Markus Babbel (; born 8 September 1972) is a German professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who most recently managed

Western Sydney Wanderers FC Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football, association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South W ...

. He played as a defender for clubs in Germany and England. Babbel won the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

twice: in 1996 with Bayern Munich and in 2001 with Liverpool. He was also a member of the

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

squad that won

UEFA Euro 96 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

Career

Playing career

Bayern Munich

Born in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Babbel began his professional career with

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. Progressing from the youth squad to the first team, he became a regular contributor, starting in eight league matches and appearing as a substitute in four others.

Hamburger SV and return to Bayern Munich

He transferred to

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

in August 1992, where he became a regular in the first team and scored his first league goal in Germany's top flight. Returning to Bayern Munich in 1994, Babbel made 167 starts and caught the attention of

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

following

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

. Although a £5 million deal was arranged for the German full-back, it ultimately fell through. In June 2000,

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

manager

Gérard Houllier Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, ...

signed Babbel on a Bosman transfer. He became a key member of Liverpool's back four during their triumphant 2000–01 season.

Liverpool

Babbel was a key figure in Liverpool's lineup, known for his trademark surging runs down the right flank, which contributed to several goals, including one in the UEFA Cup final. However, his Liverpool career came to an abrupt halt when he was diagnosed with

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset Paralysis, muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation ...

, sidelining him for an entire year.

Blackburn Rovers

He joined

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

on loan in August 2003 after recovering from

, making regular first-team appearances in the league and scoring three goals.

VfB Stuttgart

Babbel's final club was

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, which he joined on a free transfer in July 2004. In January 2007, Babbel announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2006–07 season.

Germany National Team

He was capped 51 times and scored one goal for the

and was part of the

Euro 96 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

winning team. Babbel also represented his country at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

and

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

Coaching career

2007–12: Early career

Following his retirement from football, Babbel remained with his last club, VfB Stuttgart, as an assistant manager. On 24 November 2008, Babbel became head coach of VfB Stuttgart. At the time of Babbel's appointment, VfB Stuttgart were 11th in the table after 14 games. Babbel's first match was a 1–1 draw against Sampdoria on 27 November 2008. Under his leadership, the team finished the season in third place, five points behind league winners VfL Wolfsburg, and qualified for the Champions League. On 6 May 2009, Babbel signed a contract extension with VfB Stuttgart until the summer of 2011. However, on 6 December 2009, VfB Stuttgart and Babbel parted ways. His final match was a 1–1 draw against

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

on 5 December 2009. At the time of his dismissal, VfB Stuttgart were in 16th place after 15 games played. Babbel's record at Stuttgart stood at 21 wins, 15 draws, and 14 losses. Under Babbel, VfB Stuttgart finished second in their Champions League group and qualified for the round of 16. Babbel took over as head coach of

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

in July 2010, guiding the team in the 2nd division. His first match was a 2–0 win in the German Cup. Babbel successfully led Hertha BSC to promotion back to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

by winning the 2. Bundesliga during the 2010–11 season. However, on 18 December 2011, Babbel was dismissed as coach of Hertha BSC. Prior to his dismissal, Babbel had expressed his intention to leave the club at the end of the season. His last match was a 1–1 draw against

TSG Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into being in their modern fo ...

on 17 December 2011. At the time of his departure, Hertha BSC were in 11th place in the league. Babbel's tenure at Hertha BSC concluded with a record of 30 wins, 13 draws, and 12 losses. On 10 February 2012, Babbel was appointed manager of TSG Hoffenheim. At the time, 1899 Hoffenheim was in eighth place. His first match ended in a 1–1 draw against

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

. 1899 Hoffenheim completed the season in 11th place. On 3 December 2012, Babbel was dismissed due to poor results, with the team in 16th place in the

. Babbel's final match was a 4–1 loss to Werder Bremen. His tenure concluded with a record of seven wins, eight draws, and 15 losses.

2014–2018: FC Luzern

Babbel became the new head coach of

Luzern Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

on 12 October 2014, following the dismissal of Carlos Bernegger who had failed to win a single league game during the 2014–15 season. Babbel's first match was a 0–0 draw against

Vaduz Vaduz (; or ; High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' ...

on 19 October 2014. Luzern finished the 2014–15 season in fifth place. The 2015–16 season began with a 2–2 draw against Sion on 18 July 2015. During the 2015–16 season, Luzern reached the semi-final of the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

and finished third in the league. The 2016–17 season began with six matches between 23 July 2016 and 7 August 2016. Luzern won the opening match of the season 2–1 against

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

on 23 July 2016.

2018: Western Sydney Wanderers

On 19 May 2018, Babbel was appointed manager of

in the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

. The 2018–19 A-League season saw the Wanderers finish eighth out of ten teams, winning only six games, drawing six, and losing 15. In the 2019–20 season, after a promising start that included a 1–0 victory over Sydney FC in the first Sydney Derby at the new

Western Sydney Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, currently known as CommBank Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium (1986) which in turn ...

, the team experienced a dramatic collapse, securing only 1 win and 2 draws in the next 11 matches, dropping from first place after 3 rounds to 9th place (out of 11) after 14 games. Babbel was dismissed by the Wanderers on Monday, 20 January 2020, with his assistant coach appointed as interim replacement.

Overview

Career statistics

International

:''Score and result list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Babbel goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

Bayern Munich *

: 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

: 1997–98, 1999–00 *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German association football, football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five t ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

: 1995–96 *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

runner-up: 1998–99 Liverpool *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

: 2000–01 * League Cup: 2000–01 *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

: 2000–01 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

VfB Stuttgart *

: 2006–07 *

runner-up: 2006–07 *

runner-up:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

International *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

* Military World Cup third place:

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

As a coach

Hertha BSC * 2. Bundesliga:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Babbel, Markus 1972 births Footballers from Munich German men's footballers Bundesliga players Premier League players Men's association football fullbacks German expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Germany men's international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers FC Bayern Munich footballers FC Bayern Munich II players Hamburger SV players Liverpool F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players VfB Stuttgart players UEFA Euro 1996 players 1998 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2000 players UEFA European Championship–winning players German football managers Bundesliga managers VfB Stuttgart managers Hertha BSC managers TSG 1899 Hoffenheim managers Living people Expatriate football managers in Switzerland German expatriate football managers FC Luzern managers Western Sydney Wanderers FC managers Western Sydney Wanderers FC non-playing staff German expatriate sportspeople in England German expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland UEFA Europa League–winning players West German men's footballers