Alexander Zorniger

Early career

Zorniger started his coaching career with stints as head coach of Normannia Gmünd, assistant coach at VfB Stuttgart, and as head coach at Sonnenhof Großaspach.

RB Leipzig

Zorniger became head coach of RB Leipzig on 3 July 2012. He managed the club to an undefeated season in all competitions. They finished the league season with 21 wins and 9 draws and went on to the promotion play–off; winning the first leg 2–0 and drawing the second leg 2–2. They also defeated Chemnitzer FC in the Saxony Cup final. He resigned on 11 February 2015, as earlier that month Ralf Rangnick announced that he would be RB Leipzig's coach for next season.

Back to VfB Stuttgart

On 25 May 2015, VfB Stuttgart announced in a press conference that Zorniger would be their new head coach and signed a deal with the Swabians until Summer 2018. He was sacked on 24 November 2015 after Stuttgart lost to FC Augsburg 4–0. He finished with a record of five wins, one draw, and nine losses.

Brøndby

On 17 May 2016, Danish Superliga club Brøndby announced that Zorniger had been appointed head coach on a two-year contract. He made his competitive debut on 30 June with a 4–1 away win over Icelandic side Valur in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, and Brøndby won the home leg 6–0 to advance 10–1 on aggregate. On 17 July 2016, Zorniger oversaw his Superliga debut, a 4–0 home win against Esbjerg fB. In the third qualifying round of the Europa League…

Zorniger's coaching philosophy is closely associated with the high-intensity pressing model developed in the Red Bull football network. During his time at RB Leipzig, he typically used a narrow, vertical 4–4–2 or 4–2–2–2 system built around aggressive Gegenpressing, rapid transitions and a high defensive line, with an emphasis on forcing mistakes rather than patient possession play. Analysts in Denmark later summarised his Brøndby philosophy with the phrase "create chaos, exploit chaos", reflecting his preference for attacking immediately after regaining possession and keeping the game at a high tempo. At VfB Stuttgart and Leipzig, Zorniger's teams were noted for some of the highest running and sprint metrics in their leagues and for committing large numbers forward in pressing and attacking phases, drawing comparisons in the German press with the approach of Roger Schmidt. The same sources, however, also criticised his tactics as "naive" when the press was broken, highlighting the space left behind a very high back line and the vulnerability to counter-attacks if the collective movement and distances were not executed perfectly. This tension between attacking output and defensive exposure has been a recurring theme in media assessments of his work. When he took over Brøndby in 2016, Zorniger imported the same high-pressure, transition-oriented style into the Danish Superliga. Brøndby's own season review described the approach with the slogan "Aktion, aktion, aktion", noting…

As manager

RB Leipzig

3. Liga runners-up: 2013–14 Regionalliga Nordost: 2012–13 Saxony Cup: 2012–13 Brøndby

Danish Cup: 2017–18 Apollon Limassol

First Division: 2021–22