Alexander Baumjohann ends his football career in Australia. The former Bundesliga professional, who played for FC Schalke 04, Gladbach and FC Bayern during his career, is preparing for his second career as a manager at the same time. He would return to S04 at any time, said the 35-year-old.
Alexander Baumjohann already has a degree in “International Sports Manager” from the ESM Academy in Nuremberg, he reveals to “WAZ“. Now the midfielder, who was once trained at FC Schalke 04, is studying at the UEFA Academy for the “Certificate in Football Management” – together with Croatia star and ex-teammate Ivan Rakitic.
Courses that Baumjohann started during his active career at Sydney FC in order to be well prepared for the time afterwards. He does not yet know where he will start his career as a club manager. But: “I see myself abroad in the short or medium term.” He lives in Australia with his wife and two children.
Nevertheless, Baumjohann already has his goal firmly in mind: “Working for Schalke one day would be a dream.” Should an offer from the Royal Blues come in at some point, he would “get on the plane immediately”.
Globetrotter Baumjohann maintains contact with Schalke buddies
After his professional debut with Schalke 04, Baumjohann initially moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach in January 2007. Two and a half years later, the highly talented attacking midfielder moved to Bayern Munich, where he was never able to gain a foothold. This was followed by a return to Gelsenkirchen, a season at 1. FC Kaiserslautern and a last try at Hertha BSC. All in all, Baumjohann only made 97 Bundesliga appearances in eleven years in the German Oberhaus.
But the two-time U21 national player didn’t have enough: After a year in Brazil, where he signed with Coritiba and Vitória, he crossed over to Australia, where he first played for the Western Sydney Wanderers for a year. In 2019 he moved to city rivals Sydney FC, where his contract expired at the end of June.
But he has by no means forgotten his FC Schalke 04 after all this time. “The descent took me brutally, so the joy was all the greater after the climb back up,” said the Waltroper, who still maintains contact with some of his former companions.