Cristian Fiél (born 12 March 1980) is a German former
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was most recently the head coach of
Hertha BSC
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...
.
Career
In his youth, Fiél played for various clubs in his native
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...
, before joining
Stuttgarter Kickers
Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers. The club currently plays in the Regionalliga Südwest, the fourth tier of German footb ...
in 1997, and it was here that he made his professional debut, coming on as a substitute for
Alexander Blessin in a
2. Bundesliga match against
Waldhof Mannheim in April 2000.
He made a further three appearances in the
1999–2000 season,
and became a first-team regular
the following season, where he scored two goals in 23 appearances,
but was unable to prevent the club being relegated.
Fiél then signed for
1. FC Union Berlin, newly promoted to the second tier, and made 33 league appearances in
his first season, scoring seven goals.
He also got his first taste of European football, as Union had qualified for the
UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
as the
previous season's
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...
finalists, and Fiél played in four matches, assisting two goals in a first-round victory over Finnish side
FC Haka, before Union were eliminated in the next round by
Litex Lovech of Bulgaria. The
following season, Union found themselves in financial trouble, and were forced to sell players, so Fiél was sold to
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...
, getting his first chance to play in the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
. He finished the 2002–03 season by appearing in 16 appearances for Union Berlin and seven appearances for Bochum.
Fiél made his Bundesliga debut in January 2003, replacing
Delron Buckley in a 2–1 victory over
1. FC Nürnberg. He made a further five appearances before the end of
the season, but was not selected at all
the following season, and in January 2004 he returned to the 2. Bundesliga, signing for
Alemannia Aachen
Aachener Turn- und Sportverein Alemannia 1900 e. V., short Alemannia Aachen (), is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long-term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three- ...
. Aachen were in the midst of a
cup run, and Fiél helped the club to surprise victories over
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
and
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...
on the way
2004 DFB-Pokal final. Fiél was named as a substitute for the final, and came on for
Willi Landgraf in the 73rd minute. He set up a last minute goal for
Erik Meijer, but this proved to be only a consolation as Aachen lost 3–2 against
Werder Bremen
Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...
.
As Werder were
double
Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Multiplication by 2
* Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length
* A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1
* A ...
winners, Aachen entered the
2004–05 UEFA Cup
The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons, replacing that from the previous one after the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999; an extra qualifying round was ...
, giving Fiél another opportunity to play in Europe, making four appearances as the club reached the group stage. The following season, Aachen finished in second place, and earned promotion to the Bundesliga. Fiél made 30 appearances at this level in the
2006–07 season, but the club were relegated, finishing 17th.
Fiél spent a further three seasons playing for Aachen in the second division, before leaving the club in 2010, after six and a half years, joining
Dynamo Dresden
Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, is a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kasse ...
of the
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
. Despite injuries he was a key part of Dynamo's first-team, making 23 appearances in the
2010–11 season as the team won promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. The season almost ended in disaster, though, as Fiél scored an
own goal
An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net.
In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...
in the last game of the season against
Kickers Offenbach
Offenbacher Fussball-Club Kickers, commonly known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left establis ...
, which almost cost Dynamo their place in the promotion playoff.
Dani Schahin saved the day, though, with a winner, and Dynamo secured third place. Fiél was able to make up for his earlier mistake in the playoff, scoring the equaliser in the second leg of the
playoff
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
against
VfL Osnabrück
VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis but is by far best known for its Association football, football section.
The footba ...
, and setting up Schahin for the winning goal. Fiél was named as Dynamo's captain in summer 2011 after the departure of
Thomas Hübener, but was replaced in this role by
Robert Koch
Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( ; ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera and anthrax, he i ...
at the beginning of the
2012–13 season.
Fiél retired in the summer 2015.
Managerial career
Dynamo Dresden
After retiring as a player in the summer 2015, Fiél was hired as a youth coach at
Dynamo Dresden
Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, is a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kasse ...
.
[ He took over as the interim head coach on 23 August 2018] and was the interim head coach until Maik Walpurgis was hired on 11 September 2018. He lost his only match as interim head coach. On 24 February 2019 he was named head coach of Dresden again. On 2 December 2019 he left the club again after it dropped to last place in the 2019–20 2. Bundesliga.
1. FC Nürnberg
Fiél was head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg II between 1 July 2021 and 20 February 2023. In Fiél first season as head coach, 1. FC Nürnberg II finished the in 11th place in the Regionalliga Bayern
The Regionalliga Bayern () is the highest association football league in the state of Bavaria () and the Bavarian football league system. It is one of five Regionalligas in German football, the fourth tier of the German football league system, b ...
. He became assistant coach of the first team on 20 February 2023. The reserve team was in third place when he became assistant coach of the first team. Fiél took over the head coach position at 1. FC Nürnberg for the 2023–24 season, finishing 12th.
Hertha BSC
He moved to Hertha BSC
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...
in the summer of 2024 with a two-year contract. On 17 February 2025, he was sacked after a series of bad results, leaving the club in the 14th position.
Personal life
Born in Germany, Fiél is of Spanish descent.
Career statistics
Club
Managerial record
References
External links
Cristian Fiél
at Dynamo Dresden
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiel, Cristian
1980 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Esslingen am Neckar
Footballers from Stuttgart (region)
German people of Spanish descent
1. FC Union Berlin players
Stuttgarter Kickers players
VfL Bochum players
VfL Bochum II players
Alemannia Aachen players
Dynamo Dresden players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
3. Liga players
Oberliga (football) players
German men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Dynamo Dresden managers
2. Bundesliga managers
German football managers
1. FC Nürnberg managers
Hertha BSC managers
21st-century German sportsmen