Markus Babbel

1899 Hoffenheim were in eighth place when Babbel took over.

His first match was a 1–1 draw against Werder Bremen.

1899 Hoffenheim finished the season in 11th place.

Markus Babbel (born 8 September 1972) is a German professional football coach and former player who last managed the Western Sydney Wanderers FC.

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

He moved to Hamburger SV in August 1992 and appeared regularly in the first team, scoring his first league goal in Germany's top-flight.

Returning to Bayern Munich in 1994, he started in 167 games, and attracted the attention of Manchester United following UEFA Euro 1996.

A£5 million deal was put in place for the German full back, but it never went through.

Babbel won the UEFA Cup twice, in 1996 with Bayern and in 2001 with Liverpool, and was part of the Germany team that won UEFA Euro 96.

Born in Munich, Babbel's first professional club was Bayern Munich.

He advanced from the youth squad to the first team and was a starting player eight times, and made four appearances as a substitute in league games.

Babbel also played for his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000.

Following his retirement from football, Babbel stayed on with his last club, VfB Stuttgart, as an assistant manager.

He was signed on a Bosman by Liverpool F.C. manager Gérard Houllier in June 2000, forming part of the back four during Liverpool's successful 2000–01 season.

He was an integral member of Liverpool's side and his characteristic raiding runs down the right side led to a number of goals, including one in the UEFA Cup final itself.

His Liverpool career was forced to a sudden halt when he contracted Guillain–Barré syndrome and was unable to play for a year.

He went on loan to Blackburn Rovers in August 2003 after having recovered from Guillain–Barré syndrome, achieving regular first team appearances in the league and scoring three goals in the process.

Babbel's last club was VfB Stuttgart, which he joined on a free transfer in July 2004.

In January 2007, Babbel announced that he would retire at the end of the 2006–07 season.

He was capped 51 times, scoring one goal for Germany and was part of the Euro 96 winning team.

On 24 November 2008, Babbel became head coach of VfB Stuttgart.

Babbel's first match was a 1–1 draw against Sampdoria on 27 November 2008.

They finished the season in third place, five points off league winners VfL Wolfsburg and qualifying for the Champions League.

On 6 May 2009, Babbel extended his contract 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 on 5 December 2009.

Babbel took over Hertha BSC in the 2nd division in July 2010.

His first match was a 2–0 German Cup win.

In his first season, he succeeded in returning them to the Bundesliga after winning the 2. Bundesliga during the 2010–11 season.

Upon Babbel's arrival, VfB Stuttgart were 11th in the table after 14 games.

On 18 December 2011, Babbel was sacked as coach of Hertha BSC.

Prior to this, he had announced that he wanted to leave the club at the end of the season.

His final match was a 1–1 draw against TSG Hoffenheim on 17 December 2011.

Hertha BSC were in 11th place at the time of the sacking.

Babbel finished with a record of 30 wins, 13 draws, and 12 losses.

On 10 February 2012, Babbel took over as manager of TSG Hoffenheim.

On 3 December 2012 he was released because of poor results, with the team in 16th place in the Bundesliga.

Babbel's final match was a 4–1 loss to Werder Bremen.

At the time of Babbel's sacking, VfB Stuttgart were in 16th place after 15 games played.

Babbel finished with a record of 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.