David Wagner

International career In the mid-1990s, Wagner was one of several German-born players called up by United States men's national soccer team coach Steve Sampson due to their ancestry, along with Thomas Dooley and Michael Mason. Wagner made his debut in a friendly 3–1 win over El Salvador in Los Angeles on 30 August 1996, in which he was substituted at half-time for Brian McBride. He made five appearances the following year and two more in 1998, all but one as a starter.

In April 1997, after Canada lost to the United States in a World Cup qualifying match in which Wagner played, the Canadian Soccer Association complained to FIFA that Wagner should be ineligible to play for the United States based on his appearances for Germany's youth teams. On 2 May 1997, FIFA announced that Wagner was eligible to play for the United States because his games with the German teams were exhibitions, not official matches. However, Wagner was rarely called into the U.S. team afterwards and he was not named to the squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Managerial career Borussia Dortmund II Following his playing career, Wagner became a manager, working mostly with his former 1. Mainz 05 teammate Jürgen Klopp. Wagner was appointed as Borussia Dortmund II manager with effect from 1 July 2011. He left the role on 31 October 2015, amid rumours that he was going to join Klopp's backroom staff at Liverpool.

Huddersfield Town

On 5 November 2015, Wagner was appointed manager of English club Huddersfield Town following the departure of Chris Powell. He brought Christoph Bühler, who had left Borussia Dortmund on 1 November 2015, with him as his assistant.

In the summer of 2016, Wagner brought in 13 players from across the continent, including Danny Ward, Chris Löwe, and Aaron Mooy. He took his players on a bonding tour of Sweden, where they had to survive with only basic equipment for a few days. The team's success in the early 2016–17 season was largely accredited to the squad's tight bond, something that Wagner claimed was a direct result of this Sweden trip. A few weeks later, they visited Austria and kept two clean sheets in matches against Bundesliga teams Werder Bremen and Ingolstadt 04. After an unbeaten start to the 2016–17 season, Huddersfield were top of the table at the start of September, Wagner was the EFL Championship Manager of the Month for August 2016 and February 2017.

On 29 May 2017, Huddersfield secured promotion to the Premier League for the 2017–18 season, following a victory on penalties in the play-off final against Reading. On 30 June 2017, Wagner signed an improved two-year contract. He was praised for his achievements in keeping Huddersfield in the Premier League at the end of the 2017–18 season, a feat regarded by bookmakers as improbable and described by The Guardian as "the Premier League's greatest survival story", with Wagner in particular noted as "a leader of rare charisma and intelligence."

On 14 January 2019, Wagner and Huddersfield Town agreed to terminate his contract by mutual consent, with the team in last place and eight points from safety.

Schalke 04 On 9 May 2019, Wagner was appointed as manager of Bundesliga club Schalke 04 on a three-year contract until 30 June 2022. In the second half of the 2019–20 season, Schalke set a new club record of 16 league games without a win between 25 January and 27 June 2020. The winless streak continued with an 0–8 defeat against Bayern Munich in the first match of the 2020–21 season. After a 3–1 defeat against Werder Bremen, the 18th winless league match in a row, Wagner was sacked on 27 September 2020. In his absence, Schalke were relegated that season.

Young Boys In the summer of 2021, Wagner was heavily linked with the vacant manager's position at recently relegated Championship club West Bromwich Albion, however talks broke down. On 10 June 2021, he was appointed manager of Swiss Super League reigning champions Young Boys.

On his debut on 24 July, Wagner's team won 4–3 at FC Luzern. Having won three qualifying rounds, the team took part in the UEFA Champions League group stage where they came last with one victory, a 2–1 home win over Manchester United in the opening fixture on 14 September.

Wagner was unable to lead the Bern-based club to a fourth consecutive league title and was dismissed in March 2022. The team were in second place, 15 points behind FC Zürich.

Norwich City On 6 January 2023, Wagner returned to England when he was appointed head coach of Championship club Norwich City on a twelve-month rolling contract. His first league game as Norwich manager was a 4–0 win against Preston North End at Deepdale. Wagner lead the club to finish 6th in the 2023–24 season, but the club lost in the play-off semi-final to Leeds United 4–0 on aggregate. The following day, on 17 May 2024, Wagner was sacked.

Personal life In 2005, Wagner was best man at Jürgen Klopp's wedding.

Wagner is married and has two daughters. His elder daughter, Lea Wagner (born 1994), is a sports journalist for German broadcaster ARD. In June 2023 she was appointed as a presenter of Sportschau.

Career statistics Club

International

Managerial record As of 16 May 2024 + Managerial record by team and tenure

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Manager Huddersfield Town EFL Championship play-offs: 2017

Individual EFL Championship Manager of the Month: August 2016, February 2017 Premier League Manager of the Month: August 2017