Thorsten Fink
German football player and coach
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Thorsten Fink (born 29 October 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Samsunspor. As a player, he notably represented Bayern Munich between 1997 and 2003, winning multiple domestic honours and the UEFA Champions League.
|
Fink in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 October 1967 | ||
| Place of birth | Dortmund, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Samsunspor (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1976–1983 | SV Roland Marten | ||
| 1983–1986 | Borussia Dortmund | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1994 | Wattenscheid 09 | 162 | (26) |
| 1994–1997 | Karlsruher SC | 92 | (11) |
| 1997–2003 | Bayern Munich | 150 | (4) |
| 2003–2006 | Bayern Munich II | 86 | (6) |
| Total | 490 | (47) | |
| International career | |||
| 1989 | West Germany U21 | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Red Bull Salzburg (Junior) | ||
| 2008–2009 | FC Ingolstadt | ||
| 2009–2011 | Basel | ||
| 2011–2013 | Hamburger SV | ||
| 2015 | APOEL | ||
| 2015–2018 | Austria Wien | ||
| 2018–2019 | Grasshoppers | ||
| 2019–2020 | Vissel Kobe | ||
| 2022 | Riga | ||
| 2022 | Al Nasr | ||
| 2023–2024 | Sint-Truiden | ||
| 2024–2025 | Genk | ||
| 2026– | Samsunspor | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
After retiring in 2006, Fink moved into coaching and has managed clubs including FC Ingolstadt, Basel and Hamburg. With Basel, he won the Swiss Super League in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and the Swiss Cup in 2009-10.
He has also coached abroad, with spells at Austria Wien, APOEL, Vissel Kobe, Riga and Al Nasr, among others.
Playing career
Wattenscheid and Karlsruher SC
Fink began his career with Borussia Dortmund's reserve squad before moving to Wattenscheid 09, where he helped them gain promotion to the first division of German football, the 1. Bundesliga, in 1990. After the club's relegation in 1994, he moved to Karlsruher SC, where he spent three seasons as a regular, earning a move to Bayern Munich, in 1997.
Bayern Munich
He subsequently spent seven seasons at Bayern, five of which as a regular, but lost his place in the starting lineup in 2002 and was transferred to the club's reserve squad in the German third division, the Regionalliga, in February 2003, although he managed a return to the Bundesliga squad in late April 2003. In the 2003–04 season, he became a regular in Bayern's reserve squad and only made one, his last, Bundesliga appearance that season, coming on as a substitute against VfL Wolfsburg in September 2003. His contract with Bayern's Bundesliga squad expired in June 2004 and he subsequently only continued to play another two seasons for the club's reserve squad before definitely ending his playing career upon the end of the 2005–06 season.
While playing for Bayern's first team, he helped the team reach the 1999 Champions League final against Manchester United, where Bayern dramatically lost 2–1, conceding two goals in injury time. Fink came on as a substitute late in the game, but his sliced clearance in the 91st minute led to United's equaliser, with the ball breaking to Ryan Giggs whose shot was turned into the net by Teddy Sheringham.
However, Fink still managed to pick up a Champions League winner's medal two years later, as Bayern beat Valencia in the 2001 Champions League final on penalties, although he did not play in the match. He also won four Bundesliga titles and was a three-time winner of the DFB-Pokal with the club.
He was forced to end his playing career in 2006 after sustaining cartilage damage in his knee.
Coaching career
Early career
While still playing for Bayern, he had already graduated from Cologne Sport University, in December 2005, after taking a course on coaching. From 5 September 2006, he began coaching Red Bull Salzburg's reserve side. After the departure of Lothar Matthäus as the assistant of head coach Giovanni Trapattoni, Fink stepped up and became the new assistant.[citation needed]
Fink took over as head coach of FC Ingoldstadt on 4 January 2008, replacing Jürgen Press, who was sacked on New Year's Day.[1] He appointed Heiko Vogel as his assistant. His first match was a 3–1 win against VfB Stuttgart II.[2] Ingolstadt finished the 2007–08 season in second place.[3] Ingolstadt started the 2008–09 season by losing to Hamburger SV in the first round of the German Cup.[4] Fink was fired on 22 April 2009.[5] He finished with a record of 16 wins, 11 draws, and 17 losses.[6] His final match was a 3–2 loss against SC Freiburg.[4] Ingolstadt were in 17th place when Fink was sacked.[7]
Basel
On 9 June 2009, Fink was appointed manager of Basel as the replacement for Christian Gross.[8] Fink took his assistant Vogel with him.[9] His first match was a 2–0 loss to St. Gallen on 12 July 2009.[10] In domestic affairs, Basel swept the board in the 2009/10 season. Despite a poor start to the season, Fink's side came back to win the 2010 Super League title[11] on the last day of the season with an away win against favourites Young Boys at the Stade de Suisse. Young prospect Valentin Stocker and club legend Scott Chipperfield gave Basel the goals in the 2–0 victory on 16 May. Basel won the Swiss Cup Final 2010 with a 6–0 victory over Lausanne-Sport on 9 May.[10] Basel started the 2010–11 season against Zürich on 20 July.[12] With Fink Basel also won the 2011 Super League title and the 2011 Uhrencup. Fink left the club in October 2011.[13] His final match was a 5–1 win against Schötz in the Swiss Cup.[14]
Fwayo Tembo left Basel after he accused club coach Thorsten Fink of making racist remarks towards him during a training session. Fink is reported to have told a collaborator to "get the monkey down from the tree."[15]
Hamburger SV
On 13 October 2011, Fink signed a contract with Hamburger SV to manage the German Bundesliga club through to 2014.[13] with the team in the relegation zone after losing six of their opening eight matches. His first match was a 1–1 draw against VfL Wolfsburg.[16] In HSV's first nine games under Fink they were unbeaten, going into the winter break in thirteenth place.[17] The team eventually finished fifteenth, avoiding a first ever relegation by five points.[18]
In the 2012–13 season, HSV recorded a much improved seventh-place finish.[19] However, during the season Hamburg lost to Karlsruher SC in the first round of the German Cup.[20] the team equaled the club's record Bundesliga defeat, losing 9–2 at the Allianz Arena to Bayern Munich.[21]
Following a run of disastrous results, during which Hamburger SV picked up only four points from their first five league games of the 2013–14 Bundesliga season, and with the club in 15th place in the league table, Fink was sacked with immediate effect on 16 September 2013.[22] "We were no longer confident that Thorsten Fink was capable of turning the team around and that was why we took this decision (to sack Fink). Also it is apparent that he had 'outside troubles' which could have contributed to his poor results. His final match was a 6–2 loss to Borussia Dortmund.[23] He finished with a record of 23 wins, 18 draws and 27 losses in 68 matches.[24]
APOEL
On 10 January 2015, Fink signed a contract until the end of the 2014–15 season, with the option of a further season with the reigning Cypriot champions APOEL, replacing Georgios Donis who was fired on 6 January 2015.[25] His first match was a 2–1 loss to AEL Limassol.[26] Following a run of disappointing performances and one day after a questionable 1–0 loss to Apollon Limassol, Fink was sacked by APOEL on 11 May 2015,[27] although at that moment the team were two points clear at the top of the league with only two matches remaining.[27]
Austria Wien
Fink was hired as Austria Wien's head coach on 28 May 2015.[28] He was given a two-year contract plus an option[28] and started in the 2015–16 season.[29] He was also in negotiations with Hannover 96.[28] He had his first training on 22 June 2015.[30] On 17 July 2015, in his first match, Austria won 3–0 in the Austrian Cup.[31][32] On 26 July 2015, in his first league match, Austria defeated Wolfsberg 2–0 away from home.[33] On 23 April 2016, Austria Wien defeated SV Mattersburg 9–0.[34] He finished the 2015–16 season in third place.[35]
Austria Wien started the 2016–17 season with a 1–0 win against Kukësi in the Europa League on 14 July 2016.[36]
After bad results and standing in seventh place Fink was dismissed on 25 February.[37] His final match was a 2–1 loss to Admira Wacker Mödling on 24 February 2018.[38]
Grasshoppers
Fink became manager of Grasshoppers on 23 April 2018.[39] His first match was a 1–0 win against Lausanne-Sport on 28 April 2018.[40] He started the 2018–19 season with a 2–0 loss against Young Boys.[41]
After disastrous results of only one point out of his last eight matches in the Swiss Super League[41] and standing in last place Fink was sacked on 4 March 2019.[42] His last match was a 1–3 loss against Luzern on 2 March 2019.[41]
Vissel Kobe
On 8 June 2019, Fink was appointed as the new manager of Vissel Kobe, replacing the outgoing Juan Manuel Lillo.[43][44]
Fink managed to bring in the first two titles in club history of Vissel Kobe, winning the Emperors Cup and Japanese Super Cup in 2020.[45]
On 22 September 2020, Fink decided to resign to return to his family.[46]
Riga
In January 2022, Fink was appointed head coach of Riga.[47] On 16 May 2022, Fink left Riga to take on a managerial job at another club.[48]
Al-Nasr
In May 2022, Fink became head coach of the UAE Pro League club Al-Nasr.[49] In November, he was dismissed as the club was third from bottom in the league table.[50]
Sint-Truiden
In May 2023, Fink was appointed head coach of Belgian side Sint-Truiden, succeeding Bernd Hollerbach.[51]
Genk
On 5 June 2024, Fink joined Genk in Belgium.[52] He led Genk to the top position in the regular 2024–25 Belgian Pro League season, but the club finished in third place after the champions' play-offs. He was dismissed by Genk on 15 December 2025.[53]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | DFB-Pokal | DFL-Ligapokal | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Borussia Dortmund | 1987–88[54] | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Wattenscheid | 1989–90[54] | 2. Bundesliga | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 39 | 1 | |||
| 1990–91[54] | Bundesliga | 28 | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 32 | 5 | ||||
| 1991–92[54] | Bundesliga | 32 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 8 | ||||
| 1992–93[54] | Bundesliga | 32 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 8 | ||||
| 1993–94[54] | Bundesliga | 33 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 162 | 26 | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | 173 | 27 | |||||
| Karlsruhe | 1994–95[54] | Bundesliga | 31 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 35 | 7 | |||
| 1995–96[54] | Bundesliga | 29 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 35 | 2 | ||||
| 1996–97[54] | Bundesliga | 32 | 5 | 5 | 1 | — | 5 | 2 | — | 42 | 8 | |||
| Total | 92 | 11 | 15 | 4 | — | 5 | 2 | — | 112 | 17 | ||||
| Bayern Munich | 1997–98[54] | Bundesliga | 33 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8[a] | 0 | — | 49 | 2 | |
| 1998–99[54] | Bundesliga | 28 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10[a] | 1 | — | 44 | 2 | ||
| 1999–2000[54] | Bundesliga | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11[a] | 1 | — | 43 | 1 | ||
| 2000–01[54] | Bundesliga | 24 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10[a] | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02[54] | Bundesliga | 28 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 45 | 2 | |
| 2002–03[54] | Bundesliga | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04[54] | Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 150 | 4 | 22 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 54 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 236 | 9 | ||
| Bayern Munich II | 2002–03[54] | Regionalliga Süd | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 2003–04[54] | Regionalliga Süd | 27 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 27 | 4 | |||||
| 2004–05[55] | Regionalliga Süd | 34 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 38 | 1 | ||||
| 2005–06[56] | Regionalliga Süd | 19 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 86 | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 90 | 6 | |||||
| Career total | 490 | 47 | 53 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 59 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 612 | 59 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Intercontinental Cup
Managerial
- As of matches played on 15 March 2026
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | Ref. | |||
| Ingolstadt | 4 January 2008[1] | 22 April 2009[5] | 44 | 16 | 11 | 17 | 36.36 | [6] |
| Basel | 9 June 2009[8] | 17 October 2011[13] | 119 | 76 | 22 | 21 | 63.87 | [10][12][14] |
| Hamburg | 17 October 2011[13] | 16 September 2013[22] | 68 | 23 | 18 | 27 | 33.82 | [24] |
| APOEL | 10 January 2015[25] | 11 May 2015[27] | 22 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 50.00 | [26] |
| Austria Wien | 4 June 2015[28][29] | 25 February 2018[37] | 123 | 60 | 21 | 42 | 48.78 | [32][36][38] |
| Grasshoppers | 23 April 2018[39] | 4 March 2019[42] | 35 | 10 | 5 | 20 | 28.57 | [40][41] |
| Vissel Kobe | 8 June 2019[44] | 22 September 2020[57] | 49 | 22 | 12 | 15 | 44.90 | |
| Riga | 4 January 2022 | 16 May 2022 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 61.54 | |
| Al Nasr | 19 May 2022 | 5 November 2022 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 16.67 | |
| Sint-Truiden | 16 May 2023 | 5 June 2024 | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 30.95 | |
| Genk | 5 June 2024 | 15 December 2025[58] | 76 | 40 | 16 | 20 | 52.63 | |
| Samsunspor | 16 February 2026 | present | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 50.00 | |
| Total | 598 | 282 | 134 | 182 | 47.16 | — | ||
Honours
Player
Bayern Munich
Manager
Basel
Vissel Kobe
