Niko Bungert

Niko Bungert
Personal information
Full name Niko Bungert
Date of birth (1986-10-24) 24 October 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Bochum, West Germany
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Mainz 05 (staff)
Youth career
1989–1996 VfB Günnigfeld
1996–2004 SG Wattenscheid 09
2004–2005 Schalke 04
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Schalke 04 II 25 (4)
2006–2008 Kickers Offenbach 52 (1)
2008–2019 Mainz 05 198 (9)
2010–2016 Mainz 05 II 4 (1)
International career
2008 Germany U21 3 (0)
Managerial career
2019–2020 Mainz 05 (assistant)
2021 Mainz 05 (assistant)
2024 Mainz 05 (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Niko Bungert (born 24 October 1986) is a retired German footballer who played as a defender.[1][2]

He was also a member of the German U-21 team. He was part of the Schalke youth team that won the Youth DFB-Pokal in 2005.

Career

Coaching career

After Bungert chose to hang up his boots after the 2018-19 season, he joined Mainz 05 as part of a trainee program to work at the club.[3] At the end of November 2019, Bungert joined newly appointed head coach Achim Beierlorzer's staff, where he would act as assistant coach.[4] He returned to his trainee program in July 2020.[5]

On August 15, 2021, Bungert had to step in as deputy assistant coach ahead of a match against RB Leipzig, as head coach Bo Svensson's two assistants were both in COVID-19 quarantine. Mainz sensationally won 1-0 with a reserve team, as a large part of the squad was in quarantine.[6] In November 2021, Bungert became the club's first ever Club Ambassador.[7]

On January 1, 2024, Bungert was again promoted to the role of assistant coach, this time under Jan Siewert.[8] After the end of the season, Mainz announced that Bungert would not be an assistant coach in the new season and would take on another, unnamed, role at the club.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Bungert, Niko" (in German). Kicker. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
  2. ^ Niko Bungert vom 1. FSV Mainz 05 beendet Karriere am Saisonende, bundesliga.com, 23 March 2019
  3. ^ Niko Bungert vom 1. FSV Mainz 05 beendet Karriere am Saisonende, bundesliga.com, 22 March 2019
  4. ^ Achim Beierlorzer neuer Trainer beim 1. FSV Mainz 05, bundesliga.com, 18 November 2019
  5. ^ Bungert scheidet aus dem Mainz-Trainerteam aus, kicker.de 3 July 2020
  6. ^ Darum will Bungert kein Trainer werden!, bild.de, 18 November 2021
  7. ^ Niko Bungert erster Vereins-Botschafter!, bild.de, 17 November 2021
  8. ^ SÖREN HARTUNG UND NIKO BUNGERT NEUE CO-TRAINER BEI DEN PROFIS, mainz05.de, 1 January 2024
  9. ^ JESPERSEN: EHRLICHKEIT ALS PRÄGENDE EIGENSCHAFT SEINES CHEFS, mainz05.de, 19 July 2024