Gerhard Struber

Gerhard Struber (born 24 January 1977) is an Austrian professional football manager of 1. FC Köln and former player.

Gerhard Struber
Struber in 2023
Personal information
Full nameGerhard Struber[1]
Date of birth (1977-01-24) 24 January 1977 (age 47)[1]
Place of birthKuchl, Austria
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s)Midfielder
Team information
Current team
1. FC Köln (manager)
Youth career
1985–1991SV Kuchl
1991–1995SV Austria Salzburg
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1995–2001SV Austria Salzburg50(3)
1995→ FC Puch (loan)
1998Admira Wacker (loan)4(1)
2000→ SV Wörgl (loan)7(3)
2001BSV Bad Bleiberg9(2)
2001–2003LASK30(0)
2003–2004SC Schwanenstadt
2004–2005FC Hallein 04
2005–2008SV Friedburg
2008SC Leogang
2008Red Bull Salzburg
International career
1996–1998Austria U213(1)
Managerial career
2018–2019FC Liefering
2019Wolfsberger AC
2019–2020Barnsley
2020–2023New York Red Bulls
2023–2024Red Bull Salzburg
2024–1. FC Köln
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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

Early career

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. FC Köln

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

Managerial statistics

As of match played 12 April 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
TeamFromToRecordRef.
PWDLWin %
FC Liefering1 July 20184 January 201915618040.00[15]
Wolfsberger AC1 July 201919 November 2019211146052.38[15]
Barnsley19 November 20196 October 20203914817035.90[16]
New York Red Bulls6 October 2020[17]8 May 202387332331037.93[18]
RB Salzburg31 July 202315 April 2024342068058.82
Total196844270042.86

Honours

SV Austria Salzburg

References