Bio

Valérien Alexandre Ismaël (born 28 September 1975) is a professional football coach and a former professional player who is currently manager of EFL Championship club Watford. During his playing career, Ismaël played for Racing Strasbourg, Crystal Palace, RC Lens, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, and Hannover 96. As a player, he won the Coupe de France, the Coupe de la Ligue twice, the Bundesliga twice, as well as the DFB-Pokal on two occasions. Following his retirement, he moved into management, first as a reserve coach for a number of clubs before moving into senior management at 1. FC Nürnberg, then with VfL Wolfsburg before a notable spell with LASK of the Austrian Bundesliga and spells with Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion of the English Championship.