Franz Gerber (born 27 November 1953) is a German former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
.
Playing career
Gerber was born in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
. He spent most of his teenage years playing in the youth ranks at Bayern Munich, until finally making the senior squad in 1971–72, aged just 17. He made his debut on 15 April 1972 as a substitute in a 3–1 victory over Hannover 96 during the club's championship winning campaign. Despite this breakthrough, this would be Gerber's sole appearance for the legendary team as he moved onto
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
of the (then) second flight Regionalliga North during the summer.
Here, he began the first of three different spells at the club, making an immediate impact as the team finished as winners of the division in his first season. However, Gerber was denied a rapid return to the top flight as
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
narrowly missed promotion after losing out in the playoff group to
Fortuna Köln
Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until a ...
. The following season Gerber again helped fire the club to this stage, but once more they came unstuck in the final group phase. Although the club hadn't progressed, Gerber certainly had as he staked his claim as one of the best young goalscorers in Germany with his astonishing haul of 51 goals in 55 games.
This was enough to tempt
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
club
Wuppertaler SV
Wuppertaler SV is a German association football club located in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. The city was founded in 1929 out of the union of a number of smaller towns including Elberfeld, Barmen, Vohwinkel, Cronenberg and Ronsdorf – e ...
to sign him in Summer 1974. Gerber settled well and was easily the club's top goalscorer with 12 goals in his debut season there. However, this was insufficient to retain the club's top flight status and they dropped down to the recently formed 2. Bundesliga North. Gerber again proved himself the club's leading marksman with 19 goals in 32 games, but they could only manage fifth place, prompting the striker to leave.
In 1976, he returned for a second spell at
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
, still fighting for promotion to the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
. With Gerber restored to their strike force, the club finally broke through into the top level as they won the division. Gerber was instrumental, scoring 27 goals, enough to land him the top goalscorer award for the division. Their stay at this class would last just the one season though, as they finished bottom, but Gerber proved himself equipped for this standard with 16 goals.
Nonetheless, he had to return to the second tier, though not with
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
, as he returned south to his home city with
TSV 1860 München
A tab-separated values (TSV) file is a simple text format for storing data in a tabular structure, e.g., a database table or spreadsheet data, and a way of exchanging information between databases. Each record in the table is one line of the te ...
in 1978. Once more, Gerber would fire a club to the Bundesliga as his 19-goal tally pushed the side to the championship. The following season would prove an uncharacteristically poor one for the striker as he lost form scoring just twice in his opening 10 games and being cast to the sidelines with the arrival of new coach Carl-Heinz Rühl.
After this setback, Gerber left the club for fellow Bavarians
ESV Ingolstadt
The ESV Ingolstadt is a general sports club in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, formed on 15 February 1919.
Until 2004, the club operated a football department but after a merger with local rival MTV Ingolstadt to form FC Ingolstadt 04 the footballers left ...
of the 2. Bundesliga South. His scoring touch duly returned and he contributed 23 goals in 36 games. However the team could only manage 16th place, which due to the criteria set in place for the following year's modification of the division into one from its two regions, meant relegation for the club.
Gerber would not make the drop into the Oberliga though, as he headed for a new challenge in Canada, joining the
Calgary Boomers
The Calgary Boomers were a Canadian soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1980–81 Indoor and 1981 outdoor seasons. The team was based in Calgary and played their home games at Stampede Corral during t ...
of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
. The club played only one season before folding, which saw Gerber move on to the
Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:
*Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984.
*Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...
. In 1983, he joined the
Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...
, after they beat out the Calgary Mustangs in a bidding war for his services. He played 76 games in total in the league, scoring 35 goals. When the league collapsed into bankruptcy after the 1984 season, the German returned to his homeland with 2. Bundesliga Hannover 96.
Now in his 30s, Gerber could still cut the mustard at this level as his 12 goals helped the club win promotion in the 1984–85 season, his third promotion from the division. The following season was a much harder experience as the club fell back down and Gerber, for the first time in his professional career, failed to register a single goal for the campaign (from 18 games).
After this lean season, Gerber headed back for a final stint at
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
. His finishing returned and he managed 15 goals, enough to take the club to third place and another potential promotion. They faced
FC 08 Homburg
Fußball-Club 08 Homburg or simply FC Homburg is a German association football club based in Homburg, Saarland, that competes in the Regionalliga Südwest. The club was founded on 15 June 1908 as ''Fussball Club Homburg'' by a group of seventeen ...
of the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
in a playoff for the final spot in the top flight, but narrowly lost 4–3 on aggregate. Gerber's hopes of another successful promotion campaign were immediately shattered in the 1987–88 season as he was badly injured in the opening game at
Union Solingen
SG Union Solingen was a German association football club from Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia.
History
The side can trace its roots back to an earlier ''Union Solingen'' club founded in 1897 out of the merger of a number of clubs from the ...
. This proved enough to end his career, aged 34.
His tally of 115 goals at 2. Bundesliga level puts him as the 8th most successful marksmen in the division's history. Over his three spells at
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
, he became the club's most successful goalscorer since the formation of the Bundesliga.
Managerial career
Since his playing retirement, Gerber has remained in the game in many capacities. In 1989, he began as manager of
TuS Celle
TuS Celle FC is a football club based in Celle, Lower Saxony, Germany. The club is currently a member of the Landesliga Lüneburg, the sixth tier of German football. Home matches are played at the Günther-Volker-Stadion.
History
The club ...
of the
Verbandsliga
The Verbandsliga ( en, Football Association League) is usually a tier-six football league in the German football league system, covering the area of a '' Bundesland'' or a regional part of such Bundesland.Utz Claassen, but reinstated just weeks later after angry fan demonstrations. He remained in this role until 1999, when he became coach of the side after the firing of Reinhold Fanz in the winter break. Gerber lifted the team up the 2. Bundesliga table into genuine promotion challengers, but they fell just short, one point off third.
Gerber left the club after this near-miss, ending up at
BV Cloppenburg
BV Cloppenburg is a German association football club located in Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony.
History
The club was founded after World War I in 1919 as the successor to SV Cloppenburg 1911. Through the 1950s they played in the Amateurliga Niede ...
in January 2000 as club manager. He lasted 12 months in this position before taking up an advisory role with
VfB Oldenburg
VfB Oldenburg is a German association football club based in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. In the 2022–23 season, they play in the 3. Liga, the third level of football in Germany.
History
Founded by a group of high school boys as ''FC 1897 Ol ...
in January 2001. This left this in the summer to return to Hannover 96 as sporting director but had left by Christmas. In April 2002, he returned to his advisory role at VfB Oldenburg.
However, he would stay long as the lure of the club manager's role at his old club
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
proved too strong in July 2002. After the firing of coach Joachim Philipkowski in December 2002, Gerber moved into the coach's role. The club were mired in the relegation zone of 2. Bundesliga at the halfway stage, and despite adding some wins – and his son Fabian to the team – he could not prevent the drop.
He started the 2003–04 Regionalliga North campaign still as coach but by the run-in the club were in danger of slipping down another level for the third year running. Gerber was fired on 28 March 2004, after the club had lost 0–1 at
Rot-Weiss Essen
Rot-Weiss Essen is a German association football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße.
The team won the DFB-Pokal in 1953, and the German championship in 195 ...
.
In December 2006, he became manager at
Verbandsliga
The Verbandsliga ( en, Football Association League) is usually a tier-six football league in the German football league system, covering the area of a '' Bundesland'' or a regional part of such Bundesland.Goslarer SC 08
The Goslarer SC 08 is a German association football club from the city of Goslar, Lower Saxony.
The club's most notable achievement was winning the tier-five Niedersachsenliga and earning promotion to the Regionalliga Nord in 2009 and 2012.
A ...
.
In 2007, he was appointed manager of
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
with a view to guiding them through the
2010 World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
qualifiers. Madagascar defeated Comoros 6–2 and 4–0 to secure a place in the first group stage.
Since September 2009, Gerber was (with a two-month break) the general manager of Jahn Regensburg. On 4 November 2012, he took over the job as interim manager of SSV Jahn Regensburg after the previous manager Oscar Corrochano was sacked due to luck of success. He stepped down when
Franciszek Smuda
Franciszek Smuda (; born 22 June 1948) is a Polish Association football, football Coach (sport), coach and former footballer who also holds a German passport. As a player, he spent his career playing for clubs in Poland, the United States and Ge ...
was hired as new manager on 2 January 2013. When Regensburg was relegated from the 2. Bundesliga, Gerber was sacked at the end of the 2012–13 season.
Personal life
Gerber is the father of Fabian Gerber, a longtime 2. Bundesliga player.