Sepp Piontek, the German footballer and manager best known for coaching the Denmark national team, died on February 19, 2026.
Born Josef Emanuel Hubertus Piontek on March 5, 1940, in Breslau, he played as a full-back for Werder Bremen between 1963 and 1972, making 203 Bundesliga appearances and scoring 14 goals, after earlier spells in the Oberliga Nord. He later managed Werder Bremen and, in 1975, Fortuna Düsseldorf for one season.
In 2011, he was inducted into the Danish Football Hall of Fame as its first foreign member.
Josef Emanuel Hubertus “Sepp” Piontek (5 March 1940 – 18 February 2026) was a German football player and manager. Most famous for his time as the head coach of the Denmark national team, he was included in the Danish Football hall of fame in 2011 as the first foreigner to be so.