Everything that is of rank but not a big name was recently able to cheer on the website of the German Football Association. Daniel Niedzkowski, head of the pro license training, expressed his delight that top German coaches “after many wonderful years in Hennef” will in future be taught on the grounds of the new DFB academy in Frankfurt. Markus Nadler, head of the department for trainer training, further education and training, enthused that the “move to the DFB campus will give our training a boost in terms of content”. And Tobias Haupt, head of the DFB Academy, emphasized that a “realignment of content has set further decisive groundwork”. His core sentence: “Our coaches are the key to the sporting success of our teams.”
Yes, you can say the same thing. Small addition: The team coached by Steffen Baumgart (1.FC Köln) scored four goals this weekend, as did the team coached by Christian Streich (SC Freiburg) and the team coached by Thomas Reis (VfL Bochum). Crucial steps were taken at all three locations that could give another boost in terms of content, as one may add in the campus language. Baumgart and Streich will probably represent German football in Europe next season, which is just as unlikely as VfL Bochum staying up early.
It is not important that the coach could join Joko, Kloppo & Klaas
It is definitely to be welcomed that the DFB wants to develop its trainers into polymaths who are also familiar with sports psychology, sports medicine and rules and can use their virtual modules. However, the example of the trainers Baumgart, Streich and Reis shows that an important subject is missing from the curriculum, and for good reason. Natural authority cannot be taught or learned, nor can charisma or originality.
No, it’s not important for a coach to make super jokes or be part of a yet to be invented TV show Joko, Kloppo & Klaas could be. Of course, personality can also express itself simply in clear leadership (the Hitzfeld/Heynckes/Flick model), but Jürgen Klopp can also be seen as a role model apply – to coaches who already have the players’ cabins under control because of their presence and who, with the charisma of a passionate tutor, can get to the class even better than a colleague who simply explains things well.
Being a professional coach is a complex job nowadays, you have to control the tactics, the opponent, the course of the game, your own players, your own bosses, the media. This weekend shows that it definitely helps to be a so-called guy – regardless of the eternal debate whether you came into the industry as a laptop trainer, ex-professional or just from Hennef.