Georg Zellhofer
An Austrian football journeyman whose nomadic career as a player paved the way for a long and unpredictable managing odyssey across Europe.
Born 1960 (age 66)·Austrian footballer and manager·Birthday: August 25·Baby Boomers
Biography
Georg Zellhofer's life in football is a map of lesser-traveled roads. As a sturdy midfielder in the 1980s and 90s, he never settled at a giant club, instead carving a path through the Austrian Bundesliga and Germany's lower divisions with teams like Sturm Graz and VfB Mödling. This grounding in the sport's trenches informed his subsequent managerial philosophy. Taking the helm at Admira Wacker in 2001, he began a peripatetic coaching career that saw him bounce from crisis to opportunity across Austria, Germany, Greece, and even Kazakhstan. He became known as a specialist in relegation battles and short-term firefighting, often taking over clubs in dire straits. While lacking a major trophy, Zellhofer's resilience and adaptability made him a fixture in the game's demanding middle tier, a coach forever ready for the next challenge in a far-flung dugout.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Georg was born in 1960, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Georg Was Born
The biggest hits of 1960
#1 Movie
Swiss Family Robinson
Best Picture
The Apartment
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Georg's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1960Born
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1965Started school
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1973Became a teenager
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Could drive
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1978Could vote
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1981Turned 21
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1990Turned 30
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 40
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 50
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 60
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 66 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Managed over 15 different clubs in a professional coaching career spanning more than two decades.
- Led FC Kairat in the Kazakhstan Premier League to a second-place finish in 2014, qualifying for the Europa League.
- Secured Bundesliga survival for VfL Bochum during his interim tenure in the 2009-10 season.
- Won the Austrian Cup as a player with Sturm Graz in the 1987-88 season.
Did You Know?
His son, Sandro Zellhofer, is also a professional football manager.
He had a very brief stint as manager of Greek club Aris Thessaloniki, lasting only a few months in 2012.
As a player, he earned one cap for the Austrian national team in a 1988 friendly against Switzerland.
He often took on roles as a 'interim' or 'caretaker' manager, stepping in during club emergencies.
“You learn more about football in a relegation battle than at the top.”
