Kenan Kocak


Kenan Kocak is a German former football player of Turkish descent. He is the current manager of Hannover 96.

Professional career

Kocak was a youth product of Waldhof Mannheim. Kocak played sparsely for Waldhof Mannheim, Austria Salzburg, SSV Reutlingen, 1. FC Pforzheim, and finally as a player-manager for Türkspor Mannheim.

Managerial career

VfR Mannheim

In the winter break of the 2010–11 season Kenan Kocak became manager of VfR Mannheim. In his first competitive match as coach, his team was able to knock out the local rival of Waldhof Mannheim in the quarter-final of the Baden Cup. In the regular season, Kocak reached second place with VfR Mannheim in the Verbandsliga Baden. In the promotion play-off, his team faced FV Ravensburg. The first leg ended in a 1–1 draw. The second match was won by Mannheim with 2–0. As a result, Mannheim reached the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg. In his first Oberliga season, Kocak's team finished in second place. After the first half of the 2011–12 season, VfR Mannheim was even at the top of the Oberliga. In the 2012–13 season, Mannheim finished in third place. After this season, Kocak left the club and became manager of Waldhof Mannheim, which played in the Regionalliga Südwest at the time.

Waldhof Mannheim

hired Kocak on 7 June 2013 and had his first match on 29 July 2013 against SSV Ulm. The final score was 4–2 for Waldhof Mannheim. The club finished the 2013–14 season in fifth place. In the following season, Waldhof Mannheim dropped down to 13th place. Waldhof Mannheim won the Regionalliga Südwest during the 2015–16 season. In the promotion play-off, they faced off against Sportfreunde Lotte. The first leg ended in a 0–0 draw and the second leg ended in a 2–0 win for Lotte. Kocak left Waldhof Mannheim on 3 July 2016 to become manager of SV Sandhausen.

SV Sandhausen

Kocak became manager of Sandhausen on 3 July 2016. Kocak's debut match was a 2–2 draw against Fortuna Düsseldorf. His first win with Sandhausen came on 22 August 2016 in a 2–1 win against SC Paderborn. He was sacked on 8 October 2018.

Hannover 96

On 14 November 2019, Kocak was appointed as manager of Hannover 96.

Managerial statistics