Rösler, Uwe

Club career

Career start

Rösler began his football career in the GDR , as part of Lokomotiv from Leipzig . He spent one season with Lokomotiv, Chemi and Magdeburg, after which he transferred to Dynamo Dresden . After two years in Dresden, he moved to Nuremberg , which included 28 games, failing to score a single goal, after which he was leased back to Dynamo. Growing up in the GDR, where footballers were officially considered amateurs, Rösler found it difficult to adapt after moving to the west of Germany after reunification, which he described in an interview. ^[one]

Manchester City

In March 1994, Rösler came to see Manchester City . He got the opportunity to prove himself in a reserve match against Burnley and used it, scoring two goals. The result was a three-month lease. A week later, he made his debut for the main composition in the game against the Queens Park Rangers . In 12 matches, Rösler scored five goals and signed a full-fledged contract with the “townspeople”. The transfer amount was estimated at 375-500 thousand pounds.

The 1994/95 season began for City with failure - in the starting round the team lost to Arsenal with a score of 0: 3. Over time, Rösler established interaction with his attacking partner Paul Walsh and scored 22 goals in the championship and cup for the season. In the Cup game against the Notts County , Rösler scored four times, repeating Johnny Hart's 1953 achievement. At the end of the season, he became the team's top scorer and received a prize for Player of the Year.

At the beginning of the 1995/96 season , City was led by Alan Ball . The team’s layout changed and, despite the strong flanking players, the focus was on attacks through the center. In addition, Rösler's partner in attack was sold - Paul Walsh. The current situation led to a conflict between the player and the coach, the winner of which was Rösler. In the derby against Manchester United , he came on as a substitute and scored a beautiful goal. At the end of the season, Manchester City left the Premier League, but Rösler remained loyal to the team.

After another difficult season, overshadowed by injuries, Rösler left Manchester City after the end of the 1997/98 season, in which the “townspeople” left the first division as a free agent.

For four years as part of the City, he held 176 games in which he scored 64 times. In December 2009, he was inducted into the Club Hall of Fame.

Return to Germany

In the summer of 1998, Rösler signed a one-year contract with Kaiserslautern , which had just won the German championship . His best game as part of the team was the Champions League match against HIK , in which he scored a hat-trick. In the quarterfinals of the League “Kaiserslautern” lost to Munich “ Bavaria ”.

At the end of the season, he moved to the Berlin Tennis Borussia , for which he spent 28 games, scoring 6 goals.

Southampton

In the summer of 2000, Tennis-Borussia filed for bankruptcy. Rösler was invited by Glenn Hoddle to the Southampton as a free agent. Rösler was not allowed to become the main striker of the “saints” by the brilliant form of James Beatty , who scored 10 goals in 10 games in November-December. In addition, he received a groin injury requiring surgery and missed several weeks. For Southampton, Rösler scored only once - in a cup game against Mansfield .

On May 26, 2001, Rösler scored the last goal in the history of Dell Stadium in a friendly game against Brighton and Hove Albion . The opponent’s choice for the last match in the arena was symbolic - it was Brighton and Hove who became the first guest of the stadium in 1898. ^[2]

The following season, Rösler was leased to West Bromwich Albion , who was looking for a replacement for injured Scott Dobie . ^[3] As part of West Brom, he made his debut on October 31, 2001 in a game against Crystal Palace . In total for the club, he spent five matches. The only goal scored at the Nottingham Forest in November 2001. In January 2002, Roesler left England and moved to Unterhaching , with whom he won a ticket to the Bundesliga at the end of the season.

Retirement

In July 2002, Roesler moved to the Norwegian Lillestrom , for which he scored 10 goals in 11 games in the second half of the season. In early 2003, Rösler ended his career as a player after he was diagnosed with cancer ^{[4] [5]} . After undergoing chemotherapy, he defeated the disease and returned to football, moving on to coaching.

Team Career

He made his debut for the national team of the GDR on January 26, 1990 in a match with Kuwait , which ended with a victory 2-1. He participated in the last match in the history of the GDR national team - September 12, 1990 against Belgium . ^[6] In total, he played five matches for the team, but did not score goals.

Coaching

Lillestrom

Having recovered from cancer treatment, in 2005, Rösler took over as head coach of the Norwegian Lillestrom. Under his leadership, the team twice in a row took 4th place in the championship , and also reached the finals of the Norwegian Cup and the Royal League , in which they lost. The results did not satisfy the club management and on November 13, 2006, Rösler was fired. ^[7]

Viking

On November 22, 2006, Rösler led the Viking . ^[8] In 2007, he led the team to third place in the championship . He left the team on November 18, 2009. ^[9]

Molde

On August 31, 2010 he signed a short-term contract with Molde , acting as a "firefighter". Under his leadership, in the last eight games of the season, the team doubled the number of points scored and retained a place in the top division. At the end of the season, Ole Gunnar Solskher succeeded Rösler as head coach of the team. ^[ten]

Brentford

In June 2011, Rösler returned to England, signing a two-year contract with Brentford . ^[11] The team won the first official match under the leadership of Rösler against Yeovil Town 2-0. The first season was successful - at the end of the championship Brentford scored 67 points and finished in 9th place in the championship , which was the best result for the team over the past six years.

The next season , Brentford stopped a step away from a promotion. At first, in a dramatic match, the team lost to Doncaster , a victory over which made it possible to directly enter the division above. “Brentford” got into the playoffs, in the final match of which he lost to Wembley “Yeovil” with a score of 1: 2.

After the disappointing ending of the 2012/13 season, Rösler began restructuring the team. Before the start of the next season, 13 newcomers joined the team, both bought and leased. In November-December 2013, Brentford won seven victories in eight games. On December 7, 2013, Rösler left his post. Under the leadership of his successor - Mark Warburton - the club finished the season in 2nd place and earned a promotion in the classroom. Team veteran Kevin O'Connor paid tribute to Rösler in an interview, saying that the German specialist worked at the Premier League level and was able to change the mentality of the players, giving them confidence in their abilities. ^[12]

Wigan

On December 7, 2013, Rösler was appointed head coach of Wigan . ^[13] The debut at the head of the club came in the Europa League match against the Slovenian Maribor , which ended in a 1: 2 defeat.

In March 2014, Wigan won a sensational victory over Manchester City at the Etihad stadium with a 2-1 score, knocking out a favorite in the 1/4 FA Cup . At the next stage, Wigan dropped out, losing in a penalty shootout to London Arsenal. The team finished the season in fifth place and ended up in the playoffs, where they lost to Queens Park Rangers with a score of 1: 2 in extra time.

In the 2014/15 season , Wigan was considered one of the favorites of the tournament. The game of the team did not live up to forecasts, and Wigan by November 2014 was in the relegation zone. On November 13, Rösler was fired from his post as head coach. ^[14] This did not help to rectify the situation, and as a result of the championship, the team sank into the division below.

Leeds

In February 2015, Rösler rejected an offer to lead Munich 1860 , hoping to get a new job in England. ^[15] On May 20, 2015, he was appointed head coach of Leeds United , signing a two-year contract. ^[16] The Leeds played the first game under the leadership of Rösler against Burnley on August 8, 2015, the match ended in a 1-1 draw. On October 19, he was dismissed after the team won just two victories in 12 games and sank to 18th place in the table. ^[17]

Fleetwood Town

On July 30, 2016, Rösler led the Fleetwood Town club, playing in the third tier of English football ^[18] . In the first season, under his leadership, the team took fourth place in the championship , and in the semi-finals of the playoffs for reaching the division higher, Bradford City lost 0-1, 0-0 to the sum of two matches.

Rösler's teams are distinguished by active high pressure, frequent rotation of the composition. Preferred game patterns are 4-3-3 or 3-5-2. ^[19] Rösler compares his style with the teams led by his compatriot Jürgen Klopp ^[20] and describes it as a “heavy metal football”, a fast attacking game with a rapid transition from defense to attack. ^[21]

Married to Norwegian, has two sons, named after the former players of Manchester City - Colin (in honor of Colin Bell ) and Tony (in honor of Tony Buk ). ^[22]

In 2013, he published an autobiography called Knocking Down Walls . ^[23]

Club statistics

Coaching Statistics

Data for November 8, 2018 ^[25]

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• National Football Teams profile