Christian Heidel | |
|---|---|
 Heidel in 2017 | |
| Born | 2 June 1963 Mainz, West Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation(s) | Football executive and businessman |
| Years active | 1992– |
| Employer(s) | FSV Mainz 05 (1992–2016) Schalke 04 (2016–2019) FSV Mainz 05 (since 2020) |
Christian Heidel (born 2 June 1963) is a German football executive who works for FSV Mainz 05 and previously worked for Schalke 04.
Heidel became Mainz 05's manager in 1992 and was a main architect of the club's rise and consolidation in the Bundesliga in the following years. [1] He notably made Jürgen Klopp the club's coach in 2001, who would later go on to manage Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool F.C. [2] Thomas Tuchel, who became head coach in 2009 after Heidel put coach Jörn Andersen on leave five days before the start of the Bundesliga season, is another internationally successful manager whose career on the professional level started under Heidel. [3]
Under Tuchel, the 05er experienced their most successful time in the Bundesliga to date. In 2011 and 2014, 1. FSV Mainz 05 qualified for the Europa League by finishing 5th and 7th in the Bundesliga but failed to qualify for the group stage on both occasions. After the departure of Tuchel, Heidel committed the future Danish national coach Kasper Hjulmand in the summer of 2014,who was released after a phase of failure in February 2015 and replaced by the coach of the second team, Martin Schmidt. [4] The youth development of the club was forced under Heidel. While the second team was still playing in the B class when Heidel started as manager, they rose to the 3rd division in the 2013/14 season after promotion for the seventh time. The youth training center of 1. FSV Mainz 05 is certified by the German Football League with the maximum of three stars. Under Thomas Tuchel, who later became head coach, the U-19s won the German A-Junior Championship in 2009 after beating Borussia Dortmund 2–1 in the final. [5] Heidel's tasks in 2002 included the expansion of the Bruchweg Stadium, Mainz 05's home ground for many years, and the constructions of the new Coface Arena, where 05ers have played their home games since 2011. Under his responsibility, 1. FSV Mainz 05 increased its annual turnover from €3 million (1992) to €78 million (2014). [6]
Another significant achievement of Heidel's time in Mainz was the construction of the club's new home venue, the Opel Arena (then known as COFACE ARENA). [7] He also oversaw the promotion of the club's reserve team to the 3. Liga in 2014, [8] the highest tier of the German football league system reserve teams are allowed to compete in. By the end of his time at Mainz, he had become the longest-serving executive manager in the league. [9]
Heidel worked as a manager on a voluntary basis until September 2005. After his car dealership went bankrupt in 2005, he worked for the '05 in his main job. [10] His employment contract was extended in 2012 until 2017. [11] He resigned at the end of the 2015/16season, Mainz has not been in a relegation zone in the last 7 years since promotion. [12]
Mainz 05 announced that Heidel would leave the club after the end of the 2015–16 season on 21 February 2016. [13] On the same day, Schalke 04 presented him as their new executive manager for the following season. [14] Heidel installed Markus Weinzierl as the club's head coach, [15] but sacked him the year after, [16] as Schalke's tenth-place finish was insufficient to qualify them for any international competition. [17] Weinzierl's successor Domenico Tedesco was initially more successful, with the club finishing runner-up in the 2017–18 season, [18] but when the squad's performance drastically deteriorated in the following year, [19] he was fired in March 2019, with club legend Huub Stevens filling in for the remainder of the season. [20] Heidel himself had already handed in his resignation weeks earlier, assuming full responsibility for the team's decline. [21] On 14 March 2019 Jochen Schneider was appointed as the new sports director, replacing Heidel prematurely. [22] [23] [24]
Heidel returned to Mainz in late December 2020, replacing the departing Rouven Schröder. The club announced the dismissal of coach Jan-Moritz Lichte and the hiring of Martin Schmidt as sporting director on the same day, in a bid to avoid relegation. [25] [26] This was ultimately successful, as the team won nine of their seventeen games during the second half of the season and came in at a safe rank twelve. [27]
After graduating from high school, Heidel completed vocational training as a bank clerk. In 1989 he bought a 20 percent stake in a BMW car dealership in Mainz, becoming its commercial director and limited partner. [28] [29] [30]
He worked as a car salesman until 2005, when his car dealership declared bankruptcy. Up to this point, he had managed Mainz 05 on an honorary basis. [31]
In August 2019, Heidel suffered a stroke while vacationing in Turkey. [32]
Heidel is the father of two daughters and a son. [33]
1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05, is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system, having most recently been promoted ahead of the 2009–10 season. The club's main local rivals are Eintracht Frankfurt and Kaiserslautern. In addition to the football division, Mainz 05 have handball and table tennis departments.
Josef "Jupp" Heynckes is a German retired professional footballer and manager. For the majority of his playing career he was as a striker for Borussia Mönchengladbach in its golden era of the 1960s and '70s, when they won many national championships and the DFB-Pokal, as well as the UEFA Cup. During this period the team played in its only European Cup final in 1977, losing to Liverpool. He is the fourth-highest goalscorer in the history of the Bundesliga, with 220 goals. He was a member of the West Germany national team that won the UEFA Euro 1972 and the 1974 FIFA World Cup titles.
Mirko Slomka is a German football manager who last managed Hannover 96.
Dieter-Klaus Hecking is a German football manager for VfL Bochum and former professional player. He played for Hannover 96 and Eintracht Braunschweig as a midfielder. He returned to manage Hannover despite the long-standing and bitter rivalry between the two clubs.
Ralf Dietrich Rangnick is a German professional football coach, executive, and former player who is currently the manager of the Austria national team.
Claus-Dieter Wollitz is a German football coach and former player, who is the current director of football and manager of 3. Liga club FC Energie Cottbus.
Sandro Schwarz is a German football manager and a former player. He is currently the head coach of Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls.
Jan Tilman Kirchhoff is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder.
Markus Weinzierl is a German football coach, who last managed 1. FC Nürnberg.
Thomas Tuchel is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the England national team. Widely regarded as a forward thinking tactical innovator, Tuchel is considered one of the best managers in the world.
Gino Lettieri is an Italian professional football manager, who is currently the manager of Thai League 1 club Muangthong United. He is an Italians national, but was born in Switzerland.
Christian Streich is a German professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Bundesliga club SC Freiburg. On 29 December 2011, he was named manager following the release of Marcus Sorg. Because of his immediate success at the club and his enigmatic and, oftentimes, energetic personality, Streich has been called a "cult figure", a "firebrand", and a "football philosopher". A New York Times article from June 13, 2020 referred to him as "German soccer's unofficial social conscience."
The 2012–13 Bayer Leverkusen season was the 109th season in the club's football history. In 2012–13, the club played in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football. It was the club's 34th season in this league, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 1979.
The 2012–13 1. FSV Mainz 05 season is the 108th season in the club's football history. In 2012–13 the club plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football. It is the club's fourth consecutive season in this league, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga at the conclusion of the 2008–09 season.
Lee Jae-sung is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Bundesliga club Mainz 05 and the South Korea national team.
The 2014–15 Bundesliga was the 52nd season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. The season started on 22 August 2014 and the final matchday took place on 23 May 2015. Bayern Munich won their 25th German title on 26 April 2015.
The 2017–18 Bundesliga was the 55th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 18 August 2017 and concluded on 12 May 2018. The fixtures were announced on 29 June 2017.
The 2020–21 Bundesliga was the 58th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 18 September 2020 and concluded on 22 May 2021. The season was originally scheduled to begin on 21 August 2020 and conclude on 15 May 2021, though this was delayed due to postponement of the previous season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fixtures were announced on 7 August 2020.
Tom Krauß is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL Championship club Luton Town on loan from Bundesliga club Mainz 05.
The 2022–23 Bundesliga was the 60th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 5 August 2022 and concluded on 27 May 2023.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
