Julian Schuster (born 15 April 1985) is a German football manager and former player who is the head coach of Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.
A midfielder, he spent the bulk of his playing career at SC Freiburg.[1]
Playing career
Schuster was born in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Baden-Württemberg. He had his professional debut on 27 October 2007 for VfB Stuttgart against Bayer Leverkusen.[2]
In July 2008, he moved to SC Freiburg.[3] On 18 February 2014, Schuster extended his contract for an undisclosed length.[4] In May 2018, he announced his retirement.[5]
Managerial career
Following his retirement, Schuster transitioned into a liaison coach at SC Freiburg while concurrently serving as an assistant coach.[6] In October 2022, alongside Patrick Baier, he stepped in for head coach Christian Streich, who tested positive for COVID-19, during the Europa League match against Nantes.[7] In January 2023, he completed a course at the DFB to attain the Pro license, the pinnacle coaching accreditation in German football.[8]
In March 2024, it was announced that Schuster would assume the position of head coach for SC Freiburg for the 2024–25 season, succeeding Streich.[9] In his debut season, Schuster led the club to a fifth-place finish and Europa League qualification, narrowly missing out on the Champions League after a 3–1 home defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt on the final matchday.[10] In the following season, he led the club to reach the Europa League final, their first ever in the competition.[11]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| VfB Stuttgart II | 2004–05 | Regionalliga Süd | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||||
| 2006–07 | 17 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 3 | ||||||
| 2007–08 | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 54 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 3 | ||
| VfB Stuttgart | 2007–08 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| SC Freiburg II | 2008–09 | Regionalliga Süd | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 2015–16 | Regionalliga Südwest | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | ||
| SC Freiburg | 2008–09 | 2. Bundesliga | 26 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 6 | |||
| 2009–10 | Bundesliga | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 2 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 3 | |||||
| 2011–12 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 1 | |||||
| 2012–13 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 1 | |||||
| 2013–14 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 32 | 4 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||||
| 2015–16 | 2. Bundesliga | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 20 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 219 | 17 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 242 | 21 | ||
| Career total | 283 | 22 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 307 | 26 | ||
Managerial statistics
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
| SC Freiburg | 1 July 2024 | present | ||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||
References
- ^ "Schuster, Julian" (in German). Kicker. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
- ^ "Kleiner Lichtblick beim VfB" (in German). fussballdaten.de. 27 October 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
- ^ "Schuster on the move". vfb.de. 4 June 2008. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ "Der Kapitän bleibt an Bord" (in German). SC Freiburg. 18 February 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Freiburgs Schuster beendet Karriere" (in German). kicker Online. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ "Julian Schuster wird Verbindungstrainer" (in German). SC Freiburg. 5 July 2018. Archived 11 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Streich-Vertretung für Europa-League-Spiel geregelt" (in German). Sky Sport. 6 October 2022.
- ^ "69. Pro-Lizenz-Lehrgang am DFB-Campus" (in German). DFB. 17 January 2023.
- ^ Antwerpes, Paul & Bies, Cedric (22 March 2024). "Julian Schuster wird neuer Cheftrainer beim SC Freiburg" [Julian Schuster becomes new head coach at SC Freiburg]. SWR Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ Berger, Leander (17 May 2025). "SC Freiburg unterliegt Frankfurt und beendet die Saison auf Europa-League-Platz 5" (in German). Badische Zeitung.
- ^ "Schuster kämpft mit den Tränen: "Das wird für alle Ewigkeit bleiben"" (in German). Kicker. 7 May 2026.
- ^ "Julian Schuster - SC Freiburg - Bundesliga: alle Spielerstatistiken, News und alle persönlichen Informationen - kicker". kicker Online. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ "Julian Schuster » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ "J. Schuster". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 May 2018.