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Huddersfield appoint ex-Hannover, Schalke, Zurich and Hoffenheim boss as new head coach

Huddersfield Town appoint ex-Hannover, Schalke, Zurich and Hoffenheim boss André Breitenreiter as their new first team head coach.

The 50 year old German will begin his role next week, tasked with trying to move the Terriers away from the Championship drop zone.

They currently sit 20th, with 34 points from 32 games played, five points above the drop. They play host to Hull on Saturday, then a trip to Watford, followed by Leeds at home.

The new man said on Instagram: “Now it’s official! My team and I have signed a contract with Huddersfield Town for two and a half years.

“An exciting and great challenge awaits us and we will do everything we can to be successful. We are very keen to stabilise and develop the club!

“In order to achieve our goals, we need the support of our fantastic fans above all else. I would like to thank everyone involved who has worked so hard to ensure that we are able to work in the motherland of football.”

CLUB STATEMENT:

We’re delighted to announce André Breitenreiter as the new Head Coach of Huddersfield Town!

Breitenreiter, who arrives in West Yorkshire with a proven track record of success as a coach in both Germany and Switzerland, is set to take control of the First Team next week (w/c 19 February 2024).

He will complete the VISA process this week, with Caretaker Manager Jon Worthington leading the team in Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship game at home to Hull City.

André is known in his native land as an expert in getting teams into the German top division.

He made his name by steering SC Paderborn 07 to the Bundesliga for the first time in the club’s history in 2014, with a last day win securing an unlikely promotion.

His two seasons at the club soon earned him the top job at Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04, where he earned them Europa League football through a fifth-placed finish in 2016.

André soon earned his second promotion from the 2. Bundesliga as manager of Hannover 96 in the 2016/17 campaign.

With nearly 150 games as a manager in the Bundesliga under his belt, he moved to Switzerland and steered FC Zurich to a shock Swiss Super League title in 2022, ending the club’s 13-year wait for a championship. It’s the only season in the last six in which BSC Young Boys didn’t win the division.

Now, amid interest in his services from clubs in Germany, Turkey and recent interest from a national team, André has agreed to take charge of the Terriers on a two-and-a-half-year contract.

Details of André’s coaching staff will be confirmed soon.

Huddersfield Town owner and Chairman Kevin Nagle commented:

“I’m very excited about André’s appointment.

“At the start of this process, we were very clear on what we expect our Head Coach to deliver. Atop that list was the creation of a winning culture, where there is no fear over taking bold options to try and get all three points in every game – before match day or during the game. We also want to deliver a type of football that will excite our supporters, who love a high-tempo, front-foot, all-action style.

“We believe André is the ideal candidate to deliver this. His credentials as a winner are there for all to see and, upon speaking to him, I was very impressed with his depth of knowledge. I’m excited to see the impact he has on our talented squad.

“I must also take this opportunity to thank Jon Worthington, Kevin Russell, Michael Tonge and Neil Bennett for their outstanding work as our interim management team. They are true professionals and have made themselves and everyone connected with the club proud.”

Huddersfield Town Sporting Director Mark Cartwright added:

“André was someone we were very interested in speaking with from an early point of our search. His record as a Head Coach is unquestionable, having overachieved with several different clubs to win titles and promotions in Germany and Switzerland.

“His philosophy on football fits what we were looking for in our next Head Coach and, when we began to speak about the opportunity, his confidence in his methods was very clear. He’s determined to show that his qualities as a Head Coach will work in England, and he’s excited about Kevin’s ambition for the future.

“We believe André has the skillset to positively impact our squad in the remaining games of this season, and that together we can build something really exciting for our fans in the future.”

Willkommen, André!

The club website spoke more about the new man, saying that André had a successful career as a highly regarded forward, representing Germany up to the Under-21 level and earning the nickname ‘The Lightning Bomber’. Throughout his career, he played for various clubs including Holstein Kiel, SpVgg Unterhaching, Hannover 96, Hamburger SV, and others.

André made nearly 150 appearances in the Bundesliga, along with another hundred in the 2. Bundesliga division and a few games in European competitions.

One of the highlights of his playing career was winning the German Cup in 1992.

In January 2011, André transitioned into management his managerial journey by taking charge of TSV Havelse, a team in the Regionalliga Nord, and within a year, he secured his first trophy by winning the Lower Saxony Cup.

He also made headlines by leading his team to qualify for the DFB Cup, where they defeated Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg in the first round.

After guiding Havelse to a second-place finish in the Regionalliga Nord during the 2012/13 season, he was sought after by 2. Bundesliga club SC Paderborn 07.

He accepted the top job there for the 2013/14 campaign, and despite low expectations, André immediately revitalized the squad and led Paderborn to their first-ever promotion to the Bundesliga through a dramatic final day victory.

Known for their bold playing style, his Paderborn side scored 63 goals in 34 league games during their promotion-winning season.

Although Paderborn faced relegation in their debut Bundesliga campaign, André’s impressive performance as a coach earned him the opportunity to remain in the top division.

In June 2015, he became the Head Coach of Schalke 04 and in his first season, he took the team to a fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga, securing a spot in the Europa League. However, a change in Sporting Director resulted in André leaving Schalke at the end of the season.

In March 2017, André secured his next job in the 2. Bundesliga with Hannover 96, making immediate impact by achieving six wins and three draws from nine games, earning him a second promotion to the Bundesliga.

After finishing in 13th place in their first season back in the Bundesliga in 2017/18, André left Hannover 96 in January 2019.

He took a break from football to care for his father and eventually returned to the game in the summer of 2021.

For the first time, André decided to manage outside of Germany and accepted the position at FC Zurich in the Swiss Super League.

Despite narrowly avoiding relegation before his arrival, he then guided them to their first league championship since 2009.

They won 17 out of their final 24 matches, scoring an impressive 78 goals in just 36 games and clinching the title with a massive 14-point lead.

Previously, Young Boys had won four consecutive titles, making FC Zurich’s championship under André the only exception in the last six seasons.

Following this remarkable achievement, Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim appointed Breitenreiter by buying out his contract.

He returned to Germany for the 2022/23 season. However, he left the club in February with the team positioned 12th in the league.

Twitter users reacted as Huddersfield appoint ex-Hannover, Schalke, Zurich and Hoffenheim boss André Breitenreiter as their new head coach…

@rsole1212: Good one hell of a hard song singing his name.

@ChatHtafc: Promotions, titles and European spots on his CV. This is an appointment that shows ambition, fair play @KevinNagleMLS 👏🏼#htafc

@RyanM17_: A new era begins on Monday and we hope it is the start of something very special under Andre! Let’s show our appreciation to Worthy and his staff on Saturday afternoon for getting us back on track and putting smiles back on faces before the new guy begins work UTT 💙🤍 #htafc

@LordOllieTurton: ITS NOT MICHAEL DUFF 😍😍😍😍😍

@Danfawcettfb: What’s German for errrrrmmmmm #htafc

@p_ross85: Feels an exciting appointment from @KevinNagleMLS & Co, shows we’ve not just gone run of the mill option this time. Really hope this works out, look forward to seeing Andre an his team. 👏🏻 worthy an coaching team for work in interim, reenergising fan base an winning games #htafc

@AdamPootsUK: Breitenreiter Revolution #nolimits

@el_judith: We have a new manager. Most of us will probably never have heard of him so no axes to grind at his appointment. Lets get fully behind him and see what together we can achieve. A big thank you to Jon Worthington for a great job done and putting smiles bank on faces #htafc

@AMCTerrier: Interesting appointment. Right behind him but huge Thankyou to Worthy, Russell & Tonge for what they’ve done in the interim. Roll on Saturday #htafc #andre

@IrelandTerriers: Very excited based on his CV – seems like a bit of a coup! Willkommen, André 🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪 #htafc

@40plusbored: BREITENREITER If you look closely you can get a Terrier out of his surname… It’s meant to be

@summers1908: Sounds ok – all I want is a team that doesn’t take short goal kicks like Sunderland last night …it’s no good for my heart rate ❤️

@htafchero: I’m intrigued! Glad that Duff didn’t materialise after the commutegate. We’ve hired a Bundesliga coach that has a clearer management track record than Wagner did at the time 👍 #htafc

@charlieehtafc: GET THE FUCKING GERMAN FLAGS BACK OUT

@Ben_htafc: Welcome to the Yorkshire club André🇩🇪

@SteHTAFC: Never heard of him before today but his CV looks great!

@HotlineHtafc_: Always hard to form an opinion on a managerial appointment especially when he’s never managed in the country before. This seriously excites me though – his CV is easily the strongest for a #Htafc manager in my lifetime at least. Ambition shown as always from Nagle and co! 🇩🇪

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