hrubesch started his coaching career with rot-weiss essen he was there between 1 july 1986 and 14 september 1987. his first match was a 2–0 loss against rot-weiß oberhausen on 25 july 1986. he had won two of nine league matches and a first round exit from the cup before leaving the club. his final match was a 3–1 loss to rot-weiß oberhausen on 13 september 1987. he won 16 of his 47 league matches. hrubesch then took over vfl wolfsburg for the 1988–89 season. in the cup, he had a draw and a loss. this includes a 1–1 draw and a 6–1 loss against to eintracht frankfurt. hrubesch then took over swarovski tirol from 1 january 1992 to 30 june 1992. his first match was a 2–0 win against austria salzburg. hrubesch took over at hansa rostock between 4 january 1993 and 26 june 1993. his first match was a 3–0 loss to waldhof mannheim on 6 february 1993. hrubesch took over as head coach of dynamo dresden on 22 november 1994 and was there until 1 march 1995. he failed to win any of his five matches. his first match was a 1–1 draw against karlsruher sc on 26 november 1994. dynamo dresden also lost a 2–1 to bayern munich, 1–1 draw against bayer leverkusen, 1–0 loss to werder bremen, and a 2–0 loss to vfl bochum. hrubesch was head coach of austria wien for the 1995–96 season. his first match was a 4–0 win against vorwärts steyr on 2 august 1995. hrubesch was head coach of samsunspor for the 1997–98 season. samsunspor finished second in group 6 of the uefa intertoto cup, three points behind hamburger sv.<ref name="ui-cup 1997/1998 » group 6"></ref> their record was three wins and a loss. in the league, they finished with a record of 14 wins, seven draws, and 13 losses in 34 matches.<ref name="turkey » süperlig 1997/1998 » 34. round"></ref>