Thomas Schaaf

Born in Mannheim, Schaaf arrived at Werder Bremen's youth academy in 1972, turning professional six years later. After a slow start with the first team, where he made only 21 league appearances in four years combined – 19 of them coming in 1980–81 in the second division – he eventually became an important squad member; he made his debut in the Bundesliga on 18 April 1979, in a 0–3 away loss against VfL Bochum. Schaaf went on to play in 260 top flight games in the following seasons, eventually retiring in 1995 at the age of 34. During his time with his only club, he helped the Hanseatic club win two national championships (he was already a fringe player by the time of the 1993 conquest, appearing in only five matches) and as many DFB-Pokal. In the 1991–92 edition of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, he was on the bench in the final against AS Monaco FC, but replaced injured Thomas Wolter after 30 minutes in an eventual 2–0 win in Lisbon.

1987–2013: Werder Bremen

1987–99: Early career

Schaaf began his managerial career while still an active player, taking care of Werder's youth sides. After this he proceeded to manage the reserve team which competed in the third-tier Regionalliga Nord, before succeeding Felix Magath on 10 May 1999 as the senior side's coach, with the club under serious threat of relegation until the last day of the season: he managed to steer the team clear out of relegation, going on to win the campaign's domestic cup immediately afterwards, defeating Bayern Munich in a penalty shoot-out.

2000–04: Building up the team and "the Double"

Schaaf led Werder to the double (Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal) in 2003–04, as well as the team's first-ever DFB-Ligapokal two years later.

2004–09: European adventures

From 2004 the club managed to qualify five consecutive times for the UEFA Champions League, coming short in 2008–09 but winning the cup (his third as a manager – fifth overall – and Werder's sixth), thus qualifying for the following season's UEFA Europa League. That same season he also guided the club to the 2009 UEFA Cup Final, lost 1–2 to Shakhtar Donetsk after extra time.

2009–13: Final seasons

On 14 December 2009, Schaaf signed a new contract with Werder Bremen. He led the side to the third place in the league and the playoff stages in the 2010–11 Champions League, as well as to a second straight German Cup final, which was lost to Bayern…

Club

Manager

As of 22 May 2021

Player

Werder Bremen

Bundesliga: 1987–88, 1992–93 DFB-Pokal: 1990–91, 1993–94; runner-up: 1988–89, 1989–90 2. Bundesliga: 1980–81 DFL-Supercup: 1988, 1993, 1994; runner-up: 1991 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1991–92 UEFA Super Cup runner-up: 1992

Manager

Werder Bremen

Bundesliga: 2003–04 DFB-Pokal: 1998–99, 2003–04, 2008–09; runner-up: 1999–2000, 2009–10 DFB-Ligapokal: 2006; runner-up: 1999, 2004 DFL-Supercup: 2009 UEFA Cup runner-up: 2008–09 Individual

German Football Manager of the Year: 2004