as the "game of the century", Sch?n and his team got Worldwide sympathy. The effective and beautiful offensive philosophy that Sch?n has injected into the national team is in line with his understanding of football. When it came to the use of a center forward (Ged Müller or Uwe Schiller?), Sch?n was hesitant and erratic for a long time due to the pressure of public opinion. His final solution was to put Schiller as a second striker behind Müller. This was the only way to keep both men on the field at the same time without hurting anyone, and also gained Sch?n's reputation. The two scored 13 goals in this World Cup, proving that the head coach's arrangement is not just a compromise.

The next cycle of lineup testing was the qualifiers for the 1972 European Football Championship. After successfully breaking through Group 8 against Poland, Albania and Turkey, the West German team came to Wembley Stadium again on April 29, 1972 and faced a psychologically superior team in the first leg of the quarter-finals. England. However, this time the West German team relied on their excellent performance to win 3-1 away from home. Sch?n, who was originally cautious and procrastinating, arranged a very risky lineup in the game: only Horst-Dieter Horteges and Georg Schwarzenbeck were left in the backcourt as pure defense. Players, Beckenbauer and Paul Breitner always decisively advance forward to assist; the midfielder is mainly defended by Herbert Weimer, Günter Netzer and Uli Hoeness are separated on the left and right sides; while Guerra The three forwards of Bowski, Gerd Müller and Siegfried Held were fully involved in the attack. This very flamboyant team has a clear structure at both ends of the offense and defense and can successfully apply it in the right proportions, as the 3-1 score verified. Sch?n's mark is clearly visible. Under his leadership, the team relies on "responsible players" to play freely, which is unimaginable under an autocratic head coach. After defeating Belgium 2-1 in the semi-finals, West Germany defeated the Soviet Union 3-0 in the final, leaving no chance for their opponents.

Some international mainstream media also congratulated and praised the highest level of praise. Among them, the Italian "Corriere della Sera" described Sch?n's team as "creating a new era in football history"; the Soviet team coach Alexander Ponomarev He also said frankly after the game, "We must learn from the West German team. Their playing skills cannot be found in any textbook." French "L'Equipe" praised Günter Netzer as "our continental European leader." The best players."

Sch?n changed the face of the team before the 1974 World Cup in West Germany. Günter Netzer moved to La Liga team Real Madrid in 1973 and missed the national team's preparation training in Malente due to injury. Herbert Wimmer was relegated to the bench, while winger Erwin Kremers and veteran Siegfried Held were no longer selected for the national team. In the first group match against East Germany in the finals, West Germany had only two forwards available, Grabowski and Gerd Muller. After East Germany won the game 1-0, a sense of crisis began to exist in the West German team camp. As early as Marente was preparing for the game, the national team had internal strife over player bonuses. Schon accused some former core players of not doing their best. Captain Beckenbauer also expressed support for the head coach. He accused: "Three to four players are not doing their best in training because they all believe that they are indispensable in official games." Sch?n only announced his squad an hour before the start of the first game of the second group stage against Yugoslavia. Surprisingly, four players including Uli Hoeness, Jurgen Grabowski, Heinz Froch and Bernd Kuhlmann participated in the 0-1 loss to East Germany. players are absent from this game. At the press conference that night, a storm of crisis broke out in the media. When the captain sat next to the coach and emphasized his statement, the newspapers and newspapers headlined "Beckenbauer promoted to assistant coach. Helmut Sch?n" Let’s give up power now” was the headline. Bernd Holzenbein, who participated in the World Cup, clarified the situation at the time in the special issue "Die Siebziger" (The 1970s) published by "11 Friends" in October 2009:

My chance came after losing to East Germany in the World Cup. As a Dresdener, Sch?n found the match an insult. He was furious with the team and didn't say a word to any of us the next day. He made us feel his deep disappointment in this way, rather than holding a discussion or explicit punishment, and the whole atmosphere was very depressing. This is his style. Helmut Sch?n does not motivate by speaking loudly, he considers it like a biological father's disappointment, and the entire team is ashamed of it. So Franz Beckenbauer issued a formal statement. On behalf of Sch?n, he decided to let me replace Uli Hoeness in the second group stage against Yugoslavia. The other players who were moved to the starting lineup also included Rainer Bonhof, Dieter Herzog and Herb. Te Weimer. This was later described by the media many times as Beckenbauer depriving Sch?n of his authority. Total nonsense. It was Sch?n who built the team, but unlike other managers, he weighed all points of view and allowed others to put forward their opinions.

The West German team defeated Yugoslavia, Sweden and Poland in the second group stage, thus advancing to the final against the Netherlands. In the team's lineup at this time, Rainer Bonhoff, Overat and Hoeness were in the midfield, and the forwards were led by Grabowski, Gerd Muller and Holzenbein. At the tactical level, Sch?n arranged for the faster Berti Vogts to implement close defense against the Dutch top star Johan Cruyff, while Schwarzenbeck was more tasked with marking Rob Rensenbu. Link and Bonhoff rely on their abundant physical fitness to constantly interfere with the opponent's core midfielder William Van Haneghen. After the first half, the West German team took a 2-1 lead and made many convincing offensive moves during the game. The second half of the game became a defensive battle for the Germans. In the face of the Dutch team's stormy offensive, they struggled to maintain the score until the end. Helmut Sch?n led his team to win the 1974 World Cup after winning the 1972 European Championship. As early as the 1966 World Cup, they were already runner-up and finished third in the 1970 World Cup. It's just that the way he won in 1974 could no longer compare with the gorgeous performance style in previous competitions.

After winning the World Cup, Grabowski, Gerd Muller and Wolfgang Overat all ended their respective national team careers. The young Paul Breitner He also left for Spain to join Real Madrid. The gap they left, especially the departure of Gerd Müller, was the biggest loss. But as the head coach of the national team, Sch?n could no longer waste time, because the 1976 European Football Championship qualifiers had begun in November 1974. In the quarter-finals, the West German team met Spain. They first drew 1-1 in the first leg in Madrid on April 24, 1976, and then drew 2-2 after returning to Munich's home court in the second leg. Win by 0. As a result, the defending champions advanced to the semi-finals in Yugoslavia in June 1976. After defeating the host 4-2 in overtime, the West German team advanced to the final in Belgrade on June 17. In the 79th minute, Cologne forward Dieter Müller replaced Herbert Wimer. People are particularly crucial, as the former scored the team's last three goals in his first international match. In the final, West Germany and Czechoslovakia tied 2-2 in regular time, and the latter won 5-3 through a penalty shootout. Despite this, Sch?n's team was still regarded by the media as the best team in Europe at the time, but he was unwilling to talk too much about this sense of superiority or special status.

Farewell, 1978 World Cup

On April 27, 1977, West Germany defeated Northern Ireland 5-0 in front of 58,000 spectators in Cologne. This is the first game that core player Beckenbauer has missed since moving to the New York Cosmos in the United States. West Germany remained undefeated in the next 11 games, the most notable of which was its successful tour of South America in June 1977, with victories over Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. The public is full of expectations for Sch?n's team to achieve greater glory in the 1978 World Cup. However, before the start of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, the West German team's performance in the last two warm-up games against Brazil and Sweden on April 5 and 19, 1978 was disappointing, especially in Stockholm, where they lost 1-3. Lost to Sweden. At this time, many criticisms were directed at the absence of veterans Beckenbauer, Breitner, Grabowski and young player Uli Stilik from Real Madrid. They were not selected for this game due to administrative reasons or personal reasons. national team. These four players ultimately failed to participate in the 1978 World Cup. On June 1, 1978, in the opening match of the World Cup against Poland in Buenos Aires, the West German team performed poorly and was tied 0-0. Sch?n immediately issued a statement:

We respected our opponents too much, and this game was filled with concerns and dodges. From the opening whistle, both teams seemed paralyzed. Whether it's us or Poland, almost all automatically pass the ball after two or three back and forth. They are all afraid of competition. Purely for safety reasons, the ball was repeatedly tipped over. I can understand the audience's disappointment. But after all, it is the first time for many players to face the third place team of the last World Cup here.

After experiencing a "fake smoke screen" in the first game, the West German team defeated Mexico 6-0 in the second game. But in the final game of the group stage, they once again drew a goalless draw with Tunisia. West Germany entered the second group stage with an unconvincing performance. And then in the game against Italy, they ushered in their third 0-0. Sch?n's team's performances have been choppy due to a lack of confidence and the team has proven to have lost its distinctive identity. After a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands, the West German team's last game in this cup was against Austria in Cordoba on June 21, 1978. If they win, they can still participate in the third-place match. But West Germany's restless mood was on display again in this game, as Austria ended the game 3-2 thanks to Hans Krankel's 88th-minute winner. After a lackluster performance in Argentina, the golden era of German football came to an end. Sch?n officially proposed to resign as the head coach of the national team before the end of this cup. Although the timing was not quite what he had envisioned, he had planned to at least participate in the third-place match against Brazil, but the defeat against Austria shattered Sch?n's dreams.

Sch?n's resignation was officially approved by the German Football Association before the international match between West Germany and Hungary in Frankfurt on November 15, 1978.

Due to the thick fog, his farewell match lasted only 60 minutes and was forced to end early when the score was still 0-0. After Sch?n left office, German singer Udo Jürgens composed a single specifically for him called "Der Mann mit der Mütze" (The Man with the Hat).

Biographer Ludger Schulze described Sch?n's retirement in the following words:

He was always loyal to football, and not just because He is a football man, more of a love (for football). Helmut Sch?n may be the last representative figure of this generation of coaches: he does not aim at money and does not take great pleasure in success, but uses his passion for football as the driving force for his work. People always have a feeling similar to this.