Borussia Dortmund
Lattek officially retired and took up a role as TV commentator and newspaper columnist with the national broadsheet "Die Welt" and the bi-weekly sports magazine "kicker". Were it not for the 1997 Champions League winners Borussia Dortmund reaching panic mode by the end of the 1999-2000 season as they found themselves in free fall and only one point removed from the relegation ranks five match days before the end of the season, the story could have ended here. For what is rumored to be a most generous lump sum, some say 250,000 Euros, the then 65 year old Lattek let himself be reactivated as saviour. His magic did the job once more. Two wins, two draws and only one defeat - against Bayern Munich - were enough to keep the club in the league. His last match was dignified by a 3-0 away triumph against Hertha Berlin in front of a crowd of 75,000. At Dortmund he left a working base for his successor Matthias Sammer, who two years later, at the age of 34, became the youngest coach ever to lead a team in Germany to championship honours.
Lattek presently lives in Cologne, remains renowned for his continuous fondness of beer ("all great coaches have enjoyed a drink"), and works as a commentator with the German TV sports channel DSF.
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