Uwe Rösler (German pronunciation: ; born 15 November 1968) is a German football manager and former professional footballer.
As a player he was a centre forward, notably playing in the Premier League for Manchester City, where he was the leading goalscorer for three consecutive seasons from 1994-95 to 1996-97, and in the Bundesliga for 1. FC Nürnberg and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, he played in the UEFA Champions League with the latter. He also played Premier League football for Southampton and in the Football League for West Bromwich Albion and in Norway for Lillestrøm. Back in his native Germany he also represented 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig, BSG Chemie Leipzig, 1. FC Magdeburg, Dynamo Dresden, Tennis Borussia Berlin and SpVgg Unterhaching. He is a former East Germany international, whom he represented in the under-21 team and five times as a senior.
In 2004, he began his managerial career with Lillestrøm in Norway, and later led Viking and Molde FK in Tippeligaen. He also managed Brentford, Wigan Athletic, Leeds United and Fleetwood Town in the English Football League, as well as Malmö FF in Allsvenskan and most recently Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Rösler made his debut for East Germany on 26 January 1990 in a 2–1 win over Kuwait. He appeared in the team's final match against Belgium on 12 September 1990, 21 days before German reunification. Overall, Rösler was capped five times, scoring no goals. He also represented East Germany U21s at international level.
Born and brought up in East Germany as the communist regime was collapsing, during his time at Lokomotive Leipzig, Rösler was interviewed by the Stasi secret police organisation, who attempted to force him to inform on colleagues seeking to defect to the West in exchange for the Stasi allowing him to continue his fledgling football career unimpeded – only the furious intervention of his manager saved him from their attentions.
Having been a fan of English football from his childhood, Rösler said that he found his "home" in England during his time with Manchester City, and described the formation of his bond with the City fans as the "biggest achievement in my career". Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2003, he credited his recovery to the support of the fans of the club, and said that hearing them sing his name at a game while he lay in hospital made his bond with the club "unbreakable". Rösler has stated on several occasions that his ambition for his managerial career is to eventually become manager of the Manchester club.
Rösler has a Norwegian wife, with whom he has had two sons. His younger son is named Colin after Colin Bell, and is a professional footballer for Lillestrøm, while his eldest son is named Tony after Tony Book – both Bell and Book are former Manchester City players, both considered club legends.
In 2013, Rösler's autobiography Knocking Down Walls was released.
UEFA Champions League Hat-Trick 1998-12-09 |
1981-1987 |
1987-1988 |
1988-1989 |
1989-1990 |
1990 |
1991-1992 |
1992-1994 |
1993-1994 (Loan) |
1994-1998 |
1998-1999 |
1999-2000 |
2000-2002 |
2001 (Loan) |
2002 |
2002-2003 |
2005-2006 Manager |
2007-2009 Manager |
2010-2010 Manager |
2011-2013 Manager |
2013-2014 Manager |
2015-2015 Manager |
2016-2018 Manager |
2018-2019 Manager |
2020-2021 Manager |