Berlin, Sep 18 (IANS): Former German football coach Dettmar Cramer, who won two European Cups with Bayern Munich in 1975 and 1976, has died at the age of 90, the Bavarian club and the German Football Association said in separate statements on Friday.

"To many people, Dettmar Cramer was more than merely a sporting figure. To me, he was like a fatherly friend, and the biggest influence on my early years as a professional," said the chairman of the Sports Council of FC Bayern, Karlheinz Rummenigge, reports Efe.

"To a large extent, I have him to thank that I was very successful as a footballer," the former German international added.

Cramer started coaching Bayern on January 16, 1975, achieving European successes in 1975 and 1976, and then resigned in 1977, when the club lost the Bundesliga title.

Cramer went on to coach other German clubs Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen and Hertha Berlin and was one of the assistants of Germany coach Helmut Schoen during the 1966 World Cup.

His other coaching stints included spells in the US, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea.