part of the coaching staff at the World Cup in 1966, where West Germany lost in the final to England. His talents were highly regarded by FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association), which contracted him as a coach from 1967 to 1974 and sent him on a tour of the globe, but during this time, Cramer also ran the 1st FIFA Coaching Course in Japan in 1969, and sowed the seeds for a coach training structure in Japan. Additionally, on 1 August 1974, Cramer was selected by the United States Soccer Federation to become the head coach of the United States men's national football team. During his time in national team service, Cramer received numerous coaching offers from German clubs in the Bundesliga, although he consistently turned them down. Then, on 16 January 1975, he took over the reins as manager of German giants FC Bayern Munich. At the beginning, Cramer faced heavy criticism in Munich, mostly because of his passive management style. With rumors of a sacking swirling around Cramer, he was strongly backed by team captain Franz Beckenbauer, who felt indebted to him because of his insistence that Beckenbauer be allowed to return to the German national team after initially being banned for impregnating a girl out of wedlock. Cramer led Bayern to victory in the 1975 and 1976 European Champions Cup, in addition to capturing the World Club Cup in 1976. The 1976 Bundesliga season, however, saw Bayern unable to recapture their form and, after a season that saw them fail to defend their domestic title, Cramer was forced to resign his position. Cramer was involved in a trade between Bayern and Eintracht Frankfurt, which saw him take the top spot at Frankfurt, while Frankfurt coach Gyula Lorant made his way to Bayern. Neither club was happy with the trade, as Bayern finished a club worst 12th in the table, while Frankfurt's results were mediocre at best. As a result, the club parted ways with him on 30 June 1978. Not until the 1982–83 season did Cramer find himself employed in the Bundesliga again, this time with club Bayer Leverkusen. At Leverkusen he managed to lead the club to their first top 9 finish in the league during his second year in charge. Failure to build on that accomplishment led to his dismissal after his third season in charge. Never to coach in the Bundesliga again, Cramer