Markus Gisdol

Markus Gisdol (born 17 August 1969) is a German football manager and former player who last coached Turkish club Samsunspor.

Early career
Gisdol had coaching stints at Sonnenhof Großaspach, SSV Ulm and other regional sides, before joining TSG Hoffenheim II in 2009. He won promotion into the Regionalliga Süd with the team before leaving to follow Ralf Rangnick to Schalke 04 in March 2011, becoming Rangnick's assistant. Gisdol also worked as assistant to Rangnick's replacement Huub Stevens before both Stevens and Gisdol were sacked in 2012.

TSG Hoffenheim
On 2 April 2013, Gisdol replaced Marco Kurz at TSG Hoffenheim. At the time, Hoffenheim were 17th in the Bundesliga, 4 points from safety. Gisdol's first match as a manager was a 3–0 win against relegation rivals Fortuna Düsseldorf. A comeback win against Borussia Dortmund on the final day of the season secured 16th place for Hoffenheim, and they went on to beat 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the relegation playoff to survive, in what was described as an 'astonishing escape'.

In his first full season as head coach, Hoffenheim finished 9th and reached the DFB-Pokal quarter final.Gisdol was praised for giving the team a clear identity, and an attacking style that saw them both score and concede over 70 goals in the league that season. On 16 April 2015 he renewed his contract when he signed a three-year extension. After an unsuccessful start of Hoffenheim's 2015–16 campaign, Gisdol was sacked on 26 October 2015. The team were 17th in the table having won just once.

Hamburger SV
On 25 September 2016, he replaced Bruno Labbadia as the head coach of Hamburger SV with a contract running until 30 June 2017. The contract was extended to 2019 on 22 March 2017. After saving Hamburg in the 2016–17 Bundesliga season from relegation, he went on a losing streak and was sacked on 21 January 2018, with club chairman Heribert Bruchhagen saying, "we believe that a new impulse is required urgently in order for us to achieve our goal of staying in the Bundesliga". Hamburg were eventually relegated from the Bundesliga for the very first time at the end of the season.

1. FC Köln
On 18 November 2019, he was signed by 1. FC Köln. He started well at Köln, taking 24 points from his first 10 games as coach, which helped the club out of the relegation battle. Gisdol also successfully integrated young players into the first team, including Jan Thielmann, Noah Katterbach and Ismail Jakobs. On 5 August 2020, Gisdol's contract was extended until July 2023.

On 11 April 2021, after losing to Mainz 05, Gisdol was removed from his position as head coach.

Lokomtiv Moscow
On 10 October 2021, he was hired by Russian Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow, where. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he resigned on 1 March 2022.

Samsunspor
In October 2023, he took over at Süper Lig side Samsunspor. At the time, Samsunspor were bottom of the table with only a single point. Under Gisdol, the team's form improved significantly, and the team rose to 13th in the table.