# Michael Fink (footballer)

Michael Fink (born 1 February 1982) is a German football manager and player who plays for Regionalliga club FC Gießen and is also head coach for the club.

## Career
### Early years

Born in Waiblingen, Fink joined VfB Stuttgart's youth system in 1992. He enjoyed early success, winning the German Under 17 Bundesliga in 1999 and the German Youth Cup with the under-19 team in 2001, alongside Kevin Kurányi. Fink later progressed to Stuttgart's reserve team, competing in the Regionalliga Süd.
In the 2004–05 season, he signed with Arminia Bielefeld for their Bundesliga campaign. After making 11 appearances in his debut season, he became a regular the following year, featuring in 33 matches and scoring four goals, including one in the DFB-Pokal.

### Eintracht Frankfurt

Fink left Arminia Bielefeld after the 2005–06 season to join Eintracht Frankfurt.
In January 2008, he scored a bicycle kick goal in a friendly against Paderborn that won the Goal of the month award.
On 29 November 2008, there were reports linking Fink with a return to Stuttgart in the press.
Eintracht Frankfurt press officer Carsten Knoop confirmed that Fink would be leaving at the end of the season.

### Beşiktaş

Fink joined Turkish side Beşiktaş for €1.2 million transfer fee on a three-year contract.
Fink had his pro-competitive match debut in the Super Cup, in which Beşiktaş had lost 2–0 against Fenerbahçe. Fink played a full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away victory at Manchester United.
He scored his second goal against Fenerbahçe and this goal is opted for the best goal of the first part of 2009–10 season by his teammates. He scored his first goal for Beşiktaş at his "league debut" match against İstanbul BB on 7 August 2009, it was also the season's first goal at Süper Lig.

### Borussia Mönchengladbach

Fink returned to Germany on loan to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga.

## Coaching career

From 2015 to 2017, Fink served as a player-assistant coach at Waldhof Mannheim, also captaining the team during the 2016–17 season. At the start of the 2017–18 season, he retired from professional playing and extended his contract as assistant coach until 2019.
On 16 October 2017, Waldhof Mannheim dismissed head coach and sporting director Gerd Dais. Fink briefly took over as interim manager, but the Regionalliga Südwest denied his request to continue as head coach until the end of the season due to his lack of a required coaching license. As a result, Bernhard Trares was appointed head coach on 4 January 2018, and Fink ended his collaboration with the club at his own request.
From February 2018, Fink took charge of establishing and leading the newly created scouting department at FC Gießen. He also joined the club's Hessenliga squad that season, quickly becoming a regular starter. In May 2019, he served as interim coach for FC Hanau 93, then competing in the Verbandsliga, until the season's conclusion. During the 2019–20 season, he was a player-coach for Hanau 93, which had been promoted to the Hessenliga. In early 2020, Fink returned to FC Gießen in the Regionalliga, signing a one-year contract as a playing assistant coach. This role was extended for an additional two years in April 2021.
On 2 September 2024, following head coach Daniyel Cimen's departure to league rivals SG Barockstadt, Fink took over as playing head coach of the club, recently promoted to the Regionalliga again.

## Managerial statistics

    As of match played 30 November 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure :
| Team | From | To | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Ref. |
| Team | From | To | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | Ref. |
| Waldhof Mannheim | 16 October 2017 | 4 January 2018 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 070.00 | |
| FC Hanau 93 | 9 May 2019 | 30 June 2021 | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 64 | 66 | −2 | 042.11 | |
| FC Gießen | 2 September 2024 | Present | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 29 | −12 | 014.29 | |
| Total | Total | Total | 62 | 25 | 12 | 25 | 98 | 103 | −5 | 040.32 | — |