André Breitenreiter (born 2 October 1973) is a German professional manager and former player. Breitenreiter’s entire playing career was in his native Germany, appearing in both the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga for nine different sides.

André Breitenreiter
Breitenreiter as Schalke 04 manager in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1973-10-02) 2 October 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth Langenhagen, West Germany
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, striker
Youth career
1977–1984 Borussia Hannover
1984–1986 Hannoverscher SC
1986–1991 Hannover 96
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1994 Hannover 96 72 (10)
1994–1997 Hamburger SV 71 (12)
1998–1999 VfL Wolfsburg 24 (1)
1999–2002 SpVgg Unterhaching 78 (18)
2002 SC Langenhagen 14 (3)
2002–2003 Hessen Kassel 13 (8)
2003–2007 Holstein Kiel 116 (15)
2007–2009 BV Cloppenburg 60 (9)
2009–2010 TSV Havelse 21 (6)
Total 469 (82)
International career
Germany U16 12 (8)
Germany U18 14 (4)
Germany U20 5 (3)
1995–1996 Germany U21 6 (2)
Managerial career
2011–2013 TSV Havelse
2013–2015 SC Paderborn
2015–2016 Schalke 04
2017–2019 Hannover 96
2021–2022 Zürich
2022–2023 TSG Hoffenheim
2024 Huddersfield Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

As a manager, Breiitenreiter led SC Paderborn to promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in history, as well as leading Schalke 04, Hannover 96 and TSG Hoffenheim in the top flight. He won the Swiss Super League for FC Zürich in 2021–22 and briefly led EFL Championship club Huddersfield Town in 2024.

Playing career

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Breitenreiter with TSV Havelse in 2009

Breitenreiter played for Hannoverscher SC, Borussia Hannover, Hannover 96, Hamburger SV, VfL Wolfsburg, SpVgg Unterhaching, SC Langenhagen, Hessen Kassel, Holstein Kiel, BV Cloppenburg and TSV Havelse.[1] He played 144 Bundesliga matches scoring 28 goals and 101 2. Bundesliga matches with 14 goals.[2]

Managerial career

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Early years and SC Paderborn

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Breitenreiter started his coaching career in 2009 and worked as scout for Kaiserslautern. On 3 January 2011, he was appointed as head coach of TSV Havelse, club playing in Regionalliga Nord.[3] In 2012, he won Lower Saxony Cup with TSV Havelse. On 15 May 2013, it was announced that Breitenreiter would take over SC Paderborn starting in the 2013–14 season.[4] On 11 May 2014, his club gained promotion to Bundesliga for the first time ever in club's history. On 20 September 2014, after four undefeated games (two wins, two draws) in the German top tier, Paderborn was top of the league, ahead of European powerhouses Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen.[5]

Schalke 04

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Breitenreiter became the 14th head coach for Schalke 04 in the last decade on 12 June 2015, signing a two-year deal with €500,000 being paid to Paderborn for his services.[6] His debut on 8 August was a 5–0 win away to MSV Duisburg in the first round of the DFB-Pokal,[7] followed a week later by a 3–0 win at SV Werder Bremen in his first league game.[8] His first campaign as a manager in European football ended in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League with a 3–0 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk.[9] He left the club after a single season, having come fifth and qualified for the Europa League again, but falling short of club aims of reaching the UEFA Champions League.[10]

Hannover 96

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Breitenreiter was appointed as the new head coach for Hannover 96 on 20 March 2017, replacing Daniel Stendel during a time of internal changes at the fourth-placed club.[11] On 1 April, he debuted in a 2–0 home win over 1. FC Union Berlin, ending a nine-game unbeaten run for the league leaders.[12] He finished his nine-game run to the end of the season unbeaten, winning promotion as runners-up to VfB Stuttgart.[13] He was sacked on 27 January 2019 after eight consecutive losses put the team second from bottom; his last result was a 5–1 loss at Dortmund, and he was replaced by Thomas Doll.[14]

FC Zürich

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Breitenreiter took the first foreign job of his lifetime in the summer of 2021, taking over an FC Zürich side that had avoided relegation from the Swiss Super League on the penultimate matchday of the previous season. His team won the 2021–22 season by 14 points over FC Basel, playing a quick counter-attacking game; only two teams averaged less possession in the entire league.[15]

TSG Hoffenheim

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In May 2022, Breitenreiter signed for TSG Hoffenheim, succeeding Sebastian Hoeneß on a two-year deal.[16] He was sacked the following 6 February 2023, with the club three points above the relegation zone.[17]

Huddersfield Town

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On 15 February 2024, Breitenreiter was appointed head coach of English Championship club Huddersfield Town on a two-and-a-half-year contract. The team were in 20th, five points above the relegation zone.[18] Nine days later, his team came from behind to win 2–1 at Watford on his debut.[19]

On 10 May 2024, Breitenreiter left Huddersfield Town by mutual consent following the club's relegation to EFL League One; he had won two of his 13 games. Before his final game, he told BBC Radio Leeds that he would not have joined the club if he had been aware of "things and problems", alleging that they had spent pre-season playing golf and going to the pub.[20]

Coaching record

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As of 4 May 2024
Team From To Record
M W D L Win % Ref.
Havelse 3 January 2011[3] 30 June 2013[4] 86 41 20 25 047.67 [21][22]
SC Paderborn 1 July 2013[4] 12 June 2015[6] 71 26 18 27 036.62 [23]
Schalke 04 12 June 2015[6] 14 May 2016[10] 44 20 10 14 045.45 [24]
Hannover 20 March 2017[11] 27 January 2019[14] 66 20 17 29 030.30 [25]
FC Zürich 9 June 2021 30 June 2022 39 25 8 6 064.10 [26]
TSG Hoffenheim 1 July 2022 6 February 2023 22 7 4 11 031.82 [27]
Huddersfield Town 15 February 2024 10 May 2024 13 2 5 6 015.38
Total 341 141 82 118 041.35

Honours

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Player

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Hannover 96

Manager

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TSV Havelse

SC Paderborn

Zürich

References

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  1. ^ "Breitenreiter, André" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  2. ^ "André Breitenreiter" (in German). fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Breitenreiter wird Stoffregens Nachfolger" (in German). kicker.de. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  4. ^ a b c "2. Fußball-Bundesliga: Breitenreiter wird neuer Trainer in Paderborn" (in German). Der Spiegel. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Paderborn Erster! Mainz Zweiter! Hoffenheim Dritter!" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Dunbar, Ross (12 June 2015). "Schalke appoint Andre Breitenreiter as head coach". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Und es heißt doch Schalke 0:5". Frankfurter Allgemeine (in German). 8 August 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Klasse Einstand für Breitenreiter: S04 siegt in Bremen" (in German). Yahoo!. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  9. ^ Münch, Nadine (25 February 2016). "Schalke findet keine Mittel mit Shakhtar" (in German). UEFA. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Breitenreiter to leave Schalke". Deutsche Welle. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  11. ^ a b "96: Stendel muss gehen – Breitenreiter übernimmt" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Hannover stoppt Unions Siegesserie" (in German). German Football Association. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  13. ^ "96 feiert den direkten Wiederaufstieg". Rheinische Post (in German). 22 May 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Bundesliga: Coach Andre Breitenreiter leaves Hannover". Deutsche Welle. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  15. ^ a b Roduner, Donat; Eggenberger, Chris (24 May 2022). "Success Story: How FC Zürich won the Swiss Super League". Opta Analyst. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Hoffenheim name Breitenreiter as manager". Reuters. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Struggling Hoffenheim sack manager Breitenreiter". Reuters. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Andre Breitenreiter: Huddersfield Town appoint new head coach". BBC Sport. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  19. ^ Howson, Dom (24 February 2024). "Andre Breitenreiter pays tribute to Huddersfield Town stars after 'special' Watford victory". Examiner. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Huddersfield boss Breitenreiter leaves after relegation". BBC Sport. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  21. ^ "TSV Havelse". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  22. ^ "TSV Havelse". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  23. ^ "SC Paderborn 07". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  24. ^ "FC Schalke 04". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  25. ^ "Hannover 96". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  26. ^ "FC Zürich: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  27. ^ "FC Zürich: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
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