Johannes Theodor "Theo" Bücker (born 10 July 1948) is a German

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and a former player, who is the current coach of the under-15 team of Lebanese club Athletico SC.

Coaching career

Return to Lebanon

On 8 August 2011, Bücker was announced as

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

's head coach, with the former national team manager taking over the reins ten years after leaving the position. He is the first ever coach to bring Lebanon to the fourth and final qualifying round of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

. During this period, the Lebanese national team made impressive results. They defeated the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

3–1 in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

2–1 in Beirut, and

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

1–0 in

in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

. For the first time in their history, Lebanon defeated

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

by a single goal on matchday 4 of the final round. Bücker announced his retirement in May 2013, effective from 11 June 2013, after a match that saw his side defeated by Iran 4–0.

Nejmeh

On 18 December 2017, Bücker was re-appointed head coach of

Lebanese Premier League The Lebanese First Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الأولى), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. There are 12 teams competing in the league, ...

club

Nejmeh Nejmeh Sporting Club ( ar, نادي النجمة الرياضي, lit=The Star Sporting Club) is a football club based in Manara, a district in Ras Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the . The club was established in Beirut in 1945, and ...

, following his spell during the 2013–14 season where he won a league title. Nejmeh finished the 2017–18 season as runners-up.

Ahli Sarba

In 2018 Bücker became the coach of

Lebanese Second Division The Lebanese Second Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الثانية) is the second division of Lebanese football. Established in 1933, it is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The 12 teams that participate ...

club Ahli Sarba, staying at the club during their relegation to the Third Division.

Athletico SC

On 6 July 2020, Bücker was appointed coach of the under-15 team of Athletico SC.

Personal life

Bücker considers himself as "half-Lebanese" and is married to a Lebanese woman. He has been a resident of

for many years, expressing his love for his adopted nation. In 2012, former Lebanon national team member

Buddy Farah Badawi "Buddy" Farah ( ar, بدوي "بدي" فرح; born 18 August 1978) is a football agent and former footballer. Born in Australia, Farah is of Lebanese descent. After beginning his career with Marconi Stallions in the Australian National S ...

stated that the credit for Lebanon's success and improvement should go to Bücker and that he was the best thing ever to happen to Lebanese football.

Honours

Manager

Individual *

Lebanese Premier League Best Coach The Al-Manar Football Festival () was an event organised by the Al-Manar television station between the 1996–97 and 2018–19 seasons in order to award players, managers, referees and teams who were considered to have performed the best over ...

: 2001–02, 2013–14

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bucker, Theo 1948 births Living people People from Hochsauerlandkreis Sportspeople from Arnsberg (region) Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia German footballers Association football midfielders Borussia Dortmund players MSV Duisburg players Ittihad FC players FC Schalke 04 players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Saudi Professional League players German football managers Kazma SC managers SV Meppen managers Lebanon national football team managers Sagesse SC football managers Zamalek SC managers Ismaily SC managers Kuwait SC managers Al-Wehda Club (Mecca) managers Al-Ahli Saudi FC managers Al Masry SC managers Al Ahed FC managers Ettifaq FC managers Nejmeh SC managers Dibba Club managers Emirates Club managers AC Tripoli managers Ahli Sarba SC managers Kuwait Premier League managers Lebanese Premier League managers Egyptian Premier League managers Saudi Professional League managers UAE Pro League managers Lebanese Second Division managers German expatriate footballers German expatriate football managers German expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia German expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait German expatriate sportspeople in Lebanon German expatriate sportspeople in Egypt German expatriate sportspeople in Libya German expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Kuwait Expatriate football managers in Lebanon Expatriate football managers in Egypt Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Libya Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates