 Rösler in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1968-11-15)15 November 1968 (age 57) | ||
| Place of birth | Altenburg, East Germany | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | VfL Bochum (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1981 | BSG Traktor Starkenberg | ||
| 1981–1987 | 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1988 | 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig | 3 | (0) |
| 1988–1989 | BSG Chemie Leipzig | 27 | (6) |
| 1989–1990 | 1. FC Magdeburg | 46 | (19) |
| 1990–1992 | Dynamo Dresden | 46 | (7) |
| 1992–1994 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 28 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | →Dynamo Dresden (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 1994–1998 | Manchester City | 152 | (50) |
| 1998–1999 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 28 | (8) |
| 1999–2000 | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 28 | (6) |
| 2000–2002 | Southampton | 24 | (0) |
| 2001 | →West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2002 | SpVgg Unterhaching | 14 | (5) |
| 2002–2003 | Lillestrøm | 11 | (10) |
| Total | 419 | (112) | |
| International career | |||
| East Germany U21[1] | 6 | (1) | |
| 1990 | East Germany | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2004–2006 | Lillestrøm | ||
| 2006–2009 | Viking | ||
| 2010 | Molde | ||
| 2011–2013 | Brentford | ||
| 2013–2014 | Wigan Athletic | ||
| 2015 | Leeds United | ||
| 2016–2018 | Fleetwood Town | ||
| 2018–2019 | Malmö FF | ||
| 2020–2021 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | ||
| 2022–2025 | AGF | ||
| 2025– | VfL Bochum | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Uwe Rösler (German pronunciation:[ˈuːvəˈrøːslɐ]; born 15 November 1968) is a Germanfootballmanager ofVfL Bochum and former professional footballer.
As a player he was acentre forward, notably playing in thePremier League forManchester City, where he was the leading goalscorer for three consecutive seasons from1994–95 to1996–97, and in theBundesliga for1. FC Nürnberg and1. FC Kaiserslautern, playing in theUEFA Champions League with the latter. He also played Premier League football forSouthampton, in theFootball League forWest Bromwich Albion and inNorway forLillestrøm. Back in his native Germany, he represented1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig,BSG Chemie Leipzig,1. FC Magdeburg,Dynamo Dresden,Tennis Borussia Berlin andSpVgg Unterhaching. Rösler is a formerEast Germany international, whom he represented in theunder-21 team and five times as a senior.
In 2004, he began his managerial career withLillestrøm in Norway, and later ledViking andMolde FK inTippeligaen. He also managedBrentford,Wigan Athletic,Leeds United andFleetwood Town in the English Football League, as well asMalmö FF inAllsvenskan,Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga, and most recentlyAGF in theDanish Superliga.
Born inAltenburg, Rösler started his career in the formerGDR, joiningLokomotive Leipzig in 1987, where he spent one season, before moving on toBSG Chemie Leipzig in 1988. Following this he transferred to1. FC Magdeburg in 1989, where he spent a year before signing forDynamo Dresden in the winter 1990–91.[2] After two years with Dresden, he also spent two years with1. FC Nürnberg, where he failed to score once in 28 games, resulting in him being loaned back to Dresden for the second year. Having grown up in the East, where players were nominally regarded as amateurs, Rösler found it difficult to adapt when he moved to the West afterreunification: "I suddenly saw more individualistic thinking, cliques, a powerful press and personal politics around team selection.The Wall was still there in some people's heads and in many ways I was naive."[3]
In March 1994, Rösler joinedManchester City on trial. Given an opportunity in a reserve match againstBurnley, he scored two goals, which resulted in a three-month loan.[4] He made his first team debut the following Saturday, againstQueens Park Rangers. A return of five goals in twelve games saw the move made permanent in the close season,[5] reports of the transfer fee varying between £375,000 and £500,000.[6][7]
After an ignominious start to the 1994–95 campaign, when he was sent off in a 3–0 opening day defeat atArsenal,[5] Rösler formed a productive partnership withPaul Walsh, and scored 22 league and cup goals despite missing several games through injury. In an FA cup match againstNotts County he scored four goals, becoming the first Manchester City player to score four in an FA Cup tie sinceJohnny Hart in 1953.[5] His performances that season meant he was the club's leading goalscorer, and he won the club's Player of the Year award.[6]
At the start of the 1995–96 season,Alan Ball became manager and immediately changed the nature of the side. Despite City's obvious strengths down the flanks, the team was adapted to play through the middle of the park. With no supply line from the wings (City's other wingerNicky Summerbee often playing at right-back), and with the loss through injury of Beagrie and the shocking sale of Walsh, Rösler struggled in this season. Many felt that he and fellow strikerNiall Quinn were too similar to play in a system that didn't feed strikers effectively and Rösler clearly became unhappy. Much publicised disagreements with the manager culminated in Rösler being dropped from the side, only to be brought on as a sub in the Manchester derby and immediately score a phenomenal goal. Rösler's goal celebrations saw him running to the bench, shouting at Ball and pointing to his name and squad number on the back of his shirt. City were relegated toDivision One at the end of the campaign, but Rösler opted to stay with the Blues. Despite another difficult campaign, Rösler again finished top scorer and clearly benefited from the return to a 4–4–1–1 formation. After another spell out with injury, Rösler would eventually leave the Blues in May 1998 on a free transfer following relegation toDivision Two.
In his four years at City he played 176 games, scoring 64 goals. He was admitted to City's "Hall of Fame" in December 2009.[8]
In the summer of 1998, Rösler returned to Germany joiningKaiserslautern, then reigning German champions, for one season. His most remarkable game there was on 9 December 1998 when he came on as a substitute againstHJK andscored a second halfhat-trick as Kaiserslautern won 5–2, helping them to wintheir group in the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League,[9] before going out in thequarter-finals toBayern Munich. He then moved on toTennis Borussia Berlin for the 1999–2000 season.
When Tennis Borussia went bankrupt in the summer of 2000,Glenn Hoddle snapped Rösler up on a free transfer, but he was unable to become a regular in Saints' first team asJames Beattie started to find his form (scoring 10 goals in 10 games in November and December). Rösler also suffered a groin injury which required surgery, keeping him out for several weeks. Although he was a whole-hearted and committed player, he only managed to score once for the Saints, in aLeague Cup game atMansfield Town.[10]
Rösler scored the last goal atThe Dell on 26 May 2001 in a friendly againstBrighton & Hove Albion – who were selected as Southampton's opponents as they had been the stadium's first visitors when it opened in 1898 – as Saints won 1–0.[11] However, the distinction of the last competitive goal at The Dell went to Rösler's teammateMatt Le Tissier, who had scored a late winner in the 3–2 Premier League win over Arsenal seven days earlier.[12]
In the following season, he only made a handful of appearances before being loaned out toWest Bromwich Albion on 30 October 2001, as cover for the injuredScott Dobie.[13] He made his debut away atCrystal Palace on 31 October 2001, and his only goal for Albion came in a 1–0 home win overNottingham Forest four days later.[14] Rösler played just five games for West Bromwich Albion, as he joined German sideSpVgg Unterhaching on a free transfer in January 2002, who went on to win promotion as Division One runners-up at the end of the 2001–02 season.
In July 2002, Rösler signed for Norwegian clubLillestrøm. He played 11 matches and scored 10 goals for the Canaries in the latter part of the 2002 season.
After the first match of the season in 2003, in which he scored the match winner in a 1–0 defeat ofBodø/Glimt, Rösler was diagnosed with cancer, whenx-rays discovered a tumour in his chest, and had to put an end to his playing career.[15] Afterchemotherapy, he made a full recovery. While in remission, Rösler obtained his coaching badges, enabling him to continue working in football.[15]
Rösler made his debut forEast Germany on 26 January 1990 in a 2–1 win overKuwait.[16] He appeared in the team's final match againstBelgium on 12 September 1990, 21 days before theGerman reunification.[17] Overall, Rösler was capped five times, scoring no goals.[18] He also representedEast Germany U21s at international level.
After making a full recovery from lung cancer, he returned to Lillestrøm, and took the manager's seat in 2005. He led the team to two successive fourth-place finishes in the league, and also took them to thefinal of theNorwegian Cup in 2005 and theRoyal Leaguefinal in 2006, subsequently losing both. These results failed to satisfy the Lillestrøm board, and on 13 November 2006 he was sacked from his position along with assistant coachGunnar Halle.[19]
Rösler was appointed manager ofViking, another Norwegian team, on 22 November 2006,[20] replacingTom Nordlie, who took over Rösler's old job at Lillestrøm. In the 2007 season he led Viking to a third place in theTippeligaen. On 18 November 2009 it was announced that Rösler was leaving Viking.[21]
On 31 August 2010, he was hired byMolde on a short-term contract. During Molde's last eight games of the season, he doubled the team's total number of points, avoided a single defeat, and saved them from relegation.[22] He was replaced byOle Gunnar Solskjær in November 2010 ready for the start ofthe 2011 season.[23][24]
In November 2010, Rösler expressed his desire to return to the Premier League as a manager.[25] In June 2011, he was appointed manager ofLeague One sideBrentford on an initial two-year contract.[26]
Rösler's first game in charge was a practice match againstStrømmen, which ended 0–0,[27] while his first game open to fans was a 10–0 victory overTonbridge Angels[28] and his first competitive match in charge ended in a 2–0 win overYeovil Town. Rösler had a successful first season managing at Brentford, finishing in ninth place with a total of 67 points,[29] Brentford's highest league finish in six years.
In Rösler's second season in charge of Brentford they came within minutes of securing promotion from League One to the Championship. For their final game of the season, on 27 April 2013, they faced second placedDoncaster Rovers at Griffin Park, with Brentford in third place only a win would see his side promoted. In the dramatic final minute of added time and with the game poised at 0–0, Brentford won a penalty. On-loan strikerMarcello Trotta insisted on taking the penalty rather than captain,Kevin O'Connor, hitting the crossbar. Doncaster counter-attacked from the rebound andJames Coppinger scored the goal which guaranteed Doncaster's promotion as well as the league title.[30] Brentford entered the play-offs, where they were drawn in the semi-final againstSwindon Town.
Despite beating Swindon in an almost equally dramatic manner, eventually succeeding via a penalty shoot-out after a 4–4 aggregate scoreline. However promotion was never to come for Rösler's Brentford as they were beaten 2–1 in the play-off final byYeovil Town atWembley Stadium, after a poor first-half performance.
Following the drama and disappointment of the 2012–13 season, Rösler embarked upon a heavy overhaul of his squad in order to finally gain promotion to the Championship. In the summer transfer window, 13 players were either signed or loaned from other clubs whilst only three of last-season's first-team squad were sold. Rösler left the position of Brentford manager on 7 December 2013, having led a revival in the team's fortunes, winning seven of his final eight games. Under the stewardship of formersporting directorMark Warburton, the Bees achieved automatic promotion to the Championship on 18 April 2014.[31] Long-serving player Kevin O'Connor paid tribute to Rösler at the end of the season, saying "Uwe got the ball rolling. We were a bang average League One side, but Uwe changed the mentality. Everything he did was all Premier League standard. He did amazing, so we’ll be saying thank you to him".[32]
On 7 December 2013, Rösler was appointed as the new manager of Championship sideWigan Athletic,[33][34] taking over the position fromOwen Coyle. His first game in charge came on 12 December 2013, a 2–1 loss againstNK Maribor in theUEFA Europa League.[35]
In March 2014, Rösler returned to Manchester City and led holders Wigan to a shock 2–1 victory over his old club at theEtihad Stadium in the quarter-final of theFA Cup.[36] However, his team lost in the semi-finals to Arsenal atWembley Stadium, 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. After finishing fifth in the Championship, Wigan qualified for the play-offs, but lost in the semi-final to eventual winnersQueens Park Rangers after goals fromCharlie Austin.[37]
With Wigan being amongst the early favourites for promotion during the 2014–15 season, on 13 November 2014, Rösler was sacked by Wigan Athletic after the club fell into the relegation zone.[38] The then Wigan chairmanDave Whelan proclaimed that despite sacking Rösler "I still rate him as a very, very good manager and I think he'll get another job very quickly and I wish him good luck" and Whelan revealed that it was a "harsh decision" to sack him after guiding Wigan to the Championship play-off semi-finals and FA Cup semi-finals months earlier.[39] He was replaced as Wigan Athletic manager byMalky Mackay[40] and thenGary Caldwell as the season ended with relegation.[41]
On 20 May 2015, he was appointed as the head coach of Championship sideLeeds United on a two-year deal.[42] He had rejected a job offer from1860 Munich in February 2015 in hopes of landing another job in England.[43] As part of his backroom staff, he was joined at Leeds by assistant head coachRob Kelly,[44] goalkeeper coachRichard Hartis[45] and first team coachJulian Darby.[46] On 8 August, on the opening day of the Football League Championship season, Rösler's first game in charge ended in a 1–1 draw against Burnley after a goal fromMirco Antenucci.[47] On 19 October, he was sacked after just two wins from 12 games in charge, following a 2–1 home defeat toBrighton & Hove Albion which left Leeds in 18th place in the Championship.[48] On the same day, he was replaced as Leeds' head coach by former Rotherham managerSteve Evans.[49]
On 30 July 2016, four days before the start of the League One season, Rösler was appointed manager of League One sideFleetwood Town.[50]
In Rösler's inaugural season at Fleetwood Town, he guided them to their highest ever points tally and finish in the club's history, finishing fourth with 82 points and reaching the League One play-offs where they were narrowly defeated by Bradford City (1–0 over two legs).[51] From November 2016 to March 2017 the club went 18 games unbeaten, climbing from 13th to 2nd.[52]
He was sacked on 17 February 2018 after seven straight defeats in all competitions.[53]
On 12 June 2018, Rösler was announced as the new head coach ofSwedish title holdersMalmö FF on a 2.5-year deal.[54]
On 1 January 2020, Rösler resigned from Malmö after a two–year spell.[55] After taking over midway through the 2018 campaign, he led the team from 11th to 3rd place. In his first full season, Malmö FF finished second in Allsvenskan (2019), losing the title by one point to Djurgården.[56] Additionally, in his two seasons, he led the team into back-to-back Europa League knock-out stages, a first in the club's history.
On 29 January 2020, Rösler was appointed as the new head coach of GermanBundesliga sideFortuna Düsseldorf, who at the time were bottom of the table in 18th place. This was the first German club of his managerial career.[57] While his team showed resilience with nine draws in 15 matches, they managed only two victories - wins against Freiburg and Schalke 04. The team ended the season with relegation after a 3–0 defeat at1. FC Union Berlin on the final day.[58]
Rösler remained in charge for the 2020–21 campaign in the 2. Bundesliga. Following the departure of 19 players, he oversaw a major overhaul of the first-team squad. Fortuna Düsseldorf finished the season in fifth place, narrowly missing out on the play-off spot on the final matchday. His contract was not extended after the 2020–21 season.[59]
On 14 June 2022, Rösler was appointed as the new head coach for theDanish Superliga teamAGF on a three-year contract.[60] He took over a team that had narrowly avoided relegation the previous season.[61]
In his first campaign (2022–23), AGF finished third in the league, securing a bronze medal and achieving record player sales.[62] In the following seasons, the club reached the Danish Cup final and finished fifth (2023–24) and sixth (2024–25).[63][64] This marked the first time since 1995–1997 that AGF had qualified for the championship round (top six) in three consecutive years.[65]
During Rösler’s tenure, AGF also engaged in major infrastructure investments, including the establishment of a new youth academy, the construction of a temporary stadium, and the commencement of work on a new permanent stadium.[66][67]
Uwe Rosler was replaced byJakob Poulsen on the 31st of May.[68]
In October 2025, he was appointed as the new head coach ofVfL Bochum.[69]
Rösler is renowned for his teams playing a high, pressing style of football, and is also a fan of squad rotation among players, with4–3–3 or3–5–2 his favoured formations. Rösler compared his style and brand of football similar to the philosophies of German compatriotJürgen Klopp,[70] with Rösler describing the style of football as 'heavy metal' attacking football, with powerful quick football with quick transitions from attack to defence.[71]
Born and brought up inEast Germany as thecommunist regime was collapsing, during his time at Lokomotive Leipzig, Rösler was interviewed by theStasi secret police organisation, who attempted to force him to inform on colleagues seeking to defect to the West in exchange for the Stasi allowing him to continue his fledgling football career unimpeded – only the furious intervention of his manager saved him from their attentions.[72]
Having been a fan of English football from his childhood, Rösler said that he found his "home" in England during his time withManchester City, and described the formation of his bond with the City fans as the "biggest achievement in my career".[73] Diagnosed withnon-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2003, he credited his recovery to the support of the fans of the club,[72][73] and said that hearing them sing his name at a game while he lay in hospital made his bond with the club "unbreakable".[72] Rösler has stated on several occasions that his ambition for his managerial career is to eventually become manager of the Manchester club.[74]
Rösler has a Norwegian wife, with whom he has had two sons. His younger son is namedColin afterColin Bell, and is a professional footballer forMalmö FF, while his eldest son is named Tony afterTony Book[75] – both Bell and Book are former Manchester City players and are considered club legends.[76]
In 2013, Rösler's autobiographyKnocking Down Walls was released.[77]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lokomotive Leipzig | 1987–88 | DDR-Oberliga | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| BSG Chemie Leipzig | 1988–89 | DDR-Liga | 27 | 6 | – | – | 27 | 6 | ||||
| 1. FC Magdeburg | 1988–89 | DDR-Oberliga | 9 | 3 | – | – | 9 | 3 | ||||
| 1989–90 | 24 | 11 | – | – | 24 | 11 | ||||||
| 1990–91 | NOFV-Oberliga | 13 | 5 | – | 4 | 0 | 17 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 46 | 19 | — | 4 | 0 | 50 | 19 | |||||
| Dynamo Dresden | 1990–91 | NOFV-Oberliga | 13 | 3 | – | 2 | 0 | 15 | 3 | |||
| 1991–92 | Bundesliga | 33 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – | 36 | 6 | |||
| Total | 46 | 7 | 3 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | 51 | 9 | |||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 1992–93 | Bundesliga | 28 | 0 | 3 | 3 | – | – | 31 | 3 | ||
| Dynamo Dresden (loan) | 1993–94 | Bundesliga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 | ||
| Manchester City | 1993–94 | Premier League | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 12 | 5 | |
| 1994–95 | 31 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | – | 38 | 22 | |||
| 1995–96 | 36 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | – | 44 | 13 | |||
| 1996–97 | Division One | 44 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 49 | 17 | ||
| 1997–98 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 33 | 7 | |||
| Total | 152 | 50 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 5 | — | 176 | 64 | |||
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 1998–99 | Bundesliga | 28 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 12 |
| Tennis Borussia Berlin | 1999–2000 | 2. Bundesliga | 28 | 6 | 2 | 3 | – | – | 30 | 9 | ||
| Southampton | 2000–01 | Premier League | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 24 | 1 | |
| 2001–02 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| West Bromwich Albion | 2001–02 | Division One | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 1 | |
| SpVgg Unterhaching | 2001–02 | 2. Bundesliga | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 5 | ||
| Lillestrøm | 2002 | Tippeligaen | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 12 | 9 | |
| 2003 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 13 | 10 | |||
| Career total | 419 | 112 | 28 | 18 | 14 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 477 | 139 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Lillestrøm | 1 November 2004 | 13 November 2006 | 56 | 25 | 16 | 15 | 044.6 |
| Viking | 22 November 2006 | 18 November 2009 | 89 | 37 | 24 | 28 | 041.6 |
| Molde | 30 August 2010 | 31 December 2010 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 075.0 |
| Brentford | 10 June 2011 | 7 December 2013 | 136 | 60 | 40 | 36 | 044.1 |
| Wigan Athletic | 7 December 2013 | 13 November 2014 | 55 | 22 | 16 | 17 | 040.0 |
| Leeds United | 20 May 2015 | 19 October 2015 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 016.7 |
| Fleetwood Town | 30 July 2016 | 17 February 2018 | 102 | 43 | 26 | 33 | 042.2 |
| Malmö FF | 12 June 2018 | 13 December 2019[55] | 83 | 51 | 22 | 10 | 061.4 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 29 January 2020 | 30 June 2021 | 53 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 037.7 |
| AGF | 14 June 2022 | 31 May 2025 | 112 | 46 | 30 | 36 | 041.1 |
| VfL Bochum | 6 October 2025 | Present | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 043.8 |
| Total | 722 | 319 | 207 | 196 | 044.2 | ||
Individual
