Thomas Schaaf is a German retired footballer who played as a defender, and a current manager. A true one-club man, he spent his entire playing career with Werder Bremen. He started coaching the team in 1999 and stepped down in 2013, being one of the longest-serving coaches in the Bundesliga.
Playing career
Born in Mannheim, Schaaf arrived at SV 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 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.
Managerial career
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.
On 14 December2009, 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 Munich. Schaaf left Werder on 15 May 2013 by mutual consent after finishing a disappointing fourteenth in the domestic championship, ending 14 years in charge of the club and ending his 41-year association with the club since joining as an 11-year-old youth player. He oversaw 645 games as a coach during his stint, finishing with a record of 308 wins, 138 draws, and 199 losses and leading it to six major trophies and six appearances in the Champions League, and was linked to the organization for four decades since his days as a youth player. During the press conference where he announced his resignation, he spoke of his admiration of the club and the joy of his time spent at the Weserstadion, saying, "I had an extraordinary time here, connected with a lot of positive experiences and great successes. I would like to thank everyone who accompanied me along the way and supported me. I wish Werder Bremen a successful future."
On 21 May 2014, after one year out of football, Schaaf was appointed head coach of Eintracht Frankfurt, signing a two-year contract. During the course of his first season he led his team to a ninth-place finish, being in charge of his 500th Bundesliga match in the process. Schaaf resigned on 26 May 2015. His final match was a 2–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen. He finished with a record of 12 wins, 10 draws and 14 losses from 36 games and was ultimately succeeded by Armin Veh.
Schaaf was appointed as the head coach of Hannover 96 on 28 December 2015, signing an 18–month contract and being formally introduced to the media after his first training session on 4 January 2016. He took over a team that was in 17th place, after they took 14 points from a possible 51 when he was hired. His first match was a 2–1 home loss against SV Darmstadt 98. Hannover then failed to score a goal in their next four matches. Schaaf was sacked on 3 April 2016, after a 3–0 defeat to Hamburger SV. He finished with a record of one win and ten losses. His first and only win was a 2–1 win over VfB Stuttgart on 27 February 2016, and Daniel Stendel took over for the rest of the season.
