Bruno Labbadia

Bruno Labbadia (pronounced [labbaˈdiːa]; born 8 February 1966) is a German football manager and former player of Italian heritage. He last managed Hertha BSC.

Bruno Labbadia

Labbadia in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth	8 February 1966
Place of birth	Darmstadt, West Germany
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1972–1976	FSV Schneppenhausen
1977–1983	SV Weiterstadt
1983–1984	Darmstadt 98
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1984–1987	Darmstadt 98	105	(44)
1987–1988	Hamburger SV	41	(11)
1988–1991	1. FC Kaiserslautern	67	(20)
1991–1994	Bayern Munich	82	(28)
1994–1995	1. FC Köln	41	(15)
1995–1998	Werder Bremen	63	(18)
1998–2001	Arminia Bielefeld	98	(50)
2001–2003	Karlsruher SC	60	(18)
Total		557	(204)
National team
1987	West Germany U-21	6	(3)
1992–1995	Germany	2	(0)
Teams managed
2003–2006	Darmstadt 98
2007–2008	Greuther Fürth
2008–2009	Bayer Leverkusen
2009–2010	Hamburger SV
2010–2013	VfB Stuttgart
2015–2016	Hamburger SV
2018–2019	VfL Wolfsburg
2020–2021	Hertha BSC
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Personal life

Labbadia is of Italian ancestry.[1] His family roots go back to Lenola, a town in the Lazio region.[2] Labbadia's Italian parents moved to Germany as Gastarbeiter and settled in Schneppenhausen near Darmstadt in Hesse.[3] Together with eight siblings, he and his family had lived on a farm for rent before moving to Weiterstadt when he was ten years old.

Labbadia communicated in Italian with his parents, while he spoke German with his siblings.[4] He acquired his secondary school leaving certificate and trained as an insurance salesman.[3] When he was 18 years old, he gave up Italian citizenship[4] and became a German citizen,[3] since in Germany only two foreigners were eligible to play in one team at the time, and so he gave place to a non- German in the squad of SV Darmstadt 98.[4] He was also associated with the German U21 national team.[3]

Playing career

Labbadia with Leverkusen in 2009

In an illustrious career, Labbadia recorded 103 goals in 328 league games[5] having played for some of Germany's top Bundesliga clubs. He had two caps for the Germany national football team.[6]

Managerial career

Early career: 2003–08

Labbadia was hired as the manager of Darmstadt 98 on 8 May 2003.[7] His first match was a 2–1 win against TSG Wörsdorf.[8] In his first season, Darmstadt won promotion to the Regionalliga.[9] Darmstadt started the 2004–05 season with a 2–1 loss to Mainz 05 II.[10] Darmstadt finished the 2004–05 season in fifth place.[11] Darmstadt started the 2005–06 season with a 2–1 win against VfR Aalen.[12] Darmstadt finished the season in fifth place.[13] Labbadia left on 30 June 2006.[14] His final match was a 6–0 against SpVgg Bayreuth.[12]

Labbadia was hired as Greuther Fürth's manager on 19 March 2007.[15] Labbadia officially took over on 1 July 2007 when pre-season officially started.[16] His first match was a 3–1 win against Darmstadt in the German Cup.[17] Greuther Fürth finished the season in sixth place.[18] He left the club on 26 May 2008 when he officially joined Bayer Leverkusen.[19] Labbadia finished with a record of 15 wins, 10 draws, and 11 losses.[20]

Bayer Leverkusen: 2008–09

Labbadia was hired by Bayer Leverkusen on 26 May 2008.[19] His first match was a 3–2 win against Rot-Weiß Oberhausen in the German Cup.[21] Bayer leverkusen finished the season in ninth place.[22] After the season, Labaddia left Bayer Leverkusen and joined Hamburger SV. His final match was a 0–1 loss to Werder Bremen in the 2009 German Cup Final.[21] Labbadia finished with a record of 19 wins, seven draws, and 14 losses.[23]

Hamburger SV: 2009–10

Labaddia took over as Hamburg manager on 5 June 2009.[24] His first match was a 4–0 win against Randers FC in the third qualifying round of the Europa League.[25] Labbadia was dismissed on 26 April 2010, just three days before the Europa League semi-final second-leg tie against Fulham.[26][27][28] His final match was a 5–1 loss to 1899 Hoffenheim.[25] Hamburg were in seventh place in the 2009–10 Bundesliga table when they dismissed Labbadia.[29] Labbadia finished with a record of 22 wins, 16 draws, and 13 losses.[30]

VfB Stuttgart: 2010–13

Labbadia coaching VfB Stuttgart

On 12 December 2010 Labbadia became the new head coach of VfB Stuttgart.[31] His first match was a 5–1 win against Odense in the Europa League.[32] In his first season with the club, he managed to save the club that was staring relegation in the face after the disastrous reigns of his two predecessors, Christian Gross and Jens Keller, ended in the last quarter of 2010. VfB Stuttgart finished in 12th place in the 2010–11 Bundesliga,[33] and would then qualify for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League by virtue of its sixth position in the 2011–12 Bundesliga.[34][35]

Stuttgart started the 2012–13 season with a 5–0 win against SV Falkensee-Finkenkrug.[36] On 30 January 2013, Labbadia signed a contract extension with Stuttgart, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2015.[37] VfB Stuttgart lost the 2012–13 DFB-Pokal final to FC Bayern Munich, but qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League by virtue of the fact that Bayern Munich had also won the 2012–13 Bundesliga title.[38]

In the morning of 26 August 2013, Labbadia was relieved of his duties with immediate effect. His club had lost the opening three Bundesliga matches and was in second last position in the Bundesliga table of the 2013–14 season.[39] Prior to his sacking, Stuttgart had lost the first leg of the playoff round of the Europa League.[40] During the press conference held in the afternoon on the same day, club president Bernd Wahler said, "Bruno Labbadia has done good work at VfB over the past three years but we want to provide fresh impetus with this change."[41][42] Labbadia finished with a record of 50 wins, 24 draws, and 45 losses.[43]

Return to Hamburger SV: 2015–16

Labaddia returned to Hamburger SV for a second spell on 15 April 2015.[44] Labbadia won his first match on 25 April 2015 against FC Augsburg.[45][46] This was Hamburg's first win since February 2015.[45] Hamburg finished the 2014–15 season in the relegation playoff spot.[47] In the first leg of the relegation playoff, on 28 May 2015, Hamburg and Karlsruher SC finished in a 1–1 draw.[48] In the second leg, on 1 June 2015, Hamburg won 2–1 in extra time.[49] Labbadia managed to keep Hamburg in the Bundesliga with a 10th-placed finish in the 2015–16 Bundesliga.[50] However, Hamburg were knocked out of the German Cup in the first round during the 2015–16 season.[51] Labbadia and his two assistants were sacked on 25 September 2016 after Hamburg had dropped into 16th position following their 0–1 Bundesliga defeat to Bayern Munich on the previous day, which was their fourth Bundesliga defeat in a row, having started the 2016–17 Bundesliga campaign with a draw at home to FC Ingolstadt.[52]

VfL Wolfsburg: 2018–2019

On 20 February 2018, Labbadia was hired by VfL Wolfsburg, replacing Martin Schmidt, who had stepped down the day before.[53] His first match was a 1–1 draw against 1. FSV Mainz 05 on 23 February 2018.[54] Wolfsburg finished the 2017–18 season in 16th place, which qualified Wolfsburg for the relegation playoff against Holstein Kiel.[55] Labbadia currently has a record of four wins, three draws, and six losses in 13 matches.[56] He left Wolfsburg in the summer of 2019.[57]

Hertha BSC

He was appointed as the new coach of Hertha BSC on 9 April 2020.[58] He coached the last nine matches in the 2019–20 season, finishing with a record of four wins, one draw, and four losses.[59] Hertha BSC finished in 10th place.[60] He was sacked on 24 January 2021.[61]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Darmstadt 98	1984–85	2. Bundesliga	32	9	1	0	—		33	9
	1985–86		38	17	1	1	—		39	18
	1986–87		35	18	4	3	—		39	21
	Total		105	44	6	4	0	0	111	48
Hamburger SV	1987–88	Bundesliga	31	11	2	1	4	3	37	15
	1988–89		10	0	3	1	—		13	1
	Total		41	11	5	2	4	3	50	16
1. FC Kaiserslautern	1988–89	Bundesliga	17	5	1	0	—		18	5
	1989–90		28	6	6	3	—		34	9
	1990–91		22	9	1	0	0	0	23	9
	Total		67	20	8	3	0	0	75	23
Bayern Munich	1991–92	Bundesliga	30	10	1	0	4	1	35	11
	1992–93		32	11	2	3	—		34	14
	1993–94		20	7	2	3	1	0	23	10
	Total		82	28	5	6	5	1	92	35
1. FC Köln	1994–95	Bundesliga	33	14	5	1	—		38	15
	1995–96		8	1	1	0	—		9	1
	Total		41	15	6	1	0	0	47	16
Werder Bremen	1995–96	Bundesliga	13	4	0	0	0	0	13	4
	1996–97		23	8	2	1	—		25	9
	1997–98		27	6	1	1	—		28	7
	Total		63	18	3	2	0	0	66	20
Arminia Bielefeld	1998–99	2. Bundesliga	33	28	3	1	—		36	29
	1999–2000	Bundesliga	34	11	3	0	—		37	11
	2000–01	2. Bundesliga	31	11	2	1	—		33	12
	Total		98	50	8	2	0	0	106	52
Karlsruher SC	2001–02	2. Bundesliga	33	6	1	0	—		34	6
	2002–03		27	12	1	1	—		28	13
	Total		60	18	2	1	0	0	62	19
Career total			557	204	43	21	9	4	609	229

Managerial record

As of matches played on 23 January 2021

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record					Ref
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Darmstadt 98	1 July 2003[7]	30 June 2006[14]	102	60	16	26	058.82	[9][11][13]
Greuther Fürth	1 July 2007[16]	26 May 2008[19]	36	15	10	11	041.67	[20]
Bayer Leverkusen	26 May 2008[19]	5 June 2009[24]	40	19	7	14	047.50	[23]
Hamburger SV	5 June 2009[24]	26 April 2010[28]	51	22	16	13	043.14	[30]
VfB Stuttgart	13 December 2010[31]	26 August 2013[41]	119	50	24	45	042.02	[43]
Hamburger SV	15 April 2015[44]	25 September 2016[52]	49	16	11	22	032.65	[30]
VfL Wolfsburg	20 February 2018[53]	30 June 2019[56]	50	22	10	18	044.00	[56]
Hertha BSC	9 April 2020[58]	24 January 2021	28	8	6	14	028.57	[59]
Total			475	212	100	163	044.63	—

Honours

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 1993–94[62]

References

1. Theweleit, Daniel (24 December 2008). "Wir nehmen den Kindern alles ab". die Tageszeitung (in German). Retrieved 4 July 2009.
2. Màzzaro, Tony (24 December 2008). "Prima soddisfazione di Bruno Labbadia col suo nuovo Amburgo" (in Italian). Südwestrundfunk. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
3. "Geil aufs Gewinnen". Der Spiegel (in German). 7 October 1991. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
4. Schiller, Kai; Wenig, Peter (27 August 2016). "Bruno Labbadia: "Als Kind war ich der Spaghettifresser"". Hamburger Abendblatt (in German). Zeitungsgruppe Hamburg GmbH. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
5. Arnhold, Matthias (1 October 2015). "Bruno Labbadia – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
6. Arnhold, Matthias (1 October 2015). "Bruno Labbadia – International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
7. "Labbadia neuer Coach bei den "Lilien"". kicker (in German). 8 May 2003. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
8. "SV Darmstadt 98". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
9. "Oberliga Hessen – Spieltag / Tabelle". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
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15. "Labbadia: "Eine Bauchentscheidung"". kicker (in German). 19 March 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
16. "Timms Abschied steht fest". kicker (in German). 28 March 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
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31. "Nun soll's Labbadia richten". kicker (in German). 12 December 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
32. "VfB Stuttgart". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
33. "1. Bundesliga – Spieltag / Tabelle". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
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42. "Schneider replaces Labbadia at struggling Stuttgart". UEFA. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
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45. Rommel, Stefan (25 April 2015). "Ein Sieg für den Glauben". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
46. "Hamburger SV". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
47. "1. Bundesliga – Spieltag / Tabelle". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
48. "Ilicevic hält Hamburgs Hoffnungen am Leben" (in German). kicker. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
49. "Hamburg verhindert den Abstieg". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
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53. "Labbadia übernimmt beim VfL Wolfsburg" (in German). kicker. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
54. "Muto antwortet Brekalo bei Labbadias Debüt". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
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56. "VfL Wolfsburg". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
57. "Labbadia verlässt Wolfsburg im Sommer – Nachfolger Rose?". kicker.de (in German). kicker. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
58. "Bruno Labbadia neuer Cheftrainer bei Hertha BSC". herthabsc.de (in German). 9 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
59. "Hertha BSC Trainer". kicker.de. kicker. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
60. "Bundesliga Tabelle". kicker.de. kicker. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
61. "Hertha BSC part ways with Michael Preetz and Bruno Labbadia". herthabsc.de. Hertha BSC. 24 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
62. "Bayern München 1993–94". bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

External links

• Bruno Labbadia at FootballDatabase.eu
• Bruno Labbadia at Fussballdaten.de (in German)
• Bruno Labbadia at National-Football-Teams.com
• Bruno Labbadia at WorldFootball.net
• Bruno Labbadia at Munzinger Sports Archives (in German)