Who are the Bundesliga's coaches in 2022/23?
The Bundesliga has seen several managerial changes already this season - here are the men currently in charge of each of the top flight's 18 teams.
bundesliga.com introduces the coaches who are making the decisions this season...
A familiar face returned to Bundesliga shores in March 2023 when former Borussia Dortmund and Mainz boss Tuchel replaced Julian Nagelsmann in the Bayern hotseat. Following successful stints a Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, with whom he won the 2021 UEFA Champions League, Tuchel arrives at the Allianz Arena aiming to lead the Reds to the third treble in the club's history. A master tactician extraordinaire, the 49-year-old will relish the challenge of steering the likes of Sadio Mane, Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane to success.
Watch: Tuchel's top 5 Bundesliga moments
Borussia Dortmund: Edin Terzic
Terzic returned to the hot-seat at the Signal Iduna Park after the club decided to part ways with Marco Rose after just one season. The 39-year-old spent the last campaign as technical director at BVB, having led them to the 2020/21 DFB Cup as interim boss. He had served as assistant to predecessor Lucien Favre, but Rose’s appointment had already been confirmed before winning that trophy. A Dortmund fan who has been in the crowd for their previous triumphs down the years, Terzic worked his way through the coaching ranks at Borussia, either side of spells as assistant to Slaven Bilic at Besiktas and West Ham United.
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After a disappointing start to the season under previous boss Gerardo Seoane, former Bayern Munich midfielder was appointed as Leverkusen manager. The Spaniard's experience in the dugout remains limited, with this just his second senior job after three years at the helm of Real Sociedad's B team, but, while there have already been ups and down for him and his team during his stint at the BayArena, enough positives suggest he can provide some success. Having played under the likes of Rafael Benitez, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, the 41-year-old should have an idea of what it takes to coach a winning team.
Domenico Tedesco led Leipzig to the first major trophy of their short history last year as Die Roten Bullen won the DFB Cup after prevailing in a penalty shoot-out against Freiburg. However, he lasted less than six weeks of the new season before being dismissed, with former Dortmund boss Rose his replacement. The 46-year-old spent just 12 months with the Black-Yellows, and therefore arrived at the Red Bull Arena with plenty to prove. It didn't take him long to make an impact, leading his new outfit to an 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions and, while they have not been able to match that form throughout his entire tenure, he has justified his appointment.
Fischer remains the only person to lead Union in the Bundesliga, improving each year since guiding them to promotion in 2019. The Swiss tactician has masterminded Die Eisernen’s finishes in 11th, seven and a historic fifth last season that saw them qualify directly for this season's UEFA Europa League group stage. His work at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei has been little short of remarkable for a club that was in the fourth tier a bit over a decade ago and wasn’t even in the top flight of the East German league system at the time of reunification. The side from the capital continue to exceed all expectations, even leading the Bundesliga for a short while also progressing in Europe and the DFB Cup. Just how far can the 56-year-old take this group?
The only person older or at his current club longer than Fischer in the Bundesliga is the Freiburg institution that is Streich. The 56-year-old has been at the helm in the Black Forest for over 10 years and has made history as their coach with the most wins and also the first to guide them to a DFB Cup final, where they came up narrowly short against Leipzig last term. He also took Freiburg to within three points of a historic Champions League qualification. “I can hardly back myself to say it, but I don’t have any worries for next season. A bit, but not a lot,” the enigmatic coach said as he and his team were welcomed back to the city after their shootout defeat in the cup final. As is often the case, his team's excellent performances have proven him correct.
Ask anybody in the city of Cologne and they will all tell you that the Coach of the Year should be their now-beloved Baumgart. The 50-year-old has brought life back to the Effzeh since joining from Paderborn for the 2021/22 campaign, taking a team that had only survived relegation via the promotion/ relegation play-off to one that finished a comfortable seventh, qualifying for continental football in the process. Not only that, he has managed to instil a swashbuckling style of play and Baumgart has got the Billy Goats playing in a fearless, exciting manner. His touchline attire has been just as popular with the fans and Baumgart’s flat cap and polo shirt was one of the most popular looks at Karneval the past year. Unfortunately for Cologne, they were unable to progress beyond the group stages of the UEFA Europa Conference but, while the team has not reached the same heights as last term, the eccentric boss remains a fan favourite.
“We can be very pleased in a sporting sense. Very nice that we could go into the final matchdays relaxed,” said Sebastian Schneider, chairman of Supporters Mainz e.V. of the 05ers’ season – the first full one under miracle worker Svensson. The Dane took over midway through 2020/21 with Mainz looking doomed on six points from 14 games, but turned things around in style to save them and finish 12th with 39. He’s then led them to eighth with the club’s fourth-best points haul in their Bundesliga history, built mainly on remarkable home form that saw them concede just 11 times in 17 games at the Mewa Arena – four fewer than any other team on home soil. Svensson has brought the good times back to Mainz and - whisper it quietly - could even take them on a European journey sometime soon.
Hoffenheim: Pellegrino Matarazzo
Hoffenheim is already Matarazzo's second stop of the 2022/23 season, having been sacked by Stuttgart in October. Considering the many talents in Die Kraichgauer's squad, it is a shock to see them right in the middle of a relegation battle, and American Matarazzo is the man tasked with keeping them amongst the elite. In his previous job, he initially displayed his coaching and tactical ability, leading Stuttgart to a top-half finish in their first season back in the Bundesliga with an exciting style, but survival in 2021/22 was only confirmed in the last minute of Matchday 34. He is no stranger to Sinsheim, though, having been on Julian Nagelsmann's coaching staff, including one year as assistant, during the former Bayern man's three years at the club.
Borussia Mönchengladbach: Daniel Farke
Farke once described himself as “the slowest striker in Western Europe”, but he was quick on the uptake when it came to coaching. His first job saw him earn back-to-back promotions that lifted Lippstadt to the fourth tier before taking over Dortmund’s reserves in 2015. After two years there, he was hired to take charge of Norwich City in England, earning promotion to the English Premier League in his second season. Although the Canaries were relegated straight away, he brought them back at the first time of asking – winning the EFL Championship for the second time – before being dismissed in November 2021. The 45-year-old was appointed boss of Krasnodar in January 2022 but never took charge of a game as he left due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In Gladbach, a strong start was followed by inconsistency, and he will be looking for improvement quickly as he looks to take the Die Fohlen towards the summit of German football.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Oliver Glasner
Glasner’s first season at the Eintracht helm following his summer 2021 switch from Wolfsburg could have gone either way. Sporting director Markus Krösche said they “weren’t pleased” finishing 11th in the Bundesliga, while their exit in the first round of the DFB Cup was certainly underwhelming for the five-time winners. But come 18 May, Glasner was the hero of Frankfurt after guiding them to Europa League victory in an unbeaten European campaign that included scalps over Fenerbahce, Real Betis, Barcelona, West Ham United and, ultimately, Rangers. That success gave the 47-year-old Austrian the chance to lead Eintracht into the Champions League for the first time in their history and subsequently guided them to the knockout stages. Additional improvement in both the Bundesliga and the Cup means Glasner's job is likely safe for the foreseeable future.
Prior to Glasner's Europa League success, the last coach to win a trophy with Frankfurt was Kovac, who took charge at Wolfsburg in the summer seven years after the Wolves' last piece of silverware. The 50-year-old returned to Germany after 18 months in French football with Monaco, where he earned praise for his style and also did the double over Paris Saint-Germain in 2020/21. The Berlin-born ex-Croatia international's last Bundesliga game prior to his Monegasque adventure came in November 2019 as his Bayern team were beaten 5-1 in Frankfurt, but only after he’d become the first person to win the Bundesliga and DFB Cup double both as a player and a coach when he guided Bayern to glory in his first season. So far, his spell at the Volkswagen-Arena has not been the calmest, but a top-six finish this campaign is not out of the question.
Prior to his arrival in Bochum halfway through this season, Letsch was an unknown quantity in German football, having instead spent the majority of his top-level coaching career in Austria and the Netherlands, with Vitesse Arnhem. He led the latter to a fourth-place Eredivisie finish in 2021/22 as well as the Dutch Cup final, proving his credentials. There has been little to shout about for him at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion, but many expected Bochum to be involved in a scrap towards the bottom of the table - keeping them in the division will have seen him reach his objective.
“We’ve followed Enrico Maaßen’s progress in recent years with great interest because he’s a young coach who’s hungry for success and wants to continue developing himself and those around him,” said Augsburg sporting director Stefan Reuter of the man chosen to succeed Markus Weinzierl at the WWK Arena. The 38-year-old joined from the Dortmund reserves – the second current Bundesliga coach to have worked for Die Schwarzgelben’s second string – having impressed in the lower leagues. Knee problems forced the amateur midfielder to retire in 2014 at newly promoted fifth-tier side Drochtersen/Assel. He was named the new coach shortly after, creating an attacking team that earned promotion to the fourth level in two years and narrowly lost 1-0 to Gladbach in the 2016/17 DFB Cup. He had to change his style at Rödinghausen, who he joined in 2018, stabilising the team defensively before focusing on their offensive play. He took the Regionalliga West side to the second round of the cup, again suffering a narrow defeat to Bundesliga opposition, this time Bayern (2-1). He kept the team at the top end of the table for two seasons before being brought to Dortmund in 2020, getting the reserves promoted to the 3. Liga in his first campaign, then leading them to a comfortable ninth before Augsburg came calling. After years of underwhelming football, Maaßen has improved the team's style as they look to continue their stint in the Bundesliga.
VfB Stuttgart: Sebastian Hoeneß
If the surname sounds familiar to you it's likely because football is the Hoeneß family business: Sebastian is the son of former Germany international Dieter, and nephew of former Bayern president Uli. The 40-year-old became Stuttgart's third coach of the 2022/23 season, following on from Pellegrino Matarazzo and Bruno Labaddia, and was brought in ahead of Matchday 27 with the team bottom of the Bundesliga, but with the task of keeping them in the top flight. "We decided we needed a fresh spark," said VfB CEO Alexander Wehrle of the appointment. "Sebastian already has important Bundesliga experience and is very familiar with managing youth and second teams. We’re sure that Sebastian is the right coach for the challenges facing us and that he’ll overcome this difficult situation with the help of the team.”
“I have a great desire to help shape the new start at Hertha. The club has been through a difficult time,” said Schwarz in the statement confirming his appointment. The Old Lady has indeed had a tough time, only surviving the drop last term with a play-off victory over Hamburg. Felix Magath was then the saviour, but Schwarz was ultimately tasked with starting again after swapping Dynamo Moscow for Hertha. He earned plenty of plaudits during his time at hometown club Mainz, following a well-trodden path of a number of Bundesliga and international coaches who worked through the ranks at the 05ers. The 43-year-old spent two-and a-bit seasons at the helm of the Mainz first team, finishing level on points with Hertha in 2018/19, but has so far struggled to find the right recipe for success at the Olympiastadion. He also holds a place in Bundesliga history as the first coach to be sent off since the introduction of yellow cards for club officials on the touchline.
Schalke looked doomed when Frank Kramer was relieved of his duties with Die Königsblauen rock bottom of the Bundesliga. It took a while for Reis to implement his style, but things look a lot rosier after securing five clean sheets during a six-game unbeaten run at the start of 2023. He knows his way around the lower echelons of the table, having helped Bochum beat the drop last season and, after he was sacked by the latter in September, their loss has been Schalke's gain. Nothing is sorted yet, of course, but Reis has at least given the Gelsenkirchen-based club something to cling to during the final month of the campaign.
Ole’s been at the wheel at Werder since November 2021 – having been Holstein Kiel boss until September – taking over with the relegated northern giants down in 10th after 15 games. The 34-year-old then won 28 of a possible 30 points from his first 10 matches to suddenly put Bremen in pole position for promotion. Consistent team selection saw him finish the Bundesliga 2 campaign with a record of 13 wins, four draws and two defeats at the helm at the Weserstadion, ensuring the four-time Bundesliga champion returned to the big time at the first attempt. He, Farke and Maaßen were the three debutants on Bundesliga touchlines at the beginning of 2022/23 and, aided by the free-scoring Niklas Füllkrug, he will remain in the division in 2023/24.
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