Jupp Heynckes Mourns Longtime Assistant Peter Hermann: "Couldn't Stop Our Tears"

Jupp Heynckes reacted with deep sadness to the death of his longtime friend and colleague Peter Hermann.

In an emotional guest contribution for kicker, the 81-year-old described his 'eternal' assistant coach as a 'steadfast partner on equal footing'. Heynckes and Hermann were 'brothers in spirit'; there were never 'dissonances or even arguments' between them.

Hermann passed away on Saturday at the age of 74 after suffering from the nerve disease ALS. Heynckes received the tragic news of his friend's death from his daughter Rebecca. "My wife Iris and I were sitting at the table, unable to hold back our tears. Human language doesn't offer fitting words for such moments to express how deeply this loss has affected us," Heynckes wrote. "Peter's life revolved around his family and football. His wife Barbara and his loved ones cared for him tenderly, around the clock. When he could no longer be alone in his final months, a family member was always nearby."

Even after Hermann received the devastating diagnosis, he and Heynckes maintained contact. Heynckes last visited his friend about three months ago. "He could barely speak then. His son-in-law helped with the conversation because I could hardly understand Peter anymore," Heynckes recounted. "On the drive home, with the image of my terribly frail friend before my eyes, I wept bitterly in the car."

When Did Jupp Heynckes and Peter Hermann Work Together?

From then on, they limited their contact to text messages. "Peter himself never complained about his terrible fate," said Heynckes. The two had worked together in Leverkusen from 2009 to 2011 and in Munich from 2011 to 2013. They had another shared three-quarters of a year at Bayern Munich in 2017/18. In 2013, they won the treble.

"Peter possessed football knowledge like very few others; in times before databases existed, he had everything stored in his head. His comments were professionally well-founded, and his work was diligent and conscientious," said Heynckes. "The players didn't just like Peter, they loved him because he was so empathetic and likeable, so quiet and unassuming, so modest, simply lovable. Peter was important without making himself important."