| Dietmar Kühbauer | |
| Height: | 1.73 m |
| Birth Date: | 4 April 1971 |
| Birth Place: | Heiligenkreuz im Lafnitztal, Austria |
| Currentclub: | Wolfsberger AC (head coach) |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Youthclubs1: | SV Mattersburg |
| Years1: | 1987–1992 |
| Clubs1: | Admira/Wacker |
| Caps1: | 121 |
| Goals1: | 7 |
| Years2: | 1992–1997 |
| Clubs2: | Rapid Wien |
| Caps2: | 148 |
| Goals2: | 33 |
| Years3: | 1997–2000 |
| Clubs3: | Real Sociedad |
| Caps3: | 48 |
| Goals3: | 2 |
| Years4: | 2000–2002 |
| Clubs4: | VfL Wolfsburg |
| Caps4: | 49 |
| Goals4: | 8 |
| Years5: | 2002–2008 |
| Clubs5: | SV Mattersburg |
| Caps5: | 181 |
| Goals5: | 24 |
| Totalcaps: | 547 |
| Totalgoals: | 74 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1992–2005 |
| Nationalteam1: | Austria |
| Nationalcaps1: | 55 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 5 |
| Manageryears1: | 2008–2010 |
| Managerclubs1: | Trenkwalder Admira II |
| Manageryears2: | 2010–2013 |
| Managerclubs2: | FC Admira Mödling |
| Manageryears3: | 2013–2015 |
| Managerclubs3: | Wolfsberger AC |
| Manageryears4: | 2018 |
| Managerclubs4: | SKN St. Pölten |
| Manageryears5: | 2018–2021 |
| Managerclubs5: | Rapid Wien |
| Manageryears6: | 2022–2023 |
| Managerclubs6: | LASK |
| Manageryears7: | 2024– |
| Managerclubs7: | Wolfsberger AC |
Dietmar ("Didi") Kühbauer (born 4 April 1971) is an Austrian professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of Austrian Bundesliga club Wolfsberger AC.
Born in Heiligenkreuz, Burgenland, Kühbauer began his professional career at Admira Wacker, making his Austrian Bundesliga debut in 1987 at the age of 16. After five years, he moved to city rivals Rapid Wien, where he won both a league title and a domestic cup. He also played in the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain in Brussels, which Rapid lost. "Don Didi" remains a fan favorite at Rapid, and in 1999, he was named to the club's Team of the Century.
In 1997, Kühbauer moved to La Liga side Real Sociedad.[1] In 2000, he signed with German Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg. Two years later, he returned to Austria to join his childhood club, SV Mattersburg, where he finished his playing career after the 2007–08 season.[2]
He made his debut for Austria in a May 1992 friendly match against Poland and was a participant at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He earned 55 caps, scoring five goals.[3] On 4 September 2005, he announced his retirement from international matches. His final international was a September 2005 World Cup qualification match against Poland.
On 18 November 2008, he signed a contract by Trenkwalder Admira II as head coach. In 2010, he became coach of the first squad and led the team to the promotion to the Austrian Football Bundesliga. From September 2013 to November 2015 he was the trainer of Wolfsberger AC.
On 1 October 2018, Kühbauer was announced to become the new head coach of Rapid Wien, after only a half year at SKN St. Pölten.[4]
In May 2022, Kühbauer was appointed head coach of LASK, signing a contract until June 2024.[5] He finished the 2021–22 season with the Schwarz-Weißen in eighth place. The 2022–23 season saw significant improvement, as Kühbauer led the team to a third-place finish, securing their return to European competition. However, he was replaced by Thomas Sageder at the end of the season, due to differences of opinion regarding squad planning for the next season.[6]
In May 2024, Kühbauers return as head coach of Wolfsberger AC was announced, with him taking over the position from Manfred Schmid ahead of the 2024–25 season.[7]
On 16 February 1997, Kühbauer's pregnant wife, Michaela, was driving to Vienna International Airport to pick him up after Rapid's winter break in Dubai.[1] Tragedy struck when her car veered off the road near Eisenstadt, and she was rushed to the hospital with three ribs puncturing her lung. She fell into a coma and died seven months later, on 13 September 1997.[1] A disillusioned Kühbauer then left Austria to begin a new career abroad at Real Sociedad.[8]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Admira/Wacker | 1987–88 | Austrian Bundesliga | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 1988–89 | Austrian Bundesliga | 23 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | — | 32 | 2 | |||
| 1989–90 | Austrian Bundesliga | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| 1990–91 | Austrian Bundesliga | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | — | 34 | 1 | |||
| 1991–92 | Austrian Bundesliga | 35 | 6 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 40 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 121 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 20 | 3 | — | 151 | 11 | ||||
| Rapid Wien | 1992–93 | Austrian Bundesliga | 33 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 39 | 3 | ||
| 1993–94 | Austrian Bundesliga | 31 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | 37 | 11 | |||
| 1994–95 | Austrian Bundesliga | 27 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 34 | 8 | |||
| 1995–96 | Austrian Bundesliga | 26 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 33 | 7 | |||
| 1996–97 | Austrian Bundesliga | 31 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 12 | ||
| Total | 148 | 33 | 15 | 4 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 184 | 41 | |||
| Real Sociedad | 1997–98 | La Liga | 20 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 2 | |||
| 1998–99 | La Liga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| 1999–2000 | La Liga | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 48 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 56 | 2 | ||||
| VfL Wolfsburg | 2000–01 | Bundesliga | 28 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 33 | 7 | ||
| 2001–02 | Bundesliga | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| Total | 49 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 59 | 8 | ||||
| SV Mattersburg | 2002–03 | Erste Liga | 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 2 | |||
| 2003–04 | Austrian Bundesliga | 32 | 10 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 10 | ||||
| 2004–05 | Austrian Bundesliga | 32 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 7 | ||||
| 2005–06 | Austrian Bundesliga | 32 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 1 | ||||
| 2006–07 | Austrian Bundesliga | 27 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 3 | |||
| 2007–08 | Austrian Bundesliga | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 33 | 2 | |||
| Total | 181 | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 204 | 25 | ||||
| Career total | 547 | 74 | 49 | 16 | 57 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 654 | 97 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 1992 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1994 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1995 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1996 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1997 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1998 | 11 | 1 | ||
| 1999 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2000 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 2001 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2004 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2005 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 55 | 5 | ||
Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kühbauer goal[10]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 April 1993 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1994 World Cup qualifier | ||
| 2 | 25 August 1993 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1994 World Cup qualifier | ||
| 3 | 26 April 1995 | Stadion Lehen, Salzburg, Austria | 1–0 | 7–0 | Euro 1996 qualifier | ||
| 4 | 2 June 1998 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria | 2–0 | 6–0 | Friendly | ||
| 5 | 1 September 2000 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria | 4–1 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| Team | Nation | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admira Wacker II | 1 December 2008 | 26 April 2010 | [11] | ||||||
| Admira Wacker | 26 April 2010 | 11 June 2013 | [12] | ||||||
| Wolfsberger AC | 2 September 2013 | 25 November 2015 | [13] | ||||||
| SKN St. Pölten | 1 April 2018 | 1 October 2018 | [14] | ||||||
| Rapid Wien | 1 October 2018 | 10 November 2021 | [15] | ||||||
| LASK | 3 May 2022 | 6 June 2023 | [16] | ||||||
| Wolfsberger AC | 1 July 2024 | Present | [17] | ||||||
| Total | — | ||||||||
Rapid Wien
Admira Wacker