claimed that he turned down the chance to coach Real
Madrid in 1997.
Ottmar Hitzfeld has revealed that he rejected an offer from Real
Madrid after he had guided Borussia Dortmund to Champions
League glory in 1997.
The 66-year-old was one of the most sought-after coaches in
the game after his successful spell in charge at the
Westfalenstadion, but he eventually opted against a move to
Spain in favour of a position as sporting director at Dortmund.
"I turned down the chance to take charge of Real Madrid after
we had won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund in
1997," Hitzfeld told Blick.
"I lost a fair bit of sleep over that decision.
"But in the end I thought 'I will get fired before I even get the
chance to learn Spanish'."
Madrid eventually decided to replace Fabio Capello with Jupp
Heynckes following Hitzfeld's decision to reject the Santiago
Bernabeu side.
Hitzfeld left his position as sporting director at Dortmund in
1998 to take charge of Bayern Munich and also coached
Switzerland's national side before retiring after the 2014 World
Cup.
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