Gerhard Struber (born 24 January 1977) is an Austrian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln.

Gerhard Struber
Struber in 2023
Personal information
Full name Gerhard Struber[1]
Date of birth (1977-01-24) 24 January 1977 (age 47)[1]
Place of birth Kuchl, Austria
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
1. FC Köln (manager)
Youth career
1985–1991 SV Kuchl
1991–1995 SV Austria Salzburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–2001 SV Austria Salzburg 50 (3)
1995 → FC Puch (loan)
1998Admira Wacker (loan) 4 (1)
2000 → SV Wörgl (loan) 7 (3)
2001 BSV Bad Bleiberg 9 (2)
2001–2003 LASK 30 (0)
2003–2004 SC Schwanenstadt
2004–2005 FC Hallein 04
2005–2008 SV Friedburg
2008 SC Leogang
2008 Red Bull Salzburg
International career
1996–1998 Austria U21 3 (1)
Managerial career
2018–2019 FC Liefering
2019 Wolfsberger AC
2019–2020 Barnsley
2020–2023 New York Red Bulls
2023–2024 Red Bull Salzburg
2024– 1. FC Köln
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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As a midfielder, Struber spent most of his career at SV Austria Salzburg from 1995 to 2001. He won the Austrian Bundesliga in the 1996–97 season with Salzburg and the Austrian Super Cup in 1997. Upon retiring as a footballer in 2008, Struber had played with several less prominent clubs.

Coaching career

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Early career

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After working two years as trainer for software systems, then eight years in sales and management positions at an insurance company, Struber quit his job to focus on coaching football teams in 2014. He already worked part time as co-trainer in the academy of Red Bull Salzburg from mid-2007 to mid-2010, and as coach of fourth division side SV Kuchl for 20 months. In 2014, Struber started working full time as under-15 coach at the Red Bull Salzburg academy.

FC Liefering

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In June 2017, he became coach of FC Liefering alongside Janusz Góra. Struber was also coach of the Red Bull Salzburg team in the 2017–18 UEFA Youth League, where the defending champions were eliminated in the round of 16. In the 2018–19 season, he took full charge of Liefering, but left in January to focus on taking his UEFA Pro Licence.[2]

Wolfsberger AC

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Struber became the new manager of Wolfsberger AC for the 2019–20 season. Wolfsberg was ranked in third place after 14 games, same as the season before, and gathered four points out of four games in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League before Struber left the club.

Barnsley

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On 20 November 2019, Struber was appointed as manager of EFL Championship side Barnsley, penning a two-year deal. He succeeded Daniel Stendel.[3][4] Barnsley were bottom of the league, seven points away from safety. They were consigned to the relegation zone for most of the 2019–20 campaign. With two stoppage time wins against Nottingham Forest and Brentford at the end of the season, Struber guided Barnsley to securing Championship football for a second successive season. It was helped by Wigan Athletic falling into administration and getting 12 points deduction. For the 2020–21 season Struber strived to get a stable team, as he did not want to be in the relegation zone again and had ambitious goals for the future of the club.[5]

New York Red Bulls

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On 6 October 2020, Struber was appointed as head coach of Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls paid an undisclosed amount to his former club Barnsley in order to sign him.[6] Struber made his coaching debut for the club in a 3–2 MLS Cup Playoffs loss against the Columbus Crew on 21 November.[7][8] Under his reign, the New York Red Bulls made the playoffs two seasons in a row.[9] Struber faced heavy scrutiny as the New York Red Bulls started the 2023 season with one win, four losses, and six draws in the first eleven games, as well as keeping Dante Vanzeir in a match against the San Jose Earthquakes after the player used a racial slur against Earthquakes player Jeremy Ebobisse. Struber admitted that he should have removed Dante Vanzeir immediately, but wasn't aware of the full situation during the game.[10] Struber departed the club in May 2023.[11][12]

Red Bull Salzburg

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On 31 July 2023, Struber became the head coach of Red Bull Salzburg on a two-year contract.[13] On 14 March 2024, Struber was fired from Red Bull Salzburg after a loss to Sturm Graz.

1. FC Köln

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He was named the new head coach of 1. FC Köln on 12 June 2024.[14]

Managerial statistics

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As of match played 9 November 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref.
P W D L Win %
FC Liefering 1 July 2018 4 January 2019 15 6 1 8 040.00 [15]
Wolfsberger AC 1 July 2019 19 November 2019 21 11 4 6 052.38 [15]
Barnsley 19 November 2019 6 October 2020 39 14 8 17 035.90 [16]
New York Red Bulls 6 October 2020[17] 8 May 2023 87 33 23 31 037.93 [18]
RB Salzburg 31 July 2023 15 April 2024 34 20 6 8 058.82
1. FC Köln 12 June 2024 present 14 7 3 4 050.00
Total 210 91 45 74 043.33

Honours

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SV Austria Salzburg

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Gerhard Struber". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  2. ^ Gerhard Struber gibt Traineramt beim FC Liefering ab. Salzburger Nachrichten (in German). 4 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Gerhard Struber: Barnsley appoint Wolfsberger AC boss as head coach". BBC Sport. 20 November 2019.
  4. ^ Struber: “Diese Chance ist was ganz besonderes als österreichischer Trainer”. Sky Sport. 23 November 2019.
  5. ^ Erfolgstrainer Struber: "Ich war ein bisschen der Papa", der Standard, 2020-08-06.
  6. ^ "New York Red Bulls Name Gerhard Struber Head Coach". New York Red Bulls. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Gerhard Struber readies for New York Red Bulls coaching debut in playoffs". MLSSoccer.com.
  8. ^ "Columbus Crew SC 3, New York Red Bulls 2; 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Match Recap". MLSSoccer.com.
  9. ^ Gambill, Mike (8 May 2023). "Auf Wiedersehen Gerhard Struber". MLS Multiplex. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Red Bulls' Dante Vanzeir has been suspended for racist remarks but should coach Gerhard Struber have been as well?". Diario AS. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  11. ^ Sigal, Jonathan (8 May 2023). "New York Red Bulls, head coach Gerhard Struber mutually part ways". mlssoccer.com. MLS. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  12. ^ Boehm, Charles (8 May 2023). "New York Red Bulls seek "more clarity" with Struber exit, Lesesne promotion". mlssoccer.com. MLS. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Der neue Cheftrainer heißt Gerhard Struber" (in German). Red Bull Salzburg. 31 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Gerhard Struber is the new FC coach". 1. FC Köln. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Gerhard Struber managerial statistics". SofaScore. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  16. ^ "2019–20 Barnsley F.C. fixtures and results". Kicker (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  17. ^ Announced as manager 6 October, but didn't make first appearance until 21 November
  18. ^ "Gerhard Struber New York Red Bulls Managerial Record". Metrofanatic.
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