Daniel Stendel is a German professional football manager and former player. Stendel played as a striker in his native Germany, spending most of his playing career with Hannover 96, who he later managed. He then had a stint as manager of Barnsley, helping them win promotion to the Championship in his only full season before he was sacked in October 2019. He was appointed manager of Scottish club Heart of Midlothian in December 2019. Hearts were relegated after the curtailed 2019-20 season, and Stendel was replaced as manager in June 2020.
Coaching career
Hannover 96
He was appointed head coach of Hannover 96 on 3 April 2016 for the remainder of the 2015–16 season. He had been coaching the under 19 team for Hannover. His first match finished in a 2–2 draw. His first win came in the following weekend, on 15 April 2016, in a 2–0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach. He was sacked on 20 March 2017. He finished with a record of 17 wins, nine draws, and eight losses.
Barnsley
On 6 June 2018, Stendel was appointed as manager of League One club Barnsley on a two-year deal. On 13 April 2019, following a 4–2 home win over Fleetwood Town, South Yorkshire Police launched an investigation after opposition manager Joey Barton allegedly assaulted Stendel in the tunnel. Since the incident, Barton has been charged by South Yorkshire Police with ABH and bailed until 9 October 2019. On 8 October 2019, Stendel was sacked as head coach following a run of ten games without a win. Stendel's departure sparked widespread criticism of the board.
Heart of Midlothian
Stendel was appointed manager of Scottish club Hearts in December 2019, on a contract due to run until the summer of 2022. In March 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Scottish football was put on hold indefinitely. To help Hearts during this period, Stendel refused to take any wage payments. Hearts were bottom of the 2019-20 Scottish Premiership at the time the league was suspended, and were subsequently relegated when the league was curtailed. Stendel had a clause in his contract which meant that it was no longer in effect if Hearts were relegated from the Premiership, and the club appointed Robbie Neilson to replace him on 21 June 2020.
