From Vincent Kompany to top-flight newcomers: Meet the 2026/27 Bundesliga head coaches
We know which 18 teams will make up the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, but who are the men in charge? We take you through the head coaches who will be looking to find success amongst the elite this coming season...
Name: Vincent Kompany
Club: Bayern MunichAge: 40Took charge: 1 July 2024
Kompany joined Bayern from Burnley in 2024 tasked with regaining the Bundesliga title from Bayer Leverkusen and duly obliged, clinching the Meisterschale 13 points ahead of nearest challengers Borussia Dortmund. His side were even more dominant last season, setting the record for the most goals scored in a single Bundesliga campaign (122) and winning the domestic double, while narrowly exiting the UEFA Champions League to eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals. The Belgian is currently under contract until 2029.
Watch: Vincent Kompany: Europe's coolest coach
Name: Niko Kovač
Club: Borussia DortmundAge: 54Took charge: 2 February 2025
Kovač took the helm at Dortmund midway through the 2024/25 campaign, with the Black-Yellows struggling in 11th and in danger of failing to qualify for the Champions League. The Berlin-born former Croatia international ultimately masterminded an eight-game unbeaten run to end the season and finish in the top four, before securing a second-place finish in 2025/26 with the best defence in the league (34 goals conceded). BVB is his fourth stop in Germany, having won the DFB Cup with Eintracht Frankfurt and the domestic double at Bayern previously, plus a stint with Wolfsburg.
Name: Martín Demichelis
Club: RB LeipzigAge: 45Took charge: 22 June 2026
Despite finishing third in 2025/26, Ole Werner was relieved of his duties by Leipzig at the end of the campaign, with Demichelis taking his place in the dugout. A multiple Bundesliga champion with Bayern as a player, the Argentinian is a former league winner in his homeland as a coach, while he has also been in charge at Mexico's Monterrey and Spain's Mallorca.
Name: Sebastian Hoeneß
Club: VfB StuttgartAge: 44Took charge: 3 April 2023
When Hoeneß was given the Stuttgart reins towards the end of 2022/23, the Swabians were in severe difficulty at the wrong end of the table as they lay five points adrift of safety and two points behind the relegation play-off spot. The nephew of Bayern legend Uli, though, steered the team towards the two-legged tie with third place in Bundesliga 2, and they ultimately proved far too much to handle for Hamburg. They have been on the rise ever since. Hoeneß has taken Stuttgart to two DFB Cup finals, one of which they won, while they have qualified for the Champions League on two occasions under his watch. With shrewd signings, strong tactics and an impressive team spirit, Hoeneß has managed to establish Stuttgart as one of the country's leading clubs once more.
Name: Christian Ilzer
Club: HoffenheimAge: 48Took charge: 15 November 2024
Having won the Austrian title with Sturm Graz, Ilzer's assignment at Hoffenheim upon his arrival was to put some distance between the Sinsheim club and the relegation zone. Ultimately, he secured survival, albeit late on in the season as Hoffenheim finished 15th. The 2025/26 campaign, though, was stark in contrast, as they narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions League, instead finishing fifth and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. He signed a new long-term contract in May.
Name: Carles Martínez
Club: Bayer LeverkusenAge: 42Took charge: 1 July 2026
Martínez is Leverkusen's third head coach in a year after Erik ten Hag and Kasper Hjulmand, and his main objective will be returning the Werkself to the top table of German football after a disappointing 2025/26. The Spaniard cut his coaching teeth in Catalonia, working with the Espanyol and famed Barcelona youth teams before taking charge at Ligue 1 side Toulouse in 2023 after one year as assistant. Under him, the club consolidated their position in mid-table, playing exciting football to boot, and he will now look to translate that philosophy into results at the BayArena.
Name: Julian Schuster
Club: FreiburgAge: 41Took charge: 1 July 2024
When Christian Streich departed his role as Freiburg head coach in 2024 after 11 years, few would have expected Schuster to take the Black Forest club to a new level. Nevertheless, after securing a fifth-placed finish in his first campaign, Streich's former captain led Freiburg to their maiden European final when they participated in the Europa League showpiece, ultimately losing to Aston Villa. This may be his first senior coaching role, but it looks like he has been doing it for years.
Name: Adi Hütter
Club: Eintracht FrankfurtAge: 56Took charge: 1 July 2026
Following stints at Borussia Mönchengladbach and Monaco, Hütter returns to Frankfurt for a second bite of the cherry following Albert Riera's short-lived tenure. The Eagles did well last time he was in charge, reaching a Europa League and DFB Cup semi-final during his three years. With Frankfurt having failed to qualify for European football last campaign, Hütter's main objective will be to take them back to continental competition.
Name: Manuel Baum
Club: AugsburgAge: 46Took charge: 1 December 2025
Watching on from the stands, Baum will not have expected to be swapping his position as Augsburg's Head of Development and Football Innovation for that of head coach after the club parted ways with Sandro Wagner last December. The 46-year-old, though, had previously spent two-and-a-half-years in the role between 2016 and 2019, making him an ideal interim candidate. However, after a strong start, he was given the job until the end of the 2025/26 season, and almost qualifying for Europe has seen him earn a further two-year contract.
Name: Urs Fischer
Club: MainzAge: 60Took charge: 7 December 2025
Fischer was already an Union Berlin hero, and his first six months at Mainz have put him firmly in the 05ers' good books too. The team were in big trouble at the wrong end of the table when he came through the door, but just five defeats from Fischer's 21 league games in charge last term saw Mainz finish comfortably in mid-table. They also reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Conference League, and a whole pre-season for the former Swiss Super League champion should make Mainz even more of a threat.
Name: Mauro Lustrinelli
Club: Union BerlinAge: 50Took charge: 1 July 2026
Union made history last season when they appointed the first female Bundesliga head coach in Marie-Louise Eta after dismissing Steffen Baumgart mid-season, but it had already been confirmed that she would take charge of the club's women's team for this upcoming campaign. As such, the door was left open for Lustrinelli to follow in Fischer's footsteps by swapping Switzerland for the Stadion an der Alten Försterei. The 50-year-old comes with pedigree, having taken Thun to their maiden Swiss Super League title immediately prior to his move to the German capital.
Name: Eugen Polanski
Club: Borussia MönchengladbachAge: 40Took charge: 18 November 2025
Polanski has a long history with Gladbach, first spending four years there as a player between 2004 and 2008 before returning to become a member of the youth coaching team in 2019. A promotion to Gladbach II head coach followed before he was called upon to take charge of the first team last November. There were ups and downs along the way, but a solid 12th-place finish has given him the opportunity to start next season afresh.
Name: Merlin Polzin
Club: HamburgAge: 35Took charge: 25 November 2024
Eight different men, including Polzin himself, had taken charge of a HSV game in Bundesliga 2 before the current head coach was installed again in November 2024. Despite his inexperience, the Hamburg-native started strongly and ultimately steered the club back to the Bundesliga, where they feel they truly belong. Few could complain as his first season amongst the elite ended with a 13th-place finish, leaving supporters quietly confident of further progress over the coming months.
Name: René Wagner
Club: CologneAge: 37Took charge: 23 March 2026
Despite a strong start, Lukas Kwasniok could not maintain Cologne's early 2025/26 form, which led to him being replaced by assistant Wagner in March. The latter spent the first years of his coaching career in the USA before working as an assistant at Paderborn, Cologne, Hamburg and Union Berlin. He returned to the Billy Goats in 2025 to work under Kwasniok, and did enough as interim head coach for the final seven games of last season to earn himself a permanent two-year deal.
Name: Daniel Thioune
Club: Werder BremenAge: 51Took charge: 4 February 2026
Bremen made a big call by selecting Thioune to replace Horst Steffen, and three straight defeats were hardly the best way to start off. However, he and the team rallied and, while they still struggled for consistency, Werder managed to stave off relegation. This is his first job in the Bundesliga, having previously coached Fortuna Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Osnabrück in the second tier.
Name: Miron Muslić
Club: SchalkeAge: 43Took charge: 31 May 2025
Muslić caused a stir at former club Plymouth when he masterminded an FA Cup win over Liverpool. His move to Schalke then prompted some frustration from the Championship club, but it proved to be a wise decision from all involved. The Bosnian ended Schalke's three-year Bundesliga hiatus by not only earning promotion, but also clinching the Bundesliga 2 title for the Royal Blues. In terms of other achievements, he led Belgian outfit Cercle Brugge to European football for the first time in 14 years in 2024.
Name: Elversberg
Club: Vincent WagnerAge: 40Took charge: 1 July 2025
When Elversberg narrowly missed out on promotion by losing the 2024/25 relegation play-off to Heidenheim and subsequently lost head coach Horst Steffen and top goalscorer Fisnik Asllani, another promotion push seemed unlikely. However, Wagner picked up where Steffen left off and delivered a runners-up spot. It was the second time the 40-year-old had taken a team up a division in successive seasons, having done so with Hoffenheim II from the Regionalliga to the 3. Liga in 2024/25.
Name: Ralf Kettemann
Club: PaderbornAge: 39Took charge: 1 July 2025
Given how rare a Bundesliga 2 victory is in the play-off, Kettemann deserves huge credit for getting the better of Wolfsburg with his Paderborn side in May. The 2-1 aggregate win brought a strong season to a close, although the final few weeks of the regular campaign were something of a rollercoaster as Paderborn went from looking like automatic promotion candidates to almost missing out on a top-three spot altogether. Kettemann's previous experience includes four years as part of Karlsruhe's coaching staff and one as Hoffenheim II assistant.
Which stadiums will be hosting Bundesliga football in 2026/27?
