Torsten Lieberknecht

Torsten Lieberknecht
Lieberknecht with Eintracht Braunschweig in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1973-08-01) 1 August 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth Bad Dürkheim, West Germany
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
FV Haßloch
1. FC 08 Haßloch
0000–1990 VfL Neustadt/Weinstraße
1990–1992 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1994 1. FC Kaiserslautern 13 (1)
1994–1995 Waldhof Mannheim 22 (0)
1995–2002 Mainz 05 89 (3)
2002–2003 1. FC Saarbrücken 7 (0)
2003–2007 Eintracht Braunschweig 82 (2)
Total 213 (6)
International career
Germany U-19 3 (0)
1994–1995 Germany U-21 9 (0)
Managerial career
2008–2018 Eintracht Braunschweig
2018–2020 MSV Duisburg
2021–2024 Darmstadt 98
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Torsten Lieberknecht (born 1 August 1973) is a German football manager and player, who last managed Darmstadt 98.[2]

Career

Lieberknecht began his senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, where he made his Bundesliga debut on 26 August 1992 in a game against SG Wattenscheid 09.[3] He left Kaiserslautern after the 1993–1994 season to join SV Waldhof Mannheim and went on to play a total of ten seasons in the 2. Bundesliga for Mannheim, 1. FSV Mainz 05 and Eintracht Braunschweig before retiring as a player in 2007.

Lieberknecht also represented Germany nine times at the U-21 level and was part of the German squad for the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia.[4]

Managing career

After retiring as a player, Lieberknecht became a youth coach at his last club, Eintracht Braunschweig. At the end of the 2007–08 Regionalliga season the club was in serious danger of missing out on qualification for Germany's new nationwide third-tier league 3. Liga, which would have meant Braunschweig's first ever relegation to the fourth level of Germany's football league system. When Benno Möhlmann, at the time the manager of Eintracht Braunschweig's first team, stepped down in May 2008, Lieberknecht was named his successor.[5] Under him the club not only secured 3. Liga qualification on the last match day of the season, but since then has started a steady climb back up the ladder of German football. In 2010–11 Lieberknecht and his team were promoted back into the 2. Bundesliga, and quickly established themselves at this level. After having finished the previous season comfortably midtable, the club was even more successful during the 2012–13 season and in the end won promotion to the Bundesliga. This marked Eintracht Braunschweig's return into Germany's top-flight after a 28-year absence.[6] Lieberknecht was widely recognized in the media both in Germany and abroad as one of the key figures in the club's resurgence after years in the second and third tier.[7][8][9][10][11][12] After ten years, his spell at Braunschweig ended in 2018.[13] He finished with a record of 151 wins, 99 draws, and 120 losses.[14]

On 1 October 2018, he was appointed by MSV Duisburg as the new head coach.[15] He was sacked on 10 November 2020.[16] He moved to Darmstadt 98 in June 2021.[17] In September 2024, he resigned.[18]

Managerial statistics

As of 31 August 2024
Team From To Record
G W D L Win % Ref.
Eintracht Braunschweig 12 May 2008[5] 14 May 2018[13] 371 151 99 121 040.70 [14]
MSV Duisburg 1 October 2018[15] 10 November 2020 77 27 21 29 035.06 [15]
Darmstadt 98 1 July 2021 1 September 2024 112 44 23 45 039.29
Total 560 222 143 195 039.64 —

References

  1. ^ "Torsten Lieberknecht" (in German). 1. FSV Mainz 05. Archived from the original on 13 June 1998. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Lieberknecht, Torsten" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  3. ^ "1. FC Kaiserslautern – SG Wattenscheid 09 4:1" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Germany". FIFA. Archived from the original on 7 July 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  5. ^ a b Albring, Reiner (12 May 2008). "Eintracht-Trainer Möhlmann gibt auf" (in German). braunschweiger-zeitung.de. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Braunschweig nach 28 Jahren zurück in Liga eins". Die Welt (in German). 26 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Local hero Torsten Lieberknecht draws praise for his Eintracht Braunschweig approach from Borussia Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp". The Independent. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  8. ^ Hacke, Detlef (1 April 2011). "Die ewige Tochter blüht wieder auf". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  9. ^ Otto, Christian (20 October 2012). "Im Zweifel gegen den Trend". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  10. ^ Herrmann, Boris (23 September 2012). "Auferstanden vom Rande des Untergangs". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  11. ^ Jahn, Michael (25 October 2012). "Spagat auf der Baustelle". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  12. ^ Schramm, Anja (7 April 2013). "Braunschweigs großer Klimmzug". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Nach zehn Jahren und zwei Tagen: Lieberknechts Ära endet". kicker.de. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Eintracht Braunschweig – Trainerhistorie" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  15. ^ a b c "MSV Duisburg". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  16. ^ "MSV stellt Torsten Lieberknecht frei – Neuer Chef-Coach am Sonntag". msv-duisburg.de. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Lieberknecht übernimmt in Darmstadt". kicker.de (in German). kicker. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Lilien und Lieberknecht beenden Zusammenarbeit" (in German). SV Darmstadt 98. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.