Volker Finke (born 24 March 1948) is a German football manager. He was the coach of SC Freiburg for 16 years.

Coaching career

Early career
Finke was a player–coach for TSV Stelingen from 1 July 1974 to 12 February 1986. He was head coach of TSV Havelse from 13 February 1986 to 9 October 1990. Finke was head coach of SC Norderstedt.

SC Freiburg
Finke became head coach of SC Freiburg on 1 July 1991. His first match as head coach of Freiburg was a 2–1 win against 1860 Munich. Freiburg finished in third place 1991–92 2. Bundesliga season and were knocked out of the 2nd round of the German Cup. Freiburg started the 1992–93 season with a 2. Bundesliga match against VfB Oldenburg on 11 July 1992, which finished in a 2–2 draw. Freiburg won the 2. Bundesliga in the 1992–93 season, won promotion to the 1993–94 Bundesliga, and were knocked out of the German Cup in the second round. Freiburg started the 1993–94 season with a first round match in the German Cup, which they won 8–0. They went all the way to the quarter–finals where they were knocked–out by Tennis Borussia Berlin. Freiburg finished the 1993–94 Bundesliga in 15th place, one spot above the relegation zone. The 1994–95 season started with a 3–1 loss to Stuttgarter Kickers in the first round of the German Cup. Freiburg's 1994–95 Bundesliga season included a 5–1 win against Bayern Munich on 23 August 1994. They wrapped up the 1994–95 season on 17 June 1995 with a 2–1 win against FC Schalke 04. Freiburg finished in 3rd place in the Bundesliga and qualified for the UEFA Cup. Finke finished with a record of 244 wins, 143 draws, and 220 losses.

Urawa Red Diamonds
Finke was head coach of Urawa Red Diamonds between 1 January 2009 and 31 January 2011. Finke's first match of the Urawa Red Diamonds was a 1–0 loss to the Yokohama F. Marinos. Urawa Red Diamonds finished the 2008 season in seventh place. They also got to the semi–finals of the AFC Champions League. During the 2009 season, Urawa Red Diamonds finished in sixth place. 2010 season marked Finke's final season as head coach of the Urawa Red Diamonds. His final match as head coach was a 4–0 loss to Vissel Kobe. Urawa Red Diamonds finished the season in 10th place.

1. FC Köln
On 18 December 2010, Finke was named as the new director of sport by 1. FC Köln effective on 1 February 2011. Effective on 27 April 2011, Finke additionally became interim coach until the end of the season and won all three matches. On 10 March 2012, Köln parted company with Finke by mutual consent after a 1–0 win over Hertha BSC.

Cameroon
On 22 May 2013, he was named as head coach of Cameroon. His first match was a 1–0 loss in a friendly match against Tanzania. Cameroon lost all 3 matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They lost 1–0 to Mexico, 4–0 to Croatia, and 4–1 to Brazil. He was sacked on 30 October 2015, two weeks before the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification phase started. His final match as Cameroon's coach was a 0–0 draw against Congo.

Coaching record

Honours

Manager
SC Freiburg
2. Bundesliga: 1992–93, 2002–03

See also
 List of longest managerial reigns in association football

References

External links

1948 births
Living people
People from Nienburg, Lower Saxony
Footballers from Lower Saxony
German men's footballers
German football managers
TSV Havelse managers
SC Freiburg managers
J1 League managers
Urawa Red Diamonds managers
1. FC Köln managers
Expatriate football managers in Japan
Bundesliga managers
2. Bundesliga managers
Cameroon national football team managers
2014 FIFA World Cup managers
2015 Africa Cup of Nations managers
Men's association football midfielders
TSV Havelse players
Hannoverscher SC players
Expatriate football managers in Cameroon
German expatriate sportspeople in Japan
German expatriate sportspeople in Cameroon
German expatriate football managers
West German men's footballers
West German football managers