.jpg) Ilzer in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1977-10-21)21 October 1977 (age 47) | ||
| Place of birth | Puch bei Weiz, Austria | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | TSG Hoffenheim (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1998 | USK Raiffeisen Puch | ||
| 1998–1999 | SV Ada Anger | ||
| 2001–2004 | USK Raiffeisen Puch | ||
| 2004–2006 | SC Weiz | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2007 | USK Raiffeisen Puch | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006–2007 | USK Raiffeisen Puch (player-manager) | ||
| 2012–2013 | SC Weiz | ||
| 2014 | Wiener Neustadt (caretaker) | ||
| 2015 | TSV Hartberg | ||
| 2017–2018 | TSV Hartberg | ||
| 2018–2019 | Wolfsberger AC | ||
| 2019–2020 | Austria Wien | ||
| 2020–2024 | Sturm Graz | ||
| 2024– | TSG Hoffenheim | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Christian Ilzer (born 21 October 1977) is an Austrian professionalfootball coach who is the manager ofBundesliga clubTSG Hoffenheim.
As a teenager, threecruciate ligament injuries stopped his career and at the age of only 17, where became coach of USK Raiffeisen Puch's U17 squad. In addition to his job as an electronics technician, he started a second education as a trainer. From 2006 to 2007, he was in charge of the first team of USK Raiffeisen Puch as a playing manager.[2] From July 2007 to July 2011, he was assistant manager under managerBruno Friesenbichler atTSV Hartberg.[2]
In September 2011, he worked with theAustrian U19 national team as a fitness coach, while he in the 2012–13 season also was the manager ofSC Weiz.[2] From the summer 2013, once again he became assistant manager under manager Bruno Friesenbichler atTSV Hartberg.[2] After one season at TSV Hartberg, he joinedWiener Neustadt as assistant manager. On 12 November 2014,Heimo Pfeifenberger was fired at Neustadt and Ilzer took over as caretaker manager. Ilzer was in charge for one game which he won 2–0 againstWolfsberger AC, beforeHelgi Kolviðsson was appointed as manager on 23 November 2014. Ilzer continued his role as assistant manager at the club, before he left at the end of the season and then became manager of TSV Hartberg.[2] He left his position already on 25 November 2015, to become an assistant manager at Wolfsberger underHeimo Pfeifenberger.[2]
In May 2017, Ilzer returned to TSV Hartberg as head coach.[3] In the2017–18 season, he guided the club to finish second in the second division, securing promotion to the Austrian Bundesliga for the first time in their history.[4]
In May 2018, it was announced that Ilzer would rejoin Wolfsberger as head coach for the 2018–19 season.[5] He led the club to qualify to theEuropa League group stage for first time in their history, after finishing third in theAustrian Bundesliga.[6]
On 29 May 2019, Ilzer was appointed manager ofAustria Wien for the 2019–20 season.[7] After a seventh-place finish in the league, his team lost the Europa League play-offs 3–2 on aggregate against his former club TSV Hartberg.[8]
On 17 July 2020, he was hired as manager ofSturm Graz.[9] He guided the club to a runner-up finish in both 2021–22 and 2022–23, where he achieved theVdF-Fußballerwahl Coach of the Season award for the latter.[10] He won his first title at the club by clinching the2022–23 Austrian Cup after a 2–0 win againstRapid Wien in the final.[11]
In the2023–24 season, he led the club to their fourth league title in history after a 2–0 win overAustria Klagenfurt on the final matchday, endingRed Bull Salzburg's decade-long dominance, in addition to securing aUEFA Champions League group stage berth for the first time since 2000–01.[12] Furthermore, he succeeded in steering the club to their first domestic double since the 1998–99 season, having achieved the2023–24 Austrian Cup following a 2–1 victory over Rapid Wien in the final.[13]
He was appointed byTSG Hoffenheim in November 2024.[14]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| SC Weiz | 1 July 2012 | 8 June 2013 | 30 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 60 | 33 | +27 | 063.33 |
| Wiener Neustadt (caretaker) | 12 November 2014 | 23 November 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 100.00 |
| TSV Hartberg | 5 June 2015 | 25 November 2015 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 40 | 24 | +16 | 070.59 |
| TSV Hartberg | 1 July 2017 | 1 June 2018 | 40 | 22 | 9 | 9 | 76 | 41 | +35 | 055.00 |
| Wolfsberger AC | 1 June 2018 | 29 May 2019 | 35 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 040.00 |
| Austria Wien | 29 May 2019 | 17 July 2020 | 39 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 65 | 60 | +5 | 035.90 |
| Sturm Graz | 17 July 2020 | 15 November 2024 | 195 | 107 | 40 | 48 | 357 | 223 | +134 | 054.87 |
| TSG Hoffenheim | 15 November 2024 | Present | 21 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 023.81 |
| Total | 378 | 194 | 82 | 102 | 678 | 473 | +205 | 051.32 | ||
Sturm Graz
Individual