View source for Gert Engels

{{Short description|German football manager (born 1957)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox football biography
| image = 
| name = Gert Engels
| full_name = Gert Josef Arthur Engels
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1957|4|26}}
| birth_place = [[Düren]], [[West Germany]]
| height = 175 cm
| position = [[Midfielder]]
| currentclub = 
| years1 = 1974–1975
| clubs1 = [[:de:SG Düren 99|SG Düren 99]]
| years2 = 1975–1978
| clubs2 = [[Borussia Mönchengladbach]]
| caps1 = 
| goals1 = 
| years3 = 1978–1980
| clubs3 = [[:de:SV Baesweiler 09|SV Baesweiler 09]]
| caps2 = 
| goals2 = 
| years4 = 1980–1990
| clubs4 = SG Düren 99
| caps3 = 
| goals3 = 
| years5 = 1990–1991
| clubs5 = [[Mito Hollyhock|Prima Aseno FC]] (Japan)
| caps4 = 
| goals4 = 
| nationalyears1 = 1975
| nationalteam1 = [[Germany national under-19 football team|Germany U19]]
| nationalcaps1 = 5
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| manageryears1 = 1990–1991
| managerclubs1 = Prima Aseno FC (player-coach)
| manageryears2 = 1991–1993
| managerclubs2 = [[:jp:滝川第二中学校・高等学校|Takigawa Daini High School]] (sports teacher)
| manageryears3 = 1993–1998
| managerclubs3 = [[Yokohama Flügels]] (assistant coach)
| manageryears4 = 1998
| managerclubs4 = Yokohama Flügels
| manageryears5 = 1999
| managerclubs5 = [[JEF United Chiba|JEF United Ichihara]]
| manageryears6 = 2000–2003
| managerclubs6 = [[Kyoto Sanga FC|Kyoto Purple Sanga]]
| manageryears7 = 2004–2008
| managerclubs7 = [[Urawa Reds]] (assistant coach)
| manageryears8 = 2008
| managerclubs8 = Urawa Reds
| manageryears9 = 2011–2013
| managerclubs9 = [[Mozambique national football team|Mozambique]]
| manageryears10 = 2018
| managerclubs10 = [[Vissel Kobe]] (assistant coach)
| manageryears11 = 2019–2020
| managerclubs11 = [[Kyoto Sanga FC|Kyoto Sanga]] (assistant coach)
| manageryears12 = 2020–2021
| managerclubs12 = [[INAC Kobe Leonessa]]
}}

'''Gert Engels''' is a successful German football coach and former Bundesliga player with decades-long connections to East Asia.

== Summary ==
Coming from a football family,<ref>Gibson, Alan (2019): Gert Engels. A Life in Football In: ''JSoccer Magazine'', (28) Summer 2019. Pp. 5. Online under https://jsoccer.com/new/news/79-jsoccer-magazine/436-gertengelsinterview, last checked on 31.10.2024</ref> Engels initially played for [[Borussia Mönchengladbach]] during their golden decade and later completed a degree in [[German Sport University Cologne|sports science]] before starting his coaching career in Japan. As a pioneer of the [[J.League]], he significantly influenced modern Japanese professional football and celebrated his greatest successes there.

In various roles, he won the prestigious Japanese [[Emperor's Cup]] five times, a [[2006 J.League Division 1|Japanese championship]], a [[2006 Japanese Super Cup|Japanese Super Cup]], and the [[AFC Champions League]] in [[2007 AFC Champions League final|2007]]. For his contributions to international football, especially promoting the sporting and cultural connection between Germany and Japan, the [[UEFA Pro Licence]] holder was honoured as [[:de:Deutscher Fußball Botschafter|German Football Ambassador]] in 2018. [[Jürgen Klopp]] was chosen as his successor the following year.

In addition to his coaching positions in Japan and as the national coach of the [[Mozambique national football team|Mozambique national team]], Engels has run a football academy in Germany since 2009. He supports Japanese youth players physically and mentally and helps place them with professional clubs in Germany and Japan. Fluent in Japanese and deeply rooted in Japanese culture,<ref name="Hasselbruch">{{Cite web |title=Fußball Botschafter: Preisträger Gert Engels im Porträt |url=https://www.kicker.de/fussball-botschafter_preistraeger-gert-engels-im-portraet-722910/artikel |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=kicker |language=de-DE}}</ref> he calls Japan his second home and is affectionately known as a "half-Japanese."<ref>{{Cite web |last=McFadden |first=Callum |date=2021-11-03 |title=Gert Engels On His Experience With Gladbach's Greats And Success Coaching In Japan |url=https://worldfootballindex.com/2021/11/gert-engels-on-experience-with-gladbach-greats-and-success-coaching-in-japan/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=World Football Index |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Career ==

=== Playing Career and Education in Germany ===
Gert Engels began his playing career at [[:de:SG Düren 99|SG Düren 99]] and later joined [[Borussia Mönchengladbach]], where he was part of the extended squad during the club's most successful period in the 1970s. Without ever playing in the Bundesliga, he won the German championship in both [[1975–76 Bundesliga|1976]] and [[1976–77 Bundesliga|1977]] with the team.

Instead of continuing a professional career, he decided at 22 to play only semi-professionally and study sports science. He then first played for [[:de:SV Baesweiler 09|SV Baesweiler 09]] and later returned to SG Düren 99.

=== Coaching Career ===
At the age of 32, Engels ended his playing career and moved to Japan to work as a coach. Starting at the amateur level, he had to learn Japanese – a skill that later proved advantageous when implementing the philosophies of international coaches as an assistant coach.

His first coaching role was as player-coach for Prima Aseno FC, which now competes as [[Mito Hollyhock]] in the [[J2 League]]. He then worked as sports teacher at [[:jp:滝川第二中学校・高等学校|Takigawa Daini High School]] in Akashi. In 1993, Engels became assistant coach for [[Yokohama Flugels]] under [[Shu Kamo]]. After Kamo took over the [[Japan national football team]], Engels worked under four more coaches, including [[Carles Rexach]] of [[FC Barcelona]], before becoming head coach himself in 1998/99, leading the Flugels to win the [[1998 Emperor's Cup final|Emperor's Cup]].

After the Flugels merged with the [[Yokohama F. Marinos|Yokohama Marinos]], Engels took over [[JEF United Ichihara]] for the rest of the season. He then coached [[Kyoto Sanga]] after Shu Kamo. Despite being unable to prevent relegation, he achieved immediate promotion and another [[2002 Emperor's Cup final|Emperor's Cup]] victory.

In 2004, Engels joined [[Urawa Red Diamonds]] as an assistant coach and worked with [[Guido Buchwald]]. Together they won the [[2005 Emperor's Cup|Emperor's Cup]] in 2005 and the double of the [[2006 Emperor's Cup|Emperor's Cup]] and the [[2006 J.League Division 1|championship]] in 2006. After Buchwald's resignation, Engels continued working with [[Holger Osieck]]. The duo won the [[2007 AFC Champions League final|AFC Champions League]] in 2007 – the first international title for Urawa and Japan in that competition. Engels became head coach after Osieck's dismissal, leading the team in 42 matches before [[Volker Finke]] took over.

In 2011, Engels became the head coach of the [[Mozambique national football team]], resigning two years later due to unsatisfactory results.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-14 |title=Der Dürener Gert Engels tritt als Nationaltrainer Mosambiks zurück |url=https://www.aachener-zeitung.de/sport/der-durener-gert-engels-tritt-als-nationaltrainer-mosambiks-zuruck/3282577.html |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=Aachener Zeitung |language=de}}</ref> He won three of his twelve international matches, including a notable 2-0 victory against [[Morocco national football team|Morocco]] on September 9, 2012.

For the next five years, Engels focused on his football school in Germany before returning to Japan in 2018 as an assistant coach for [[Vissel Kobe]], working with [[Takayuki Yoshida]], one of his former students. At Kobe, Engels coached world champions like [[Andrés Iniesta]] and [[Lukas Podolski]]. After Yoshida was dismissed as head coach, Engels left the club and served as an assistant coach at [[Kyoto Sanga]] under [[Ichizo Nakata]] for one season. During the pandemic, he coached at [[INAC Kobe Leonessa]] for the first time a women's team.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hahn |first=Thomas |date=2020-07-16 |title=Vom Schwarzen Brett ins Abenteuerland |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/fussball-japan-1.4968075 |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=Süddeutsche.de |language=de}}</ref> He led them to the [[:en:2020 Nadeshiko League|2020 Japanese runner-up]] position.

== Achievements ==

=== International ===
* '''AFC Champions League''': Winner [[:en:2007 AFC Champions League final|2007]]
* '''FIFA Club World Cup''': 3rd place [[2007 FIFA Club World Cup|2007]]

=== National ===
* '''J.League''': Champion [[2006 J.League Division 1|2006]], runner-up [[2004 J.League Division 1|2004]], [[2005 J.League Division 1|2005]], [[2007 J.League Division 1|2007]]
* '''WE League''': Runner-up [[2020 Nadeshiko League|2020]]
* '''J2 League''': Champion [[2002 J.League Division 2|2001]]
* '''Emperor's Cup''': Winner [[1993 Emperor's Cup final|1993]], [[1998 Emperor's Cup final|1998]], [[2002 Emperor's Cup final|2002]], [[2005 Emperor's Cup final|2005]], [[2006 Emperor's Cup final|2006]], finalist [[1997 Emperor's Cup final|1997]]
* '''Japanese Super Cup''': Winner [[2006 Japanese Super Cup|2006]]
* '''J.League Cup''': Finalist [[2004 J.League Cup|2004]]

=== Other Achievements ===
* '''German Football Ambassador''': [[:de:Deutscher Fußball Botschafter|2018]]

== Miscellaneous ==
* Since 2009, Engels has run the football school “SoccerLife” in his hometown of Düren. He offers training for Japanese players and teams in Düren and organizes training camps nationwide. He also facilitates player transfers to clubs in his home region between [[Alemannia Aachen|Aachen]], [[1. FC Köln|Cologne]], and [[Borussia Mönchengladbach|Mönchengladbach]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-14 |title=Japanische Fußballer zieht es nach Düren |url=https://www.aachener-zeitung.de/sport/fussball/japanische-fu%C3%9Fballer-zieht-es-nach-duren/3276713.html |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=Aachener Zeitung |language=de}}</ref>

* During the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Engels worked as a TV analyst for Japanese television.<ref name="Hasselbruch" />

* Engels was once considered for the head coach position of North Korea’s serial champion [[April 25 Sports Club|April 25 SC]]. His visit to assess the club turned into an adventure.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-02-28 |title=A job like no other: Inside North Korea’s bid to recruit a German soccer coach {{!}} NK News |url=https://www.nknews.org/2024/02/a-job-like-no-other-inside-north-koreas-bid-to-recruit-a-german-soccer-coach/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=NK News - North Korea News |language=en-US}}</ref>

* [[Michael Weiß (football manager)|Michael Weiß]], the most successful national team coach of [[Mongolia national football team|Mongolia]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grimm |first=Justin |date=2020-01-26 |title=Michael Weiss Departs as Mongolia's Best Ever |url=https://www.mongolianfootball.com/single-post/2020/01/26/michael-weiss-departs-as-mongolias-best-ever |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=mongolianfootball |language=en}}</ref> began his coaching career at Kyoto Sanga under Engels.

* Engels is married to a Filipina and has two children.

==External links==
*[https://www.soccerlifefussballschule.com/ SoccerLife Football School (サッカーライフ)]
*{{J.League manager}}
*{{WorldFootball.net|gert-engels}}

== References ==
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Engels, Gert}}
[[Category:Borussia Mönchengladbach players]]
[[Category:German football managers]]
[[Category:1957 births]]

{{Navboxes
| title=Gert Engels managerial positions
| list1=
{{Mozambique national football team managers}}
{{Yokohama Flügels managers}}
{{JEF United Chiba managers}}
{{Kyoto Sanga FC managers}}
{{Urawa Red Diamonds managers}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Engels, Gert}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Düren]]
[[Category:Expatriate football managers in Japan]]
[[Category:German expatriate sportspeople in Japan]]
[[Category:German men's footballers]]
[[Category:J1 League managers]]
[[Category:J2 League managers]]
[[Category:Yokohama Flügels managers]]
[[Category:JEF United Chiba managers]]
[[Category:Kyoto Sanga FC managers]]
[[Category:Urawa Red Diamonds managers]]
[[Category:Mozambique national football team managers]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:German expatriate football managers]]
[[Category:German expatriate sportspeople in Mozambique]]
[[Category:Expatriate football managers in Mozambique]]
[[Category:West German men's footballers]]
[[Category:German women's football managers]]