Whatever happened to Markus Babbel? [Update]

But when he returned to fitness, he was unable to get back into the first team, restricting him to just a few appearances in the 2002/03 season. He was sent out on loan to Blackburn for the next season, where he was a regular in the side. Upon his return to Liverpool, he left the club and moved back to Germany to join Stuttgart.

He found himself in and around the first team for the majority of his time at the club, and even helped them to the Bundesliga title in the 2006/07 season – which also proved to be his last playing season. However, he was able to stay on at the club as assistant manager to Armin Veh.

Manager Markus

With the club expected to once again challenge for major honours, there was understandably a lot of pressure on the duo. This began to show just a couple of months into the season and, with the club languishing in 11th in the league, Veh left the club. Babbel was appointed manager immediately and managed to turn the fortunes around and helped them to a third-placed finish.

Stuttgart rewarded him with an extended contract, but this was not to last. Despite helping them to second place in their Champions League group, the club continued to struggle in the league. In December 2009, with the club in 16th place in the Bundesliga and facing a battle to avoid relegation, Babbel was sacked.

After spending a few months away from the game, Babbel was given the chance to return to management with recently relegated Hertha ‘BSC’ Berlin. Here, Babbel regained a lot of credit as a manager as he helped the club win the league and gain an immediate return to the Bundesliga.

With just one game left until the end of the season, Babbel can look forward to a summer of building a team capable of competing in Germany’s top league. Nobody would begrudge Babbel a second chance at managing at the top. A man with such determination, which saw him battle for his life and return to professional football at the highest level, one cannot help but admire him.

Good luck Markus. If you continue to manage with such determination as you played, then a return to England might not be too far away.

The article was written by Rob Fletcher for FootballFancast.com. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.

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