Johannes Linßen

Johannes Linßen

Linßen as manager of FC Gütersloh.
Personal information
Date of birth	(1949-09-28) 28 September 1949
Place of birth	Wachtendonk, West Germany
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1968–1974	MSV Duisburg	113	(9)
1974–1984	SC Fortuna Köln	311	(44)
International career‡
1971	Germany under-23	4	(0)
Managerial career
1984–1986	SC Fortuna Köln
1987–1989	SC Fortuna Köln
1993–1995	SC Fortuna Köln
1996–1998	FC Gütersloh
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 04:24, 5 October 2013 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 04:24, 5 October 2013 (UTC)

Johannes "Hannes" Linßen (born 28 September 1949) is a German former football player, coach and manager.

Playing career

Linßen began his career with Bundesliga club MSV Duisburg in 1968 before dropping a division in 1974 to join SC Fortuna Köln, where he remained until the end of his career in 1984. He played in the 1983 final of the DFB cup, which his team lost 1–0 to local rivals 1. FC Köln.

On 23 January 1971, while playing for MSV Duisburg against Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, Linßen received the first ever yellow card to be awarded in the Bundesliga, although the card should in fact have been awarded to his teammate Đorđe Pavlić, the referee having confused the two players.

Managerial career

Following his retirement as a player, Linßen was appointed manager of SC Fortuna Köln in 1984. He remained in charge until a bad start to the 1986–87 season led to his departure. He had a second stint as manager of the club from April 1987 to August 1989. Linßen was assistant manager of 1. FC Köln from July 1990 until February 1993, after which he had a third spell as manager of SC Fortuna Köln. His final managerial position was with FC Gütersloh from 1996 to 1998.

Linßen returned to 1. FC Köln as director of football in 1998. During his three-and-a-half years in this position, the club achieved promotion to the Bundesliga in 2000. But by 2002 the club were heading towards relegation and, amid much personal criticism, particularly for the eight-year contract given to 12-year-old Marco Quotschalla, Linßen resigned on 11 February.