After putting pen to paper on Friday, David Wagner officially became Norwich City head coach, joined by his coaching staff Christoph Bühler and Andy Hughes.
Following their arrival, we've taken a closer look at David’s career in football so far and the wealth of experience that he brings to Norfolk.
During his playing days, Frankfurt-born Wagner operated as a striker, primarily based in the German leagues for Mainz 05, Darmstadt 98, FC Gütersloh and Schalke 04.
Wagner was also part of the squad at Schalke that won the 1997 UEFA Cup, but his most successful individual form came at Mainz, where he accumulated 19 goals across four seasons alongside teammate and close friend Jurgen Klopp. Wagner even confirmed in an interview that he had been the Liverpool manager’s best man at his wedding in the early 2000s.
Despite his German residency, in the early 90s, Wagner was eligible for a call up from the United States men’s national soccer team, due to his ancestry. He amalgamated eight caps for Steve Samson’s side, making his debut in August of 1996 in a 3-1 friendly win over El Salvador.
Once the US international hung up his boots on the field, he took a step away from the world of football to focus on his studies at the University of Darmstadt, obtaining a degree in Biology and Sports Science.
When he made his return to the footballing world, he was appointed as Borussia Dortmund II manager, with effect from July 2011.
He took charge of the German giants' reserves for 164 matches and earned promotion with his youthful side to the third division in his first full season; the highest league that second teams were allowed to play in. His side were one of only four reserve teams in the division.
Wagner then continued to develop his young side at Dortmund, progressing many of them to Dortmund’s senior side, including Erik Durm, Jonas Hofmann and Marian Sarr.
After four successful years with Borussia Dortmund II, Wagner made his way over to England to take up the managerial positional at Huddersfield Town in November 2015, following the departure of Chris Powell.
Wagner brought with him his assistant Christoph Bühler to a Terriers side that were in the midst of a Championship relegation battle.
Looking to revolutionise the Huddersfield model, the pair came in under the guidance of Stuart Webber.
One of the key components of success that Wagner found within his squad was a tight bond amongst the players and coaching staff, largely accredited to a summer training camp in Sweden, where those in attendance had to survive on basic essentials for a period of days.
During the 2016/17 season, his first full season at the club, Wagner took a team with one of the smallest budgets in the English Championship and secured promotion to the Premier League, after a penalty shoot-out win against Reading in the play-off finals. Wager believed that the team’s success was largely down to the bond that the team had.
With just one game to spare the following season, the Terriers yet again proved the doubters wrong, achieving survival in the Premier League. Their 2017/18 campaign also saw impressive draws away from home against Chelsea and Manchester City.
Wagner and Huddersfield went their separate ways in January 2019, when survival looked unlikely, and Huddersfield were sat bottom of the league.
Schalke came calling for Wagner in May that year and the season started well for the US international. After an initial draw and loss, the Royal Blues won four games on the bounce, that included against league leaders RB Leipzig.
Midway through the 2019/20 season, Wagner’s Schalke found themselves in fifth place, battling for a place in Europe.
Unfortunately for the head coach and club, following the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shut down of world-wide football, Schalke’s form never returned to what it once was under Wagner and he would soon leave the club.
The 51-year-old then made his mark at Swiss Super League champions, Young Boys, being named as manager in the summer of 2021.
After three successful rounds of qualifying, Young Boys reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. A 2-1 home win over Manchester United was the highlight of the European campaign for the Swiss side, before Wagner left the club in March of 2022.
He now joins the Canaries with the side sitting in 11th, although just three points outside of the play-off spots.