Christian Fuchs
Austrian footballer (born 1986)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christian Fuchs (Austrian German: [ˈkrɪsti̯a(ː)n ˈfʊks]; born 7 April 1986) is an Austrian professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of EFL League Two club Newport County. A left back, Fuchs was part of the Leicester City 2015–16 Premier League winning squad and captained the Austria national team at UEFA Euro 2016.
.jpg)
|
Fuchs with Austria in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christian Fuchs[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 7 April 1986[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Neunkirchen, Austria | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Newport County (manager) | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1992–2001 | SVg Pitten | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Wiener Neustadt | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Wiener Neustadt | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2008 | SV Mattersburg | 141 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | VfL Bochum | 53 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | → Mainz 05 (loan) | 31 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | Schalke 04 | 99 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2021 | Leicester City | 116 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Charlotte FC | 26 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | → Charlotte Independence (loan) | 15 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | FSA Pro | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 493 | (27) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Austria U17 | 24 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | Austria U19 | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Austria U21 | 10 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2016 | Austria | 78 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Newport County | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
He began his senior career as a teenager at Wiener Neustadt before signing his first professional contract at 17 with SV Mattersburg, challenging for the Austrian Football Bundesliga title and taking part in European competitions. In 2008, he left for Germany, signing for VfL Bochum. After a season on loan at Mainz 05, he signed for Schalke 04 in 2011, where he contested the UEFA Champions League but suffered a serious knee injury. In June 2015, he signed for Leicester, winning the Premier League in his first season at the club. After leaving Leicester in June 2021, he spent one season with Charlotte FC, before retiring from professional football in January 2023.
A full international from 2006 to 2016, Fuchs earned 78 caps for Austria. He represented the nation at the UEFA Euro 2008, and the UEFA Euro 2016, captaining them for the first time in 2010 and on a permanent basis from 2012, before retiring from international duty in 2016.
Club career
Early career
Born in Neunkirchen, Lower Austria, his father was an amateur goalkeeper. He began as a forward at local team SVg Pitten before moving to 1. Wiener Neustädter SC at the age of 14. At the age of 15, while still an amateur and at mainstream school, Fuchs played for their senior team. When he was 17, he signed his first professional deal at SV Mattersburg, a team who despite coming from a town of 6,000 drew league record average crowds of 17,000, came third in the Austrian Football Bundesliga and played in European competition.[4]
Prior to UEFA Euro 2008, he joined German Bundesliga side VfL Bochum.[5] He later described it as a useful move to play regularly while attracting attention from bigger teams.[4] In 2010, he was signed on loan by 1. FSV Mainz 05,[5] a newly promoted team who ended the season in the top five.[4]
Schalke
On 6 June 2011, Fuchs signed with Schalke 04 on a deal until June 2015.[6] The transfer fee was reportedly undisclosed by Schalke's sport and communications manager Horst Heldt.[6] Fuchs was assigned the number 23 shirt, previously worn by Danilo Fernando Avelar.[6]
His first goal for the club was a free kick in the Bundesliga against Mainz. In his time at the team from Gelsenkirchen, he competed in the UEFA Champions League, but suffered a long-term knee injury.[4]
Leicester City
.jpg)
On 3 June 2015, Premier League side Leicester City announced the signing of Fuchs on a free transfer, signing a three-year deal with the Foxes effective from 1 July.[7] Signed under previous manager Nigel Pearson, Fuchs didn't have a regular spot in new manager Claudio Ranieri's squad until October. Fuchs made an appearance in Leicester's third round League Cup tie against West Ham, providing an assist for Andy King's extra time winner. Following a 5–2 loss to Arsenal on 26 September,[8] Ranieri elected to shake up his defensive back four, inserting Fuchs and teammate Danny Simpson in place of Jeffrey Schlupp and Ritchie De Laet respectively.[9] Fuchs made his first Premier League start the next week against Norwich City.[10]
In his first season, Leicester finished as champions on odds of 5,000–1, making Fuchs the first Austrian to receive a Premier League winners' medal since Arsenal's Alex Manninger in 1998.[11] Following the insertion of Fuchs into the lineup on Matchday 8, Leicester City led the Premier League in clean sheets along with Arsenal, with 15. Fuchs himself led the league during this period in successful tackles with 77, while finishing second in interceptions with 98.[12]
Prior to signing for Leicester, Fuchs had an offer to play in the United States, where his family live, but he turned it down. He had said in March 2016, "My intention is to play in the US. I have come [to Leicester] for three years. I decided that I would sign one last contract in Europe, when I left Schalke, then go to the US."[4]
On 21 October 2016, Fuchs signed a new contract with Leicester, keeping him with the club until June 2019.[13] The next day, Fuchs scored his first goal for Leicester against Crystal Palace, volleying home a corner-kick clearance by Christian Benteke for the team's final goal in a 3–1 victory.[14]
On 8 May 2019, Fuchs signed a new one-year contract with Leicester.[15]
On 18 June 2020, Leicester announced that they had triggered a one-year contract extension for Fuchs.[16]
On 21 May 2021, Leicester announced that Fuchs would leave the club at the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2020–21 season.[17]
Charlotte FC
On 7 June 2021, it was announced that Fuchs would join Major League Soccer expansion side Charlotte FC.[18] On 27 July 2021, With Charlotte due to play MLS from the 2022 season, Fuchs joined USL Championship side Charlotte Independence for the remainder of 2021.[19] After playing as a regular with Charlotte in their expansion season, Fuchs announced on 5 January 2023 he would be retiring from professional football.[20]
FSA Pro
In November 2023, Fuchs appeared in the playoffs for FSA Pro, the United Premier Soccer League side of Fox Soccer Academy, which Fuchs owns and runs.[21]
International career
.jpg)
Fuchs made his debut for the Austria national team on 23 May 2006 in a friendly match against Croatia, replacing Stefan Lexa for the final six minutes of the 4–1 loss at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna.
He was part of the Austrian international squad as they co-hosted UEFA Euro 2008 alongside Switzerland. He made only one appearance in the group stage elimination, playing the entirety of the 1–0 loss to Germany in their last match of the tournament.[22]
On 11 August 2010, in the absence of regular captain Marc Janko, Fuchs captained his nation for the first time in a 1–0 friendly loss to the Swiss in Klagenfurt.[23] That 17 November, he scored his first international goal, equalising in a 2–1 home friendly loss to Greece.[24]
Fuchs received the armband on a permanent basis at the behest of manager Marcel Koller on 13 August 2012.[25] He played all ten games as they qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016, the first time they did so, and featured in every minute of the group stage elimination in France. Afterwards, he retired from international football with a total of 78 caps, declaring "I am very proud of the 10 years that I have spent with the national team. I did everything with passion and, as I said, I am very, very proud."[26]
Coaching career
After retiring from professional football, Fuchs stayed at Charlotte FC and was appointed as an assistant coach under Christian Lattanzio on 6 January 2023.[27]
On 20 November 2025, Fuchs secured his first management position on being appointed by EFL League Two side Newport County after the dismissal of previous manager David Hughes.[28][29]
Personal life
.jpg)
Fuchs' wife, Raluca Gold-Fuchs, with whom he has a stepson, son, and daughter, is a businesswoman based in New York, formerly of Goldman Sachs. [4] He runs a public relations company and a football academy in New York, and in 2016 he stated he planned to move there permanently after his football career.[4][30]
The Leicester Mercury described Fuchs as "not your stereotypical footballer...[he] has more strings to his bow than an orchestra".[4] He is noted for his online video series "No Fuchs Given", a play on his surname and the English-language obscenity "fuck"; the series consists of himself and teammates doing unusual football-related challenges, such as him and Robert Huth shooting the ball as hard as possible at each other's backsides.[4] In 2016 he stated his desire to become an NFL placekicker and demonstrated his skills on the BBC's NFL coverage.[31]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Wiener Neustadt | 2002–03 | Austrian Landesliga | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| SV Mattersburg | 2003–04 | Austrian Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | Austrian Bundesliga | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 2 | ||||
| 2005–06 | Austrian Bundesliga | 35 | 1 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | 40 | 3 | ||||
| 2006–07 | Austrian Bundesliga | 35 | 6 | 4 | 1 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 41 | 7 | |||
| 2007–08 | Austrian Bundesliga | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 141 | 11 | 12 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 155 | 14 | ||||
| VfL Bochum | 2008–09 | Bundesliga | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 2 | |||
| 2009–10 | Bundesliga | 31 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 53 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 55 | 6 | |||||
| Mainz 05 (loan) | 2010–11 | Bundesliga | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| Schalke 04 | 2011–12 | Bundesliga | 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 11[d] | 2 | 1[e] | 0 | 44 | 4 | |
| 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 1 | — | 37 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7[d] | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 1 | — | 30 | 3 | |||
| Total | 99 | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 136 | 8 | |||
| Leicester City | 2015–16 | Premier League | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Premier League | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9[d] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 48 | 2 | |
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| 2019–20 | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[g] | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| Total | 116 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 152 | 3 | ||
| Charlotte Independence (loan) | 2021 | USL Championship | 15 | 1 | — | — | — | 2[h] | 1 | 17 | 2 | |||
| Charlotte FC | 2022 | Major League Soccer | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 493 | 27 | 34 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 45 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 589 | 36 | ||
International
- Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fuchs goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 November 2010 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria |  Greece | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 14 March 2026[34]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Newport County | 20 November 2025 | Present | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 22.7 |
| Total | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 22.7 | ||
Honours
Schalke 04
Leicester City
Austria U17
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship third place: 2003[38]
Individual
Notes
- Includes Austrian Cup, DFB-Pokal, FA Cup, U.S. Open Cup
- Includes Football League/EFL Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in DFL-Supercup
- Appearance in FA Community Shield
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in USL Championship play-offs
