Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Valérien Alexandre Ismaël [1] | ||
Date of birth | 28 September 1975 | ||
Place of birth | Strasbourg, France | ||
Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Youth career | |||
1982–1984 | AS Holtzheim | ||
1984–1992 | Strasbourg | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1993–1998 | Strasbourg | 87 | (1) |
1998 | Crystal Palace | 13 | (0) |
1998–2002 | Lens | 83 | (5) |
2001 | → Strasbourg (loan) | 9 | (0) |
2002–2004 | Strasbourg | 26 | (2) |
2003–2004 | → Werder Bremen (loan) | 32 | (4) |
2004–2005 | Werder Bremen | 32 | (4) |
2005–2007 | Bayern Munich | 31 | (0) |
2006–2007 | Bayern Munich II | 7 | (2) |
2007–2009 | Hannover 96 | 18 | (0) |
Total | 338 | (18) | |
International career | |||
1993–1994 | France U18 | 8 | (2) |
1996–1997 | France U21 | 12 | (2) |
Managerial career | |||
2011–2013 | Hannover 96 II | ||
2013–2014 | VfL Wolfsburg II | ||
2014 | 1. FC Nürnberg | ||
2015–2016 | VfL Wolfsburg II | ||
2016–2017 | VfL Wolfsburg | ||
2018 | Apollon Smyrnis | ||
2019–2020 | LASK | ||
2020–2021 | Barnsley | ||
2021–2022 | West Bromwich Albion | ||
2022 | Beşiktaş | ||
2023–2024 | Watford | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Valérien Alexandre Ismaël (born 28 September 1975) is a French professional football coach and a former professional player who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club Watford.
During his playing career, Ismaël played for Strasbourg, Crystal Palace, Lens, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich and Hannover 96. As a player, he won the Coupe de France, the Coupe de la Ligue twice, the Bundesliga twice, as well as the DFB-Pokal on two occasions. Following his retirement, he moved into management, first as a reserve coach for a number of clubs before moving into senior management at 1. FC Nürnberg, then with VfL Wolfsburg before a notable spell with LASK of the Austrian Bundesliga and spells with Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion of the English Championship.
Ismaël was born to a Guadeloupean father [2] and an Alsatian mother, [3] growing up in Strasbourg on the border with Germany. Ismaël's grandfather is German. [4]
Ismaël made his debut for Strasbourg against Cannes on 15 January 1994. He went on to make 77 league appearances in his first spell with the club. Additionally, he appeared in five UEFA Cup matches, scoring once.
Ismaël was signed by Crystal Palace for £2.75 million from Strasbourg in January 1998, making him the most expensive player in the club's history. [5] Despite this, he only played 13 games for the London club and was only there for ten months from January to October 1998, before moving back to his native France to sign for Lens in October 1998.
Ismaël's time at Lens saw him regain his form after his brief and expensive spell in England. He played 83 times, scoring five goals. He also had a short loan spell at his old club Strasbourg during the 2000–01 Division 1 season but could not help them avoid relegation. He did however play for Strasbourg in the 2001 Coupe de France Final, in which they beat Amiens on penalties. [6] He returned to Lens for the 2001–02 Division 1 season where he was in particularly good form, playing 33 times and scoring on four occasions. However, he was sold back to Strasbourg for the following season following their promotion back to the top tier.
On moving back to his former club for a third spell, Ismaël was appointed captain. He led the club to a respectable 13th position and attracted interest from Europe because of his composed performances in defence. In his last spell at Strasbourg, he made 26 appearances and scored twice. He appeared for his home club a total of 167 times in all competitions and netted seven goals.
Ismaël was loaned to Werder Bremen in 2003 where he appeared 32 times, scoring four goals. Bremen went on to win the German double in his first season at the club. He was sold to Werder prior to the following season, where once again he appeared 32 times, scoring four goals. However, Werder could only finish third. He made seven appearances in the UEFA Champions League as well, scoring twice.
Ismaël arrived at Bayern Munich in July 2005. He received a red card on his debut for the club, but finished the season winning the German league and cup double for the second time in his career. However, he only featured once in the 2006–07 campaign for the club due to his long term injury and was eventually released to join Hannover 96 in January 2008. [7] He made 31 league appearances for Bayern without scoring and eight Champions league appearances, scoring once against A.C. Milan in a 4–1 loss.
Ismaël was brought to the club in order to strengthen the struggling defence and to provide leadership for his new teammates. [8] His first game for Hannover was against his previous club, Bayern, playing well for 45 minutes and helping his team maintain a 0–0. After he was substituted with a minor injury, Hannover conceded three goals in the second half. [9] After overcoming the injury, he became a key player for the team. Due to further injuries and a bad prognosis for recovery he retired on 5 October 2009. In total he made 18 appearances for Hannover.
Ismaël had appearances for French under-18 and under-21 teams. [10] When he was not called up to the senior team, he wanted to represent Germany. [11] However, he was rejected by the German Football Association (DFB) because there was not enough connection to Germany. Answering questions of the German sports magazine Kicker , Ismael said the report that was published by the German tabloid Bild , the following: "That's not quite true. I am French, and I still hope for my chance to play for France. I'm feeling fine in Germany, but I do not want to volunteer. Only if Klinsmann wants me, then we would have to talk about it." [12] If former Germany coach Jürgen Klinsmann was interested in him, Ismaël wanted to check his ancestry. [11]
Gernot Rohr, an expert of French football, explained the permanent non-consideration of Ismaël: "Although Valérien was a U-21 international, he was never an option for the senior team. Of course, Valérien is one of the better centre-backs, but he was never so striking that he could compete with the first-team regulars." [13] Ismaël saw it differently: "There used to be big names, okay. But today, I am no worse than those who are there." After Ismaël offered his services in October 2005 again to the Germany national team, he again received a rejection. [14] Later in March 2006, the German Football Association announced that Ismaël was not eligible to play for Germany because he had played a U-21 European Championship qualifier for France in August 1996. According to FIFA rules, he would have needed German citizenship already back in 1996 to switch now. [4]
It was reported that Togo also wanted to call up Ismaël to their squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, given his former wife is partially Togolese descent, [15] but he denied the approach and interest in the offer. [16]
On 10 October 2009, Ismaël became the assistant general manager of Hannover 96. From 24 June 2010, he was also board member of the club. [17] On 28 November 2011, he took over the job of manager of the second team, Hannover 96 II. [18] In the 2011–12 season, Hannover II finished in sixth place with a record of 14 wins, eight draws and 12 losses. [19] During the 2012–13 season, Hannover II finished in fourth place with a record of 16 wins, six draws, and eight losses. [20] Ismaël left on 30 June 2013. [18]
Ismaël was manager of VfL Wolfsburg II between 1 July 2013 and 5 June 2014. [21] Wolfsburg II won the Regionalliga Nord in the 2013–14 season [22] and lost to Sonnenhof Großaspach in the promotion play-off. [23]
Ismaël became the new head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg on 5 June 2014 [24] and won his first match in charge against Erzgebirge Aue 1–0 on 3 August 2014. [25] He went on to lose eight of his next 13 matches [26] and was sacked on 10 November 2014; [27] three days after a 2–1 loss to SV Sandhausen. [28] He finished with a record of four wins, two draws, and eight losses. [29]
Ismaël returned to VfL Wolfsburg II on 1 June 2015. [30] Repeating the success of his first tenure with the team, Wolfsburg II won the 2015–16 Regionalliga Nord. [31] Once again though, Wolfsburg II lost in the promotion play-off, this time to Jahn Regensburg. [32]
First-team head coach Dieter Hecking was sacked on 17 October 2016 and was replaced by Ismaël on an interim basis. [33] In his first four games in charge, Wolfsburg managed to win twice. [34] Ismaël was promoted from interim coach to permanent head coach on 7 November 2016. [35] Ismaël was sacked on 26 February 2017. [36]
On 29 May 2018, it was announced that Ismaël had signed a two-year deal with Super League Greece club Apollon Smyrnis. [37] However, after only managing them for one league game against Larissa on 25 August 2018, in which Apollon lost 0–1 at home, he was dismissed from his managerial post six days later due to disagreements with the club's president. [38]
For the 2019–20 Austrian Football Bundesliga Ismaël was succeeding Oliver Glasner as the new head coach and sporting director of Austrian team LASK. [39] In the first few months of his tenure, he led the team to the best start in the club's history (17 points from 8 games). He also led LASK to a first ever appearance in the UEFA Champions League play-offs. After beating favourites Basel, the team fell short against Club Brugge. In LASK's first ever appearance in the UEFA Europa League, the team won the group with Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven and Rosenborg. After beating AZ in the round of 32, LASK lost against Manchester United. After the Covid-19 induced pause of football, LASK trained a couple of days too early with full body contact. It was heavily criticised by other clubs, and the media. The team did not play well any more, and four points were deducted for breaching the Coronavirus rules, which let them end on fourth position in the league. LASK parted ways with Ismaël on 11 July 2020, as Dominik Thalhammer became available, who succeeded him. [40]
When Gerhard Struber decided to join New York Red Bulls in autumn 2020, Barnsley hired Ismaël as his successor. He led them to a play-off position in the 2020-21 EFL Championship. [41]
On 24 June 2021, Ismaël joined recently relegated Championship side West Bromwich Albion, signing a four-year contract and becoming the club's first French manager. [42] On 2 February 2022, Ismaël left the club by mutual consent after a poor run of form. [43]
On 25 March 2022, Ismaël became the coach of Turkish club Beşiktaş. Prior to his arrival, the team was temporarily coached by one of the youth coaches, Önder Karaveli. Ismael's contract ran until the end of the 2022–23 season. [44]
On 10 May 2023, Ismaël joined EFL Championship club Watford as the club's new head coach, after the departure of Chris Wilder. [45]
On 9 March 2024, Ismaël was sacked as head coach of Watford, after only one win in ten league games; his last game in charge was a 2-1 home defeat to Coventry City.
Ismaël is married to his German wife Karolina. He has a son (born 1995) from his first marriage. On 25 April 2013, Ismaël received German citizenship. [46]
Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
Hannover 96 II | 28 November 2011 | 30 June 2013 | 49 | 24 | 10 | 15 | 94 | 66 | +28 | 48.98 | [19] [20] |
VfL Wolfsburg II | 1 July 2013 | 5 June 2014 | 36 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 85 | 29 | +56 | 63.89 | [23] |
1. FC Nürnberg | 5 June 2014 | 10 November 2014 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 25 | −11 | 28.57 | [26] |
VfL Wolfsburg II | 1 June 2015 | 17 October 2016 | 48 | 30 | 8 | 10 | 105 | 42 | +63 | 62.50 | [32] [47] |
VfL Wolfsburg | 17 October 2016 | 26 February 2017 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 17 | 26 | −9 | 35.29 | [34] |
Apollon Smyrnis | 29 May 2018 | 31 August 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 | [48] |
LASK | 27 May 2019 | 11 July 2020 | 50 | 31 | 6 | 13 | 102 | 57 | +45 | 62.00 | [49] |
Barnsley | 23 October 2020 | 24 June 2021 | 44 | 25 | 6 | 13 | 56 | 43 | +13 | 56.82 | [50] |
West Bromwich Albion | 24 June 2021 | 2 February 2022 | 31 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 35 | 32 | +3 | 38.71 | [51] |
Beşiktaş | 25 March 2022 | 26 October 2022 | 19 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 32 | 23 | +9 | 42.11 | [52] |
Watford | 10 May 2023 | 9 March 2024 | 41 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 56 | 57 | −1 | 29.27 | |
Total | 349 | 174 | 70 | 105 | 594 | 399 | +195 | 49.86 | — |
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(May 2023) |
Strasbourg
Lens
Werder Bremen
Bayern Munich
VfL Wolfsburg II
Wolfgang Felix Magath is a German football manager and former player.
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. It is best known for its football department, but other departments include badminton, handball and athletics.
The Regionalliga Nord is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga Nordost, Regionalliga Südwest and the Regionalliga West. Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the third tier.
The 1995–96 2. Bundesliga season was the twenty-second season of the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system.
Armin Veh is a German football manager and former player who last managed Eintracht Frankfurt. He won the German championship with Bundesliga team VfB Stuttgart in 2007. Veh and his team also had the chance to win "the double" by winning the DFB-Pokal on 26 May 2007 in Berlin, but lost 3–2 in overtime against 1. FC Nürnberg. From 11 December 2017 to 8 December 2019, Veh was the sports director of 1. FC Köln. During his playing career, he played as a midfielder.
Michael Frontzeck is a German professional football coach and former player who was most recently assistant coach of VfL Wolfsburg.
Dieter-Klaus Hecking is a German football manager and executive 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.
Hermann "Tiger" Gerland is a German professional football manager and former player who has most recently worked as an assistant coach of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.
The Regionalliga Nord was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the north of Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2. Bundesliga in 1974. It covered the states of Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.
VfL Wolfsburg II was a German association football team from the city of Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. It is the reserve team of VfL Wolfsburg. The team's greatest success has been two league championships in the tier four Regionalliga Nord in 2013–14 and 2015–16 which entitled it to take part in the promotion round to the 3. Liga.
Lorenz-Günther Köstner is a retired German footballer who is now a football manager who last managed Fortuna Düsseldorf. Following the sacking of Armin Veh on 25 January 2010, he was named interim manager of VfL Wolfsburg until 30 June 2010.
Dustin Heun is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Claus-Dieter Wollitz is a German football coach and former player, who manages FC Energie Cottbus.
Bernd Hollerbach is a German professional football manager of Hansa Rostock and former player. He is currently manager of German 3. Liga club Hansa Rostock.
Dirk Bremser is a German football coach and a former player, He is the currently assistant head coach of Bundesliga club Holstein Kiel.
Maximilian Sauer is a German professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Oberliga Niedersachsen club FSV Schöningen.
The 2009–10 Hannover 96 season was the 114th season in the football club's history and 21st overall and eighth consecutive season in the top flight of German football, the Bundesliga, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 2002. Hannover 96 also participated in this season's edition of the domestic cup, the DFB-Pokal. This was the 51st season for Hannover in the HDI-Arena, located in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany. The season covered a period from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010.
The 2020–21 Regionalliga was the 13th season of the Regionalliga, the ninth under the new format, as the fourth tier of the German football league system.
Soufiane Messeguem is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Portuguese club Académico de Viseu.
Kevin Schumacher is a German professional footballer who plays as a left winger for 3. Liga club Hansa Rostock.