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David Wagner (soccer)

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David Wagner (born 19 October 1971) is a professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club Norwich City.

David Wagner
Wagner as Schalke 04 manager in 2019
Personal information
Full name David Wagner[1]
Date of birth (1971-10-19) 19 October 1971 (age 53)[1]
Place of birth Frankfurt, West Germany[2]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
SV Geinsheim
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1991 Eintracht Frankfurt 1 (0)
1991–1995 Mainz 05 94 (19)
1995–1997 Schalke 04 29 (2)
1997–1999 FC Gütersloh 49 (7)
1999 Waldhof Mannheim 5 (0)
1999–2002 Darmstadt 98 76 (21)
2002–2004 TSG Weinheim 23 (8)
2004–2006 Germania Pfungstadt 0 (0)
International career
1992 Germany U21 1 (0)
1996–1998 United States 8 (0)
Managerial career
2011–2015 Borussia Dortmund II
2015–2019 Huddersfield Town
2019–2020 Schalke 04
2021–2022 Young Boys
2023–2024 Norwich City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Wagner grew up in West Germany. He made his professional debut with Eintracht Frankfurt in 1990 and played as a striker for several clubs in the first and second division of German football. Son of an American stepfather[2] and German mother, Wagner played for the United States national team, earning eight caps from 1996 until 1998.

From 2011 to 2015 Wagner managed Borussia Dortmund II. In November 2015 took the manager's position at Huddersfield Town, whom he led to the Premier League via the 2017 EFL Championship play-off final. He left Huddersfield in January 2019, and then had brief spells at Bundesliga club Schalke 04 and Swiss Super League club Young Boys.

Early life and club career

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Wagner was born in Frankfurt, West Germany.[2] His biological father is from Thailand,[3] his mother is German.[4] Before his birth, Wagner's mother married an American.[3]

Wagner was a journeyman striker for his playing career, playing primarily for Mainz 05, Darmstadt 98, FC Gütersloh, and Schalke 04. He also had short stints at Waldhof Mannheim, Eintracht Frankfurt and TSG Weinheim and Germania Pfungstadt. He enjoyed his best spell at Mainz scoring 19 times in his four years at the club. Former teammate and lifelong friend Jürgen Klopp recalled that "he wasn't very consistent, even if he does not want to hear it... He was a big talent, but not every day. He was a very young player when he came from Eintracht Frankfurt to Mainz, a very skilled boy, very quick, a good striker."[5] He was part of the Schalke squad that won the 1997 UEFA Cup.

International career

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In the mid-1990s, Wagner was one of several German-born players called up by United States men's national soccer team coach Steve Sampson due to their ancestry, along with Thomas Dooley and Michael Mason.[6] Wagner made his debut in a friendly 3–1 win over El Salvador in Los Angeles on 30 August 1996, in which he was substituted at half-time for Brian McBride. He made five appearances the following year and two more in 1998, all but one as a starter.[7][8]

In April 1997, after Canada lost to the United States in a World Cup qualifying match in which Wagner played, the Canadian Soccer Association complained to FIFA that Wagner should be ineligible to play for the United States based on his appearances for Germany's youth teams. On 2 May 1997, FIFA announced that Wagner was eligible to play for the United States because his games with the German teams were exhibitions, not official matches.[9] However, Wagner was rarely called into the U.S. team afterwards and he was not named to the squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[10]

Managerial career

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Borussia Dortmund II

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Following his playing career, Wagner became a manager, working mostly with his former 1. Mainz 05 teammate Jürgen Klopp. Wagner was appointed as Borussia Dortmund II manager with effect from 1 July 2011.[11] He left the role on 31 October 2015, amid rumours that he was going to join Klopp's backroom staff at Liverpool.[12][13]

Huddersfield Town

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Wagner managing Huddersfield in 2018

On 5 November 2015, Wagner was appointed manager of English club Huddersfield Town following the departure of Chris Powell.[14] He brought Christoph Bühler, who had left Borussia Dortmund on 1 November 2015, with him as his assistant.[12][15]

In the summer of 2016, Wagner brought in 13 players from across the continent, including Danny Ward, Chris Löwe, and Aaron Mooy. He took his players on a bonding tour of Sweden, where they had to survive with only basic equipment for a few days.[16] The team's success in the early 2016–17 season was largely accredited to the squad's tight bond, something that Wagner claimed was a direct result of this Sweden trip. A few weeks later, they visited Austria and kept two clean sheets in matches against Bundesliga teams Werder Bremen and Ingolstadt 04.[17] After an unbeaten start to the 2016–17 season, Huddersfield were top of the table at the start of September,[18] including a win at St James' Park against Newcastle United.[18][19] Wagner was the EFL Championship Manager of the Month for August 2016 and February 2017.[20][21]

On 29 May 2017, Huddersfield secured promotion to the Premier League for the 2017–18 season, following a victory on penalties in the play-off final against Reading.[22][23] On 30 June 2017, Wagner signed an improved two-year contract.[24] He was praised for his achievements in keeping Huddersfield in the Premier League at the end of the 2017–18 season, a feat regarded by bookmakers as improbable and described by The Guardian as "the Premier League's greatest survival story", with Wagner in particular noted as "a leader of rare charisma and intelligence."[25]

On 14 January 2019, Wagner and Huddersfield Town agreed to terminate his contract by mutual consent, with the team in last place and eight points from safety.[26]

Schalke 04

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On 9 May 2019, Wagner was appointed as manager of Bundesliga club Schalke 04 on a three-year contract until 30 June 2022.[27] In the second half of the 2019–20 season, Schalke set a new club record of 16 league games without a win between 25 January and 27 June 2020.[28] The winless streak continued with an 0–8 defeat against Bayern Munich in the first match of the 2020–21 season.[29] After a 3–1 defeat against Werder Bremen, the 18th winless league match in a row, Wagner was sacked on 27 September 2020.[30] Schalke were relegated that season.

Young Boys

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In the summer of 2021, Wagner was heavily linked with the vacant manager's position at recently relegated Championship club West Bromwich Albion, however talks broke down.[31] On 10 June 2021, he was appointed manager of Swiss Super League reigning champions Young Boys.[32]

On his debut on 24 July, Wagner's team won 4–3 at FC Luzern.[33] Having won three qualifying rounds, the team took part in the UEFA Champions League group stage where they came last with one victory, a 2–1 home win over Manchester United in the opening fixture on 14 September.[34]

Wagner was unable to lead the Bern-based club to a fourth consecutive league title and was dismissed in March 2022. The team were in second place, 15 points behind FC Zürich.[35]

Norwich City

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On 6 January 2023, Wagner returned to England when he was appointed head coach of Championship club Norwich City on a twelve-month rolling contract.[36] His first league game as Norwich manager was a 4–0 win against Preston North End at Deepdale.[37] Wagner lead the club to finish 6th in the 2023–24 season, but the club lost in the play-off semi-final to Leeds United 4–0 on aggregate. The following day, on 17 May 2024, Wagner was sacked.[38]

Personal life

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In 2005 Wagner was best man at Jürgen Klopp's wedding.[39]

Wagner is married and has two daughters.[40] His older daughter, Lea Wagner (born 1994), is a sports journalist for German television (ARD).[41][42] In June 2023 she was appointed as a new presenter of Sportschau.[43]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Eintracht Frankfurt 1990–91 Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
Mainz 05 1991–92 2. Bundesliga 8[b] 0 0 0 — 8 0
1992–93 2. Bundesliga 43 11 2 1 — 45 12
1993–94 2. Bundesliga 35 7 1 0 — 36 7
1994–95 2. Bundesliga 8 1 1 0 — 9 1
Schalke 04 1995–96 Bundesliga 16 2 1 0 — 17 2
1996–97 Bundesliga 13 0 1 0 5 1 19 1
FC Gütersloh 1997–98 2. Bundesliga 23 4 0 0 — 23 4
1998–99 2. Bundesliga 26 3 1 0 — 27 3
Waldhof Mannheim 1999–2000 2. Bundesliga 5 0 1 0 — 6 0
Darmstadt 98 1999–2000 Regionalliga Süd 19 6 0 0 — 19 6
2000–01 Regionalliga Süd 31 11 0 0 — 31 11
2001–02 Regionalliga Süd 26 4 3 0 — 29 4
TSG Weinheim 2003–04 Oberliga Ba-Wü 23 8 0 0 — 23 8
Pfungstadt 2004–05 Regionalliga Süd 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Career total 277 57 11 1 5 1 293 59
  1. ^ Includes DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Appearances in 2. Bundesliga Süd as the league was split into a 'North' and 'South' due to the merging of clubs from former East Germany

International

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National team Year Apps Goals
United States 1997 5 0
1998 1 0
Total 6 0

Managerial record

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As of 16 May 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref.
P W D L Win %
Borussia Dortmund II 1 July 2011 31 October 2015 164 57 47 60 034.76 [44]
Huddersfield Town 9 November 2015 14 January 2019 154 51 33 70 033.12 [45]
Schalke 04 1 July 2019 27 September 2020 40 12 12 16 030.00 [45]
Young Boys 1 July 2021 7 March 2022 40 19 12 9 047.50 [45]
Norwich City 6 January 2023 17 May 2024 75 31 17 27 041.33 [45]
Total 473 170 121 182 035.94

Honours

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Player

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Schalke 04

Manager

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Huddersfield Town

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Wagner: David Wagner: Manager". BDFutbol. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Sex, Drugs and Rock'n'Roll: Schalke-Trainer David Wagner gibt intime Einblicke über seine Mutter" (in German). 30 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b Ulrich, Ron (29 September 2019). "Wagners größte Leistung". 11 Freunde (in German). 11 Freunde GmbH & Co. KG. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  4. ^ "ASN: American David Wagner Now Coaching in England". americansoccernow.com. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Who is new Schalke coach David Wagner?". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  6. ^ Jones, Grahame L. (10 February 1997). "A Talent Search Through Cyberspace". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Wagner, David". National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  8. ^ "1996 Lineups". US Soccer. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Wagner Gets Approval for U.S. Team". The New York Times. 2 May 1997. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  10. ^ Longman, Jere (6 May 1998). "SOCCER; U.S. Names Experienced World Cup Team". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  11. ^ "David Wagner coacht ab Juli die BVB-U23" [David Wagner coaches the BVB under-23 club in July]. kicker (in German). 2 March 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Borussia Dortmund und David Wagner beenden Zusammenarbeit" [Borussia Dortmund and Wagner reach an agreement] (in German). Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  13. ^ "David Wagner leaves Dortmund U23 post amid Liverpool links". ESPN. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  14. ^ "David Wagner: Huddersfield name ex-Borussia Dortmund man as boss". BBC. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  15. ^ a b "Huddersfield appoint former Dortmund reserves manager David Wagner". The Guardian. Press Association. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  16. ^ Threlfall-Sykes, David. "David Wagner & Mark Hudson review Huddersfield Town's pre-season camp in Sweden". Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  17. ^ Porter, Alexandra (28 July 2016). "FC Ingolstadt friendly rounds off Huddersfield Town pre season". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  18. ^ a b "Newcastle United 1–2 Huddersfield Town". BBC Sport. 13 August 2016.
  19. ^ Dale, James (20 August 2016). "Sky Bet Championship round-up: Huddersfield town go top of the league as Newcastle win again". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  20. ^ a b "David Wagner named Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month". English Football League. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  21. ^ a b "Huddersfield Town boss David Wagner named manager of the month". ITV. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  22. ^ "How Huddersfield won promotion to the Premier League". BBC Sport. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  23. ^ "David Wagner praises Huddersfield 'legends' after promotion to top flight". The Guardian. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  24. ^ "David Wagner: Huddersfield Town boss extends contract with Premier League side". BBC Sport. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  25. ^ Doyle, Paul (10 May 2018). "Huddersfield staying up is Premier League's greatest survival story". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  26. ^ "David Wagner: Huddersfield Town manager leaves club by mutual consent". BBC Sport. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  27. ^ "David Wagner becomes new head coach of Schalke 04". Schalke 04. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  28. ^ "Schalke verliert beim SC Freiburg 0:4". Ruhr Nachrichten (in German). Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Bayern Munich 8–0 FC Schalke 04". BBC Sport. 18 September 2020.
  30. ^ "FC Schalke 04 relieve head coach David Wagner of his duties". Schalke 04. 27 September 2020.
  31. ^ "David Wagner: West Brom end pursuit of former Huddersfield and Schalke manager". Sky Sports. 10 June 2021.
  32. ^ "U.S. Coach Wagner Hired to Manage Swiss Champion Young Boys". Sports Illustrated. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  33. ^ "7-Tore-Spektakel zum Saisonauftakt: YB ringt Luzern 4:3 nieder" (in German). SRF. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  34. ^ Burke, Molly (14 September 2021). "Former Huddersfield Town manager leads Young Boys to Champions League victory over Manchester United". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  35. ^ Chicken, Steven (8 March 2022). "Huddersfield Town icon David Wagner sacked by Swiss champions Young Boys". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  36. ^ "David Wagner appointed Norwich City head coach". www.canaries.co.uk. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  37. ^ "Preston 0–4 Norwich City: Teemu Pukki and Kieran Dowell earn David Wagner league debut win". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  38. ^ "Norwich City set to sack head coach David Wagner". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  39. ^ "Premier League: Jürgen Klopp trifft auf David Wagner". Der Spiegel (in German). 28 October 2017. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  40. ^ Sobolewski, Daniel (5 October 2022). "Lea Wagner privat: Schweres Schicksal in ihrer Kindheit – DAS änderte alles". Der Westen (in German). Funke Digital GmbH. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  41. ^ "Lea Wagner". SWR (in German). 22 August 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  42. ^ Sauda, Enrico (14 May 2021). "Frankfurter Sportmoderatorin ist am Ziel ihrer Träume – Lea Wagner kommt zur ARD". Frankfurter Neue Presse (in German). Frankfurter Societäts-Medien GmbH. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  43. ^ "Neue Sportschau-Moderatorin fix". Sport 1 (in German). 23 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  44. ^ "Borussia Dortmund II – Trainerhistorie". Kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  45. ^ a b c d "Managers: David Wagner". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  46. ^ Threlfall-Sykes, David (5 November 2015). "Learn more about the new arrival". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  47. ^ Woodcock, Ian (29 May 2017). "Huddersfield Town 0–0 Reading". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  48. ^ "David Wagner named Schalke head coach". Bundesliga. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  49. ^ "Manager profile: David Wagner". Premier League. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
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