| Friedhelm Funkel | |
| Birth Date: | 10 December 1953 |
| Birth Place: | Neuss, West Germany |
| Height: | 1.81 m |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Youthyears1: | 1964–1972 |
| Youthclubs1: | VfR Neuss |
| Years1: | 1972–1973 |
| Clubs1: | VfR Neuss |
| Caps1: | 28 |
| Goals1: | 15 |
| Years2: | 1973–1980 |
| Clubs2: | Bayer Uerdingen |
| Caps2: | 238 |
| Goals2: | 91 |
| Years3: | 1980–1983 |
| Clubs3: | 1. FC Kaiserslautern |
| Caps3: | 66 |
| Goals3: | 24 |
| Years4: | 1983–1990 |
| Clubs4: | Bayer Uerdingen |
| Caps4: | 189 |
| Goals4: | 40 |
| Totalcaps: | 521 |
| Totalgoals: | 170 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1981 |
| Nationalteam1: | West Germany B |
| Nationalcaps1: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Manageryears1: | 1989–1990 |
| Managerclubs1: | VfR Neuss |
| Manageryears2: | 1991–1996 |
| Managerclubs2: | Bayer Uerdingen |
| Manageryears3: | 1996–2000 |
| Managerclubs3: | MSV Duisburg |
| Manageryears4: | 2000–2001 |
| Managerclubs4: | Hansa Rostock |
| Manageryears5: | 2002–2003 |
| Managerclubs5: | 1. FC Köln |
| Manageryears6: | 2004–2009 |
| Managerclubs6: | Eintracht Frankfurt |
| Manageryears7: | 2009–2010 |
| Managerclubs7: | Hertha BSC |
| Manageryears8: | 2010–2011 |
| Managerclubs8: | VfL Bochum |
| Manageryears9: | 2011–2012 |
| Managerclubs9: | Alemannia Aachen |
| Manageryears10: | 2013–2014 |
| Managerclubs10: | 1860 Munich |
| Manageryears11: | 2016–2020 |
| Managerclubs11: | Fortuna Düsseldorf |
| Manageryears12: | 2021 |
| Managerclubs12: | 1. FC Köln |
| Manageryears13: | 2024 |
| Managerclubs13: | 1. FC Kaiserslautern |
Friedhelm Funkel (born 10 December 1953) is a German football manager and former player.[1] [2] [3]
Funkel was manager of Duisburg between 13 May 1996 and 24 March 2000.[4] He finished with a record of 56 wins, 47 draws, and 59 losses.[4]
He was manager of Hansa Rostock from 19 September 2000 to 1 December 2001.[5] He finished with a record of 13 wins, 10 draws, and 22 losses.[5]
He was manager of 1. FC Köln from 14 February 2002 to 30 October 2003.[6] He finished with a record of 29 wins, 15 draws, and 19 losses.[6]
Funkel coached Eintracht Frankfurt from 2004 to 2009.[7] He was subsequently released from his contract on 1 July 2009. He led the club into the Bundesliga in his first season in charge. One year later, he and the team avoided relegation and surprisingly reached the DFB-Pokal final, which eventually sent them to the UEFA Cup.
Tied with Erich Ribbeck, Funkel holds the record for the longest tenure at Eintracht, with five full seasons. He finished with a record of 70 wins, 50 draws, and 74 losses.[7]
On 3 October 2009, Hertha BSC introduced Funkel as their new head coach after having fired Lucien Favre.[8] After Hertha was relegated, Funkel and the club mutually agreed to not extend his contract.[9] He finished with a record of seven wins, 10 draws, and 16 losses.[10]
On 22 May 2010, he was named new coach of VfL Bochum.[11] His first match was a 3–0 loss to Kickers Offenbach in the first round of the German Cup.[12] He got sacked on 14 September 2011.[13] His final match was a 2–1 loss to Dynamo Dresden.[14] He finished with a record of 21 wins, eight draws, and 16 losses.[15]
On 20 September 2011, Funkel took over the job as manager of Alemannia Aachen.[16] Funkel was dismissed of his job on 1 April 2012,[16] after a streak of five consecutive losses.[17] He finished with a record of three wins, eight draws, and nine losses in 20 matches.[16]
On 7 September 2013, he was named new coach of 1860 Munich.[18] His first match in–charge was a 0–0 draw against VfR Aalen on 13 September 2013.[19] On 2 April 2014, 1860 Munich announced that Funkel is going to leave the club after the season because of "different conceptual views on the orientation in sport."[20] However, 1860 München sacked Funkel on 6 April 2014[21] after losing to Karlsruher SC 3–0[22] at home earlier in the day.[23] He finished with a record of seven wins, eight draws, and nine losses in 24 matches.[24]
Funkel was appointed as the new head coach of Fortuna Düsseldorf on 14 March 2016.[25] He was sacked on 29 January 2020 after six losses in his last eight matches.[26]
Funkel was appointed as the new head coach of 1. FC Köln on 11 April 2021 for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[27]
On 14 February 2024, he was signed by 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[28] His first match took place on 18 February 2024 against 1. FC Nürnberg which ended 1-1.[29] One game before the season ended, the club announced that his contract will end on 30 June 2024.[30]
Funkel has two children. He is the older brother of Wolfgang Funkel.
| Club | Season | League | DFB-Pokal | Europe | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| VfR Neuss | 1972–73 | Verbandsliga Niederrhein | 28 | 15 | — | — | 28 | 15 | ||||
| Bayer Uerdingen | 1973–74 | Regionalliga West | 21 | 6 | 21 | 6 | ||||||
| 1974–75 | 2. Bundesliga | 38 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 13 | [31] | ||||
| 1975–76 | Bundesliga | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 | |||||
| 1976–77 | 2. Bundesliga | 38 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 44 | 18 | |||||
| 1977–78 | 38 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 25 | ||||||
| 1978–79 | 38 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 43 | 16 | ||||||
| 1979–80 | Bundesliga | 34 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 37 | 14 | |||||
| Totals | 238 | 91 | 18 | 8 | — | 256 | 99 | — | ||||
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 1980–81 | Bundesliga | 31 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 4[32] | 2 | 42 | 18 | ||
| 1981–82 | 24 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 35 | 15 | ||||
| 1982–83 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Totals | 66 | 24 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 7 | 90 | 34 | — | |||
| Bayer Uerdingen | 1983–84 | Bundesliga | 33 | 15 | 5 | 0 | — | 38 | 15 | |||
| 1984–85 | 31 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 35 | 12 | ||||||
| 1985–86 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8[33] | 3 | 39 | 5 | ||||
| 1986–87 | 29 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 37 | 9 | ||||
| 1987–88 | 27 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 31 | 2 | |||||
| 1988–89 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 2 | ||||||
| 1989–90 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||||
| Totals | 189 | 40 | 19 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 221 | 45 | — | |||
| Career totals | 521 | 170 | 46 | 12 | 28 | 11 | 595 | 193 | — | |||
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayer Uerdingen | 3 June 1991 | 13 May 1996 | ||||||
| MSV Duisburg | 13 May 1996 | 19 March 2000 | ||||||
| Hansa Rostock | 19 September 2000 | 1 December 2001 | ||||||
| 1. FC Köln | 14 February 2002 | 30 October 2003 | ||||||
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 1 July 2004 | 30 June 2009 | ||||||
| Hertha BSC | 3 October 2009 | 30 June 2010 | ||||||
| VfL Bochum | 22 May 2010 | 14 September 2011 | ||||||
| Alemannia Aachen | 19 September 2011 | 1 April 2012 | ||||||
| 1860 Munich | 7 September 2013 | 6 April 2014 | ||||||
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 14 March 2016 | 29 January 2020 | ||||||
| 1. FC Köln | 11 April 2021 | 30 June 2021 | ||||||
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 14 February 2024 | present | ||||||
| Total | — | |||||||
Bayer Uerdingen