Jörg Schmadtke

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Jörg Schmadtke
Schmadtke in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth (1964-03-16) 16 March 1964 (age 60)
Place of birth Düsseldorf, West Germany
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1993 Fortuna Düsseldorf 244 (0)
1993–1997 SC Freiburg 131 (0)
1997–1998 Bayer Leverkusen 0 (0)
1998 Borussia Mönchengladbach 0 (0)
Total 375 (0)
Managerial career
1994–1995 SC Freiburg U19 (manager)
1998–1999 Borussia Mönchengladbach (assistant manager)
2001 Fortuna Düsseldorf (goalkeeping coach)
2001–2008 Alemannia Aachen (sporting director)
2009–2011 Hannover 96 (sporting director)
2011–2013 Hannover 96 (managing director sport)
2013–2017 1.FC Köln (sporting director)
2018–2023 VfL Wolfsburg (sporting director)
2023– Liverpool (sporting director)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jörg Schmadtke (born 16 March 1964) is a German football executive and former player who is the sporting director of Premier League club Liverpool. He previously held managing director roles at 1. FC Köln and VfL Wolfsburg.[1][2] Schmadtke was involved three times in improving the financial and sports situation of a club considerably.

Schmadtke played as a goalkeeper for Fortuna Düsseldorf (until 1993), SC Freiburg (1993–1997) and Bayer 04 Leverkusen (1997–98), all together 266 games in the German Bundesliga.[2]

Playing career

After A-levels Schmadtke started to study mechanical engineering, later he switched to business administration, but did not complete both. From 1985 to 1993 he played for Fortuna Düsseldorf, from 1993 until 1997 for SC Freiburg, and in the 1997–98 season for Bayer Leverkusen. He played 266 games in the Bundesliga and received nine yellow and one red card. Schmadtke played 106 games in the 2. Bundesliga, with two yellow cards. In September 1998, he helped out a couple of weeks at Borussia Mönchengladbach but did not play.[3]

Executive career

In December 2001, Schmadtke started working as sporting director at Aachen which had four million Euro debt and were in danger of losing the license. He was able to build up the team and scouting. In the 2004–05 season, Alemannia Aachen reached the German Cup final. The following season, the team earned promotion into the first league. The club prospered financially. In October 2008 he announced to not renew his contract which ran until 2009, and was released from work the next day. Coach Dieter Hecking said that Schmadtke knew every player from the first down to the fourth tier. Transfers included Erik Meijer, Simon Rolfes, Jan Schlaudraff, Vedad Ibisevic.[3][4][5]

From summer 2009 up to June 2013, Schmadtke worked as sporting director of Hannover 96. In 2011, his contract was changed to an indefinite contract, and he joined the executive board as "Geschäftsführer Sport". Hannover had a few very successful seasons, both from a sports perspective (they reached the fourth position in the league and played in the UEFA cup), as well as financially. For private reasons, Schmadtke reduced his workload and also took a couple of weeks timeout in 2012. In April 2013, he asked to terminate his contract. Transfers included Didier Ya Konan, Mohammed Abdellaoue, Lars Stindl, Emanuel Pogatetz, Ron-Robert Zieler, Mame Diouf.[6]

After being in short talks with Hamburger SV, he started to work as sportvorstand for 1. FC Köln ltd in June 2013. Köln managed to be promoted in the Bundesliga and to improve its sports and financial status since then every year. In April 2017, Schmadtke and Wehrle signed a contract extension until 2023. Transfers included Dominique Heintz, Anthony Modeste, Leonardo Bittencourt, Marco Höger, Jorge Meré.

In 2011 and 2017, Schmadtke received the "manager of the year" award.[7][8]

Schmadtke resigned on 23 October 2017.[9]

On 22 May 2018, VfL Wolfsburg announced through Twitter the hiring of Schmadtke as the club's new sportvorstand. He was slated to start on 1 July,[10] however on 1 June, VfL Wolfsburg announced on its web page that he was able to start immediately, thanks to a negotiation between 1. FC Köln and VfL Wolfsburg.[11] It was reported in papers that Wolfsburg paid a half-million Euro to Köln to lift the occupational ban that was set on Schmadtke,[12] thus allowing him to work one month earlier than originally planned.

Schmadtke left Wolfsburg in January 2023, and in May of the same year he joined Liverpool F.C. as sporting director before leaving in early 2024.[1][13]

Personal life

Schmadtke is married to Andrea and the couple have a son, Nils, who currently works as a sporting director for Borussia Mönchengladbach.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ a b "Jorg Schmadtke appointed new Liverpool FC sporting director". Liverpool FC. May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Jörg Schmadtke" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Alemannias Erfolgsgarant: Jörg Schmadtke". Rheinische Post (in German). 15 December 2004. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  4. ^ ""Ich bin nicht auf Bestellung fröhlich"". spox.com (in German). 3 April 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  5. ^ Jürgens, Tim (14 January 2009). "Nach dem Goldrausch". 11 FREUNDE (in German). Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  6. ^ Purbs, Christian (14 May 2012). "Die besten Transfers von Jörg Schmadtke". Hannoversche Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Schmadtke Manager des Jahres". ligainsider. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  8. ^ Ulrich, Ron (23 June 2017). "Das sind die Besten der Saison". 11 FREUNDE. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  9. ^ "FC und Schmadtke lösen Vertrag auf". fc.de. 23 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Bestätigt: Schmadtke steigt in Wolfsburg ein". kicker.de (in German). 22 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Früherer Amtsantritt". vfl-wolfsburg.de (in German). 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Freitag geht's los: VfL löst Jörg Schmadtke aus" (in German). 31 May 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  13. ^ Gorst, Paul (26 January 2024). "Jorg Schmadtke and Pep Lijnders both leaving Liverpool as backroom staff exit after Jurgen Klopp". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  14. ^ Haubrichs, Alexander (28 June 2015). "Santana nach der Traumhochzeit FC-Boss Jörg Schmadtke - erst feiern, dann verpflichten". Express (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Borussia Mönchengladbach appoint Nils Schmadtke as sporting director - Get German Football News". www.getfootballnewsgermany.com. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.

External links