After an extensive search, Hamburger SV officially announced the appointment of Kathleen Krüger on Tuesday. The 40-year-old joins from FC Bayern Munich, succeeding Stefan Kuntz as the club’s new sports director. Claus Costa will step back into a supporting role.
The move, which had been anticipated for some time, is now finalized. According to the Bundesliga club, Krüger will take over as the new sports director on July 1.
“With Kathleen Krüger, HSV gains a highly experienced personality who has worked at the highest international level at FC Bayern Munich for many years. Over 17 years, she gathered experience in the often emotional environment of a top club, helped shape processes, and demonstrated exceptional organizational and leadership skills,” said Michael Papenfuß, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HSV Fußball Management AG.
“She combines sporting competence, strategic thinking, and strong communication skills,” Papenfuß added. The 40-year-old will take overall responsibility for HSV’s sporting department. Together with board member Eric Huwer, she is expected to play a key role in the club’s strategic development.
Krüger expressed her excitement: “I am very grateful for the trust placed in me. It is a true privilege to shape the sporting future of Hamburger SV, one of the biggest names in German football.” She said she has been following the club’s positive development closely and greatly appreciates what has been achieved recently. Her goal, alongside Huwer and all staff members in men’s and women’s football as well as youth development, is to continue this path and actively shape the club’s future.
Krüger will become the first full-time female sports director in the Bundesliga. However, HSV previously had a female marketing director, Katja Kraus, who briefly took on interim sports director duties in 2009. The club employed a headhunting agency to find Kuntz’s successor—specifically a female candidate. Speculation had also involved well-known football executives like Frankfurt’s Markus Krösche and former BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl.
First-team squad planning will primarily remain the responsibility of sporting director Claus Costa and head of scouting Sebastian Dirscherl. Costa and Krüger actually know each other, having completed a joint DFB manager training course.
Krüger grew up in a Bayern Munich-supporting family in Munich’s northern suburbs and played for FC Bayern’s women’s team from 2004 to 2007. She began working at the club’s offices in 2010 as an assistant to then-sporting director Christian Nerlinger and served as team manager from 2012 to 2024. During that period, she worked with star coaches like Jupp Heynckes, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, and Hansi Flick, winning eleven league titles, two Champions League trophies, and five DFB-Pokal victories. In 2022, Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder awarded her the state’s Order of Merit.
