Dietmar Kühbauer

Dietmar ("Didi") Kühbauer (born 4 April 1971) is an Austrian former professional football midfielder and current head coach of SK Rapid Wien.

Dietmar Kühbauer
Kühbauer with SK Rapid Wien in 2018
Personal information
Full name Dietmar Kühbauer
Date of birth (1971-04-04) 4 April 1971
Place of birth Heiligenkreuz im Lafnitztal, Austria
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Rapid Wien (Head coach)
Youth career
SV Mattersburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1992 Admira Wacker 121 (7)
1992–1997 Rapid Wien 148 (33)
1997–2000 Real Sociedad 47 (2)
2000–2002 VfL Wolfsburg 49 (8)
2002–2008 SV Mattersburg 181 (24)
Total 546 (74)
National team
1992–2005 Austria 55 (5)
Teams managed
2008–2010 Trenkwalder Admira II
2010–2013 FC Admira Mödling
2013–2015 Wolfsberger AC
2018 SKN St. Pölten
2018– Rapid Wien
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Heiligenkreuz, Burgenland, Kühbauer started his professional career at Admira Wacker, making his Austrian Football Bundesliga debut in 1987, at 16 years of age. After five years he moved to city rivals Rapid Wien with whom he won a league and domestic cup title. He also played in the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners Cup Final against Paris St Germain in Brussels, which Rapid lost. "Don Didi" is still considered a star among the Rapid fans. In 1999, he was chosen in Rapid's Team of the Century.

In 1997, after becoming the first international to advertise his availability on the Internet, he moved abroad to join La Liga side Real Sociedad.[1] In 2000 he signed for German Bundesliga outfit VfL Wolfsburg. Two years later, he returned to Austria to play for his childhood team SV Mattersburg where he finished his playing career after the 2007–08 season.[2]

International career

He made his debut for Austria in a May 1992 friendly match against Poland and was a participant at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[3] He earned 55 caps, scoring five goals.[4] On 4 September 2005, he announced his retirement from international matches. His final international was a September 2005 World Cup qualification match against Poland.

Coaching career

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 SK Rapid Wien, after only a half year at SKN St. Pölten.[5]

Personal tragedy

On 16 February 1997, Kühbauer's pregnant wife Michaela drove to Vienna International Airport to pick him up after Rapid had enjoyed a winter break in Dubai.[1] Tragedy happened when her car slewed off the road near Eisenstadt and she was rushed to hospital, with three ribs having punctured her lung. She fell into a coma and died on 13 September 1997.[1] A disillusioned Kühbauer then left Austria to start a new career abroad.

Honours

Player

Rapid Wien

Coach

FC Admira Mödling

References
  1. "Tragedy on the Internet". World Soccer. January 1998. p. 9.
  2. "Mattersburg: Jahr eins nach Kühbauer" (in German). vienna.at. 6 July 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  3. Dietmar Kühbauer – FIFA competition record
  4. Öhlinger, Gerhard; Passo, Fernando; Stokkermans, Karel (29 February 2012). "Appearances for Austrian National Team". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  5. Willkommen Zuhause, Didi Kühbauer, skrapid.at, 1 October 2018
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