Helmut Benthaus

Football player infobox| playername= Helmut Benthaus
fullname = Helmut Benthaus
nickname =


dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1935|6|5|df=y
cityofbirth = Herne
countryofbirth = Germany
height =
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Midfield
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1954-1961 1961-1963 1963-1965 1965-1971
clubs = Westfalia Herne 1860 Munich 1.FC Cologne FC Basel
caps(goals) = 167 (19) 18 (1) 52 (3) 23 (2)
nationalyears = 1958-1960
nationalteam = West Germany
nationalcaps(goals) = 8 (0)
manageryears = 1965-1982 1982-1985 1985-1987
managerclubs = FC Basel VfB Stuttgart FC Basel
pcupdate = 4 October 2007
ntupdate = 18 July 2007

Helmut Benthaus (born 5 June 1935 in Herne) is a German retired football player and former coach. He spent his best playing days at Westfalia Herne and his best coaching days at FC Basel.

Playing career

Helmut Benthaus started his professional career at Westfalia Herne in 1958. In 1959 he won the Second Division-West title but left just a year later to join 1860 Munich before moving to 1.FC Cologne. He won the Second Division-West again in 1963 with Cologne then the German Masters in 1964. In 1965 he joined Swiss club FC Basel as player-manager. He retired from playing in 1971 aged 36.

He played for the West German national team on eight occasions between 1958 and 1960.

Coaching career

Benthaus coached FC Basel for 17 years between 1965 and 1982. He won the Swiss Masters seven times and the Swiss Cup twice. He coached Basel's legendary team of the 1970s that won the Championship in 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1977 as well as the Cup in 1975. The squad included Karl Odermatt and Ottmar Hitzfeld. After Basel he joined German club VfB Stuttgart in 1982. There he won the German Masters in 1984. He left in 1985 and rejoined Basel. However, this spell was much less successful and he was sacked after the club were relegated to the Nationalliga B in 1987.

References

[http://www.geissbockfans.com/spieler/bentha_h.htm Fotos von Helmut Benthaus]