Brian Riemer (born September 22 1978) is a Danish football coach who serves as manager of the Denmark national football team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 September 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Denmark | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Denmark (manager) | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 2003 | Albertslund IF (U17) | ||
| 2003–2004 | Norwich City (technical youth coach) | ||
| 2004–2008 | Hvidovre IF (U19) | ||
| 2008 | Hvidovre IF (interim) | ||
| 2009–2012 | FC Copenhagen (U19) | ||
| 2012–2015 | FC Copenhagen (assistant) | ||
| 2015–2018 | FC Copenhagen (U19) | ||
| 2018–2022 | Brentford (assistant) | ||
| 2022–2024 | Anderlecht | ||
| 2024– | Denmark | ||
Riemer had previously managed Anderlecht after serving for four years as assistant coach at Brentford to Thomas Frank.[1] Prior to Brentford he was assistant in the Danish league with FC Copenhagen.
Coaching career
editDenmark
editRiemer started coaching in his native Denmark with the Albertslund Under-17 team while in his mid-twenties, before being approached after a match against them by his equivalent at Hvidovre IF, Thomas Frank to join him in coaching that club's youths.[2] Riemer took charge of the Under-19 squad in 2004, holding the position for four years.
During his time at Hvidovre, Riemer also had a brief spell as a technical youth coach at Norwich City while still in his mid-twenties, working part-time while still coaching in Denmark.[3]
He stepped up following the sacking of Tom Nielsen to take charge of the Hvidovre first team in November 2008 for their final two First Division games of the year before the winter break, winning both - 2–0 away at Nykøbing and 4–1 at Køge BK.
Riemer then moved to the capital to take up the same youth and development role at FC Copenhagen in 2009.
The decision of then Copenhagen assistant coach Johan Lange to move with Ståle Solbakken to Wolves[4] saw new FCK boss Ariël Jacobs promote Riemer from Under-19 coach to be his assistant for the senior team.[5][6]
Copenhagen won the 2012–13 Danish Superliga title in their first season under Jacobs and Riemer, qualifying them for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League.[7] But five winless games into the next campaign, Jacobs was sacked with Copenhagen near the bottom, prompting the return of Solbakken. [8]
Riemer was retained as assistant coach by Solbakken, and FC Copenhagen finished second over the next two seasons. In 2015, Riemer returned to duties as Copenhagen youth coach at his request, and stayed in this position for another three years. Riemer's position as assistant coach was given to Peter Wettergren.[9]
Brentford
editOn 26 October 2018, Riemer was recruited to become assistant head coach at EFL Championship side Brentford by his former coaching colleague in Denmark, Thomas Frank,[1] three months short of fulfilling a full decade at Copenhagen.
Together, Frank and Riemer helped Brentford to promotion in the 2020–21 EFL Championship, guiding the Bees to their first English top-flight campaign since 1946–47. The 2021–22 Premier League saw them finish 13th, closer in points to the European places than the relegation spots. Reimer departed midway through Brentford's second season in the Premier League.
Anderlecht
editRecruited by newly appointed Anderlecht Sports CEO Jesper Fredberg - a fellow Dane - during the six-week break caused by the November-December staging of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Riemer took the reins on 2 December 2022 with Anderlecht 12th in the league.
However, he struggled to get the Brussels club away from the relegation zone until the final few weeks of the season, with the Mauves finishing 11th in the 2022–23 Belgian Pro League, their lowest finish since 1937.[10]
Making a series of ambitious signings during the summer 2023 transfer window, including Anders Dreyer, Kasper Dolberg, Thomas Delaney, Kasper Schmeichel and Thorgan Hazard,[11] Anderlecht had pushed their way up to second in the league table by Christmas 2023, on the way to building their first proper title challenge since last winning the league in 2017.
Because Riemer's first league game for Anderlecht was played on 26 December 2022 and he spent Christmas alone in Brussels, he was allowed fly home to Denmark on Christmas Eve the following year to spend Christmas with his family,[12] before returning on the 26th for the traditional Tweede Kerstdag game against Cercle Brugge, which Anderlecht won 2-0.[13][14]
Anderlecht finished third in the 2023-24 Belgian Pro League season, still in with a chance of winning the title on the final day, but losing 3-1 away to Royal Antwerp. It was Anderlecht's best finish since 2021.
Riemer was sacked on 19 September 2024 due to what the club called their "insufficient performance", despite being fourth at the time of Riemer's sacking, having just suffered their first league defeat of the season at the hands of league leaders Racing Genk in a game that would have put them top had they won. The Mauves were unbeaten in their first six matches prior to this and had led for much of the campaign up to this point. This defeat meaning Anderlecht had picked up one point from their last three games.[15]
Danish national team
editOn 24 October 2024, Riemer was named new manager of the Danish national football team.[16]
Managerial statistics
editAs of 18 November 2024
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
| Hvidovre IF (interim) | 10 November 2008 | 31 December 2008 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |||
| Anderlecht | 2 December 2022 | 19 September 2024 | 76 | 39 | 20 | 17 | 51.32 | |||
| Denmark | 24 October 2024 | Present | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | |||
| Career total | 80 | 41 | 21 | 18 | 51.25 | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Brian Riemer - Brentford FC". Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ "Brian Riemer: The Brentford Way". Brentford F.C. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Brian Riemer opens up on life with the Bees". Bees United. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Johan Lange to join Stale Solbakken at Wolves". Shropshire Star. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "BRIAN RIEMER NY ASSISTENTTRÆNER (Brian Riemer new assistant coach)" (in Danish). FC Copenhagen. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Who is Brian Riemer, the new head coach of Anderlecht? "A Danish Football Animal"". Sporza. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "FCK er danske mestre 2013! - TV 2". 5 May 2013.
- ^ "Soccer-Solbakken back in FC Copenhagen hot-seat - Yahoo Sports". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ "Fra Ståles assistent til U19: Derfor skifter FCK-træner job (From Ståle's assistant to the U19:Therefore, the FCK coach changes jobs)". BT (in Danish). 16 May 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Anderlecht, Belgium's most successful football club, are set for their worst league finish since 1937". Optus. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ "Peter Vandenbempt over dolle transferzomer van Anderlecht: "Er is duidelijk nieuwe weg ingeslagen" (Peter Vandenbempt about Anderlecht's crazy transfer summer: "A new path has clearly been taken")". Sporza (in Dutch). 7 September 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Eindelijk eens niet 'Home Alone': Anderlecht-spelers moeten verplicht in België blijven, maar gunnen trainer Brian Riemer wél kerst in thuisland (Finally not 'Home Alone': Anderlecht players are obliged to stay in Belgium, but coach Brian Riemer does want to spend Christmas in his home country)" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Brian Riemer leaves Anderlecht to celebrate Christmas in his home country". OneFootball.com. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Efficiënt Anderlecht sluipt ondanks blessuregolf 2 punten dichter bij Union na zege tegen Cercle (Efficient Anderlecht sneaks 2 points closer to Union despite a wave of injuries after a win against Cercle)". Sporza (in Dutch). 27 December 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Anderlecht zet trainer Brian Riemer op de keien: "Clubleiding evalueert prestaties als onvoldoende"" [Anderlecht dismisses coach Brian Riemer: "Club management evaluates performance as insufficient"work=Sporza] (in Dutch). 19 September 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ "Brian Riemer er ny landstræner for Herrelandsholdet (Brian Riemer new manager of the Danish national team)" (in Danish). Danish FA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.