Dietmar Kühbauer

Born in Heiligenkreuz, Burgenland, Kühbauer began his professional career at Admira Wacker, making his Austrian Bundesliga debut in 1987 at the age of 16. After five years at Wacker, he moved to city rivals Rapid Wien, where he won both a league title in 1996 and a domestic cup in 1995, forming a formidable midfield partnership with Peter Stöger, Andreas Heraf, Stephan Marasek and Zoran Barišić. He also played in the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain in Brussels, which Rapid lost. "Don Didi" remains a fan favorite at Rapid, and in 1999, he was named to the club's Team of the Century. In the 1996-97 season, Kühbauer once again performed well for Rapid, scoring 11 goals, although the Vienna club lost the title to Austria Salzburg and after the death of his wife Michaela, he decided to move to Spain and join Real Sociedad. In 2000, he signed with German Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg. Kühbauer, who had desired a return to Rapid, eventually chose to return to SV Mattersburg due to being offered a low salary at his former club. As captain of the club, Kühbauer led Mattersburg to the finals of the 2005-06 Austrian Cup where they lost to Austria Wien and helped them reach third place in the 2006-07 season.

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

Admira Wacker

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.

Wolfsberger AC

From September 2013 to November 2015 he was head coach of Wolfsberger AC.

SKN St. Pölten and Rapid Wien

On 1 October 2018, Kühbauer was announced to become the new head coach of Rapid Wien, after only a half year at SKN St. Pölten.

LASK

In May 2022, Kühbauer was appointed head coach of LASK, signing a contract until June 2024. He finished the 2021–22 season with the Schwarz-Weißen in eighth place. The 2022–23 season saw significant improvement, as Kühbauer led the team to a third-place finish, securing their return to European competition. However, he was replaced by Thomas Sageder at the end of the season, due to differences of opinion regarding squad planning for the next season.

Return to Wolfsberger AC

In May 2024, Kühbauer was appointed head coach of Wolfsberger AC for a second time, succeeding Manfred Schmid ahead of the 2024–25 season. After an uncertain start to the campaign during which Kühbauer adapted his preferred system to better suit the squad, WAC recovered to mount a sustained challenge in the Bundesliga, remaining in contention for the title until the final matchday before finishing fourth. On 1 May 2025, Kühbauer guided the club to their first major honour in their history when WAC…

On 16 February 1997, Kühbauer's pregnant wife, Michaela, was driving to Vienna International Airport to pick him up after Rapid's winter break in Dubai. Tragedy struck when her car veered off the road near Eisenstadt, and she was rushed to the hospital with three ribs puncturing her lung. She fell into a coma and died seven months later, on 13 September 1997. A disillusioned Kühbauer then left Austria to begin a new career abroad at Real Sociedad.