Bundesliga newcomer
“Nothing is impossible”: Heidenheim with courage in the adventure
Will also cause a sensation in the Bundesliga with Heidenheim: Coach Frank Schmidt. photo
© Heiko Becker/dpa
Frank Schmidt and 1. FC Heidenheim are hot for the Bundesliga. Relegation would be a greater success for the coach than promotion.
With the away game at VfL Wolfsburg, the Swabians begin their first season in the Bundesliga on Saturday (3:30 p.m. / Sky). “We don’t know exactly what to expect. And I love new things,” says the coach. “Every game will be special for us.”
The relationship between Schmidt and his employer is also special. The Heidenheim native and former player has been the club’s coach for almost 16 years. He started with them in the big leagues, now he oversees them in the elite division.
“I live in the present”
In September, he is expected to replace ex-Freiburger Volker Finke as coach with the longest tenure at a club in German professional football. “Honestly, it doesn’t mean anything to me and I don’t pride myself on it,” says the humble, sometimes gnarly Schmidt about the record. “I’m already glad when the day is over. I live in the present.”
It is important to prepare for what is probably the most difficult mission of his career so far. “Staying in at the end would be rated higher than promotion. That would be a mega success,” says Schmidt. Quite a few believe that second division champion Heidenheim and co-promoted SV Darmstadt 98 have to come down again at the end of the season.
There will be opponents “we won’t stand a chance against,” Schmidt suspects. “We didn’t know that in the last few years. It could also happen, for example, that we lose three times in a row.” Then you have to stick together. “Then the putty has to be strong,” he says. “Space and time pressure are changing significantly because the individual quality is higher,” he says to his players. “Mistakes will be punished faster and the public will exert more influence and pressure.”
Doesn’t sound all that rosy. But the Heidenheimers also know their strengths. “Unified and with humility, but without limiting themselves” – according to Schmidt, this is how they want to tackle the Bundesliga adventure. “Nothing is possible” has been her motto for years.
a power at home
Especially at home, in their 15,000 spectator arena on the Ostalb, they are difficult to crack. They scored 40 of their 67 points there last season. “Of course we want to become home power again,” says the coach. Probably also connected with the hope that the majority of the opponents of the trip to the Brenz will not be looking forward to it. In Heidenheim, which has around 50,000 inhabitants, there is less glamor than hard work.
A major difference compared to previous years is that this time the club was able to retain all top performers such as goal scorer Tim Kleindienst or captain Patrick Mainka. “In the course of my last contract extension until 2027, I was given the task of making sure that FCH is an established second division club that generates transfer income and then develops new, undiscovered players,” explains Schmidt. “Now we’ve risen. It was important to me to send a signal internally and to everyone out there.”
Come to stay, that’s the motto. And stay true to yourself. The people in Heidenheim have not changed in their dealings with each other in the past 20 years, says Schmidt. He, too, “not at all” as a person, but “definitely” as a coach. He has learned “no longer to make decisions based on emotion,” he explains. “As a novice, I used to say right after a game what had to be different next time. Now I sleep on it one night.” He was “still an impatient person, but has become calmer and more experienced”.
He “could have extended it indefinitely if he wanted to,” said CEO Holger Sanwald once after Schmidt had signed his new contract in 2021. Schmidt and Sanwald – this has been a well-established duo in Heidenheim for two decades. And there is no end in sight soon. Even a descent would probably not divide them. “We’re proud of how we’ve developed and what we’ve experienced,” says the coach. Now the next chapter begins.