Shuan Fatah New Head Coach of the Austrian National Team

Shuan Fatah, head coach of the reigning Austrian Bowl Champion Swarco Raiders Tirol is taking on another, challenging task as the 47-year-old had been named the new head coach of the Austrian men’s national team.

Fatah succeeds former Raiders player Jakob Dieplinger who guided the national team to second place in the 2014 European championships.

“It is a great honor for me to be working now as head coach of the Austrian football national team,” said Fatah. “Austria has been my home for the past five years. Both personally and professionally, I feel very comfortable here. I look forward to the new, additional challenge. “

Fatah took over as head coach of Swarco in 2011 producing immediate results winning both the Austrian Bowl and Euro Bowl in his first year. After several years finishing as runners up in both, Fatah’s Raiders captured the Austrian crown again in 2015.

Shuan Fatah-2-1

Shuan Fatah’s background

Fatah is one of the most successful American football coaches in Europe. Prior to taking over as head coach of the Raiders, he had guided Germany’s Berlin Adler to the Eurobowl title in dramatic fashion, beating the Vienna Vikings on the final play of the game to capture the 2010 title after winning the German crown in 2009.

In 2008 he took over the reins of the 1-11 Dresden Monarchs, leading them into the German semifinals that same year. Coach Fatah spent several years coaching in NFL Europe with the Berlin Thunder as special teams coordinator helping the club win the World Bowl in 2001, 2002 and 2004. He added another World Bowl ring to his collection as running backs coach of the Hamburg Sea Devils in 2007.

Prior to that, he spent two years coaching Division II football in the United States after serving as the youngest head coach in Germany with his hometown Berlin Adler.

Roger Kelly is an editor and a writer for AFI. A former PR Director the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League for 7 years, he now lives in Sweden writing about and scouting American Football throughout the world.