When DC United announced Troy Lesensne’s early morning firing, René Weiler was not on my short list, long list, or Christmas list of potential to take over the team. With the club deep in talks to make Weiler the team’s highest paid coach ever, he is still an unknown for many of us. What is DC United getting with this new hire?
As a player, Weiler played at the highest level of Swiss soccer and briefly for the national team. He has coached in Belgium, Egypt, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland. Teams he’s coached have won league titles, cup titles, and promotions, but also suffered relegation. His tenure at these different clubs has often been short in duration.
Playing Career
Weiler began his playing career as a defender with his hometown club, FC Winterthur. During the 1992-1993 season, he featured in 14 matches playing in Nationalliga B.
(In Swiss soccer at the time, the 36 teams of the Nationalliga were divided into two tiers, Nationalliga A and Nationalliga B. The top 12 teams were assigned to Nationalliga A while the bottom 24 teams were grouped in Nationalliga B and further divided into an East and West group. The teams then played a double round robin round of games. The bottom 12 teams in Nationalliga B (6 from either grouping) were relegated to the 1. Liga (Swiss 3rd Tier) after the The top 12 teams from Nationalliga B were grouped with the bottom 4 teams from Nationalliga A and then divided into two groups Pro/Rel Groups A and B for another series of matches. The top 2 teams from each group remained in or were promoted to Nationalliga A. The remaining 12 teams formed Nationalliga B with 12 teams promoted from 1.Liga. This format was done away with when Nationalliga A was rebranded as the Swiss Super League for the 2003-2004 season.)
For the 1993-1994 season Weiler joined FC Aarau and featured in 36 matches where he scored 2 goals. He also featured in two Champions League games.
The 1994-1995 and 1995-1996 seasons found Weiler at Servette FC where he appeared 40 times in league play and made 2 Champions League appearances.
Over the next two seasons, Weiler appeared 35 times in league play at FC Zurich, where he netted 5 goals. During this time, Weiler made his lone appearance for the Swiss Senior National Team in a 2-1 loss to Russia in February 1997.
Weiler’s playing career ended back at FC Winterthur where he featured twice in Nationalliga B.
Coaching Career
Following his retirement, Weiler began his coaching career at FC Winterthur as an assistant. Weiler made stops as Director of Football, Interim Coach, U21, or U16 coach at FC Winterthur, St Gallen, and Grasshopper Zurich.
FC Schaffhausen (2009 -2011)
Weiler’s first appointment as a senior team manager came in the Swiss third tier with FC Schaffhausen in July 2009. In 55 games with FC Schaffhausen, Weiler compiled a record of 18-13-24. Weiler left FC Schaffhausen in April 2011.
FC Aarau (2011-2014)
After departing FC Schaffhausen, Weiler took over one of the clubs he featured for as a player, FC Aarau. Weiler took a team that had finished 11th in Swiss second division (now known as the Swiss Challenge League) the previous season to the promotion/relegation playoff, where they lost to FC Sion. The 2012-2013 season saw FC Aarau finish first in the Challenge League and win promotion to the Super League. In their first season back in the Swiss top flight, FC Aarau finished 9th in the table. Weiler departed FC Aarau in May 2011 with a record of 65-19-35 in 119 games.
1. FC Nürnberg (2014-2016)
In November 2014, Weiler moved to 1. FC Nürnberg to take over a team that was relegated from the Bundesliga the season before. In his two years there, Weiler compiled a record of 30-13-17 and finished 11th and 3rd in the 2. Bundesliga.
R.S.C Anderlecht (2016-2017)
Weiler’s next managerial stop was in Belgium with R.S.C Anderlecht. During his tenure there, Weiler won the Belgian First Division and the Belgian Super Cup. Anderlecht let Weiler go after a rough start to the next season and a 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions league. He finished his time in Belgium with a record of 36-16-14.
FC Luzern (2018 –2019)
Following his Belgian sojourn, Weiler managed a short stint back in the Swiss top flight with FC Luzern. In 26 matches his team posted an 11 -1-14 record.
Al Ahly SC (2019-2020)
Weiler’s next managerial stop was in Cairo with Al Ahly SC. During his season in Egypt, Al Ahly won the Egypt Cup and the Egyptian Premier League title with an overall record of 34-8-2.
Kashima Antlers (2022)
After a break during the height of COVID, Weiler traveled to Japan to manage the Kashima Antlers. Weiler didn’t complete the season there. He had a record of 19-8-8 for a team that ultimately finished 4th in the J1 league.
Servette FC (2023-2024)
Most recently, Weiler returned to coach another of the teams he played for, Servette FC. The end of the 2023-2024 season found Servette FC sitting 3rd in the Super League table, owning a Europa League spot, and winning the Swiss Cup. Immediately after the Swiss Cup final, Weiler announced he was stepping down as coach but remained with the club. He served as Servette FC’s sporting director this past season. He departed “…following structural changes within the club’s organization, which lead to differences in vision.”
Weiler on Weiler
In an interview with blue Sport, Weiler was asked about makes a good coach in his eyes. He responded by listing “above-average quality in terms of empathy, anticipation, general effectiveness, comprehensible and non-contradictory communication and a healthy does of courage and composure.” In the same interview, he described himself as tough with players but empathetic and understanding. Headstrong, difficult, and unconventional were also terms used to describe him in the interview.
So What is DC United Getting?
For his career thus far, Weiler has a 257-106-140 record and has won league titles or cups in three leagues. He has managed teams at different levels in four different countries. Based upon his record, it appears he is at the very least a decent coach. His performance in different countries suggests he should be able to manage and adapt to any culture shock he runs into moving from Switzerland to DC and inconsistencies between the leagues.
Though it may be due in part to the translation, the interview linked to above seems to hint he is bringing an iconoclastic personality and a tougher love perspective with him to DC United. Is this part of the reason for his short tenures at his different stops? I didn’t really see evidence of that when researching this, but it can’t be discounted.
In theory this could be a recipe for success. However, he’s running into a couple of factors he may not have accounted for. In the past MLS has proven to be somewhat of a different animal when it comes to leagues, due to travel distance, travel rules and accommodations, and …. rrrrr… “quirky” roster construction rules. Additionally, has he dealt with a roster with the dearth of talent of D.C. United before? Once he gets here and gets settled, it will be interesting to see how he and the team adapt.
Thanks, PJ. Well researched.
Excellent article and thoughtful analysis. One thing that I believe is working in Weiler’s favor is this: he seems perfectly fine walking away if you don’t meet his expectations as a club (a “my way or the highway” standard). And he’s being paid big money (for DCU). So he’s in an excellent bargaining position to make demands about the roster and investments of talent–demands that Lesesne was never in a position to make.
Let me add a few points based on my research. Weiler has said publicly (when he was hired to coach in Egypt) that his tactical approach varies with each team and he adjusts it to the talent he has–he doesn’t have a scheme that the players must adapt to (or he jettisons players to fit his scheme). He believes in setting very clear goals. As opposed to some European coaches who set direction and expect the assistants or TD or then develop the individuals, Weiler believes in working with players individually and wants to see all of them grow.
It’s something to be both hopeful and hesitant about. Hopeful because he may be able to better utilize the guys we have. Hesitant because that may mean we become very organized and boring if he finds that we don’t have the talent to play on the front foot more often. I’m positive he could at least get 11 professional players to play sound defensive soccer, but if there’s not a minimal level of technical skill and athleticism, we are stuck where we are.
Realistically, he’s going to be coach for 9-10 matches this season by the time he gets his work permit. I question how much of a difference he can make this season, especially in terms of getting more organized and tighter as a team.
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