Thomas Schaaf

Thomas Schaaf

Schaaf with Werder Bremen in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Schaaf
Date of birth	(1961-04-30) 30 April 1961 (age 55)
Place of birth	Mannheim, West Germany
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
	BBV Union Bremen
1972–1978	Werder Bremen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1978–1980	Werder Bremen II	59	(0)
1978–1995	Werder Bremen	281	(14)
Total		340	(14)
Teams managed
1987–1988	Werder Bremen U17
1988–1995	Werder Bremen U19
1993–1995	Werder Bremen (assistant)
1995–1999	Werder Bremen II
1999–2013	Werder Bremen
2014–2015	Eintracht Frankfurt
2015–2016	Hannover 96
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Thomas Schaaf (born 30 April 1961) 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.

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 (he was already a fringe player by the time of the 1993 conquest, appearing in only five matches) 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.