AKIPRESS.COM - The manager who won more European Cups with Bayern Munich than any other manager in the club's history died at his Bavarian home in Reit im Winkl on Thursday evening, reports The Local.

Cramer was widely credited for establishing football as a professional sport in Japan and also managed the United States national team.

"We've lost a great trainer and a large personality. Dettmar Cramer was an ambassador for German football recognized around the world," said DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach on Friday.

Born on April 4, 1925, Cramer made his way up through the coaching system of the German football federation (DFB) until he was assigned to assist the Japanese national team in their preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

During his time in Japan, he worked to establish a national league and a professionalized coaching system and Japan went on to record a surprise win against Argentina at the 1964 Olympics. Four years later, the Japanese team picked up a bronze medal in Mexico.

Cramer is so respected in Japan that he became known as the "father of modern football" there and in 2005 he was initiated into the Japanese Football Hall of Fame.

Back in Germany, he worked as an assistant for the national team in the late 1960s. He earned the nickname "the professor" for his avid attention to detail and was also known as "Napoleon" due to his diminutive 161cm stature.

In 1974, Cramer briefly served as manager of the United States soccer team before being offered a job by Bayern Munich.

He won the European Cup in both of his seasons at the club, establishing them on a level with Real Madrid as one of the giants of European football.

Cramer's Bayern Munich team, containing legends such as Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier and Gerd Müller, is widely considered as one of the greatest club sides of all time.

After leaving Bayern in 1977, Cramer went on to manage Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen with mixed success. In 2002, he retired from football.