Bundesliga: Seven clubs start the season with new coaches

On the first matchday of the Bundesliga, seven clubs will start with a new coach. Among them are well-known, but also completely new coaches.

The wait for the new season is (almost) over – and with it the wait for a very personal (re)start, especially on the Bundesliga benches. Seven clubs are starting the season with a new coach, and Ole Werner from newly promoted Werder Bremen will celebrate his Bundesliga premiere.

With Niko Kovac (VfL Wolfsburg) and Andre Breitenreiter (1899 Hoffenheim), two coaches from abroad are returning to the Bundesliga. In addition to Werner, Enrico Maaßen (FC Augsburg) and Daniel Farke (Borussia Mönchengladbach) have never worked at this level in Germany . Edin Terzic (Borussia Dortmund) is coming back from the stands to the coaching bench, and Frank Kramer (Schalke 04) and Sandro Schwarz (Hertha BSC) are expecting very special tasks.

Daniel Farke – “an asset to Borussia”

The 45-year-old made the leap from Borussia Dortmund’s Under-23s to the Premier League in 2017 and made a name for himself in international football with Norwich City. In Gladbach, Farke now has the opportunity to prove himself among the elite at national level. What he has already managed to do is to let Borussia’s messed up last season fall into oblivion.

“The trainer is very direct, very professional, very meticulous and it’s amazing how much attention to detail he has. He is absolutely convinced of his path with possession-based, very active football“said Captain Lars Stindl in an interview with the “Redaktions-Netzwerk Deutschland”: “I think Farke is already an asset to Borussia.“

But the new coach has found enormous pleasure in his team. “The guys have a good spirit – from the first minute of our cooperation. They are greedy for football, but also self-critical‘ Farke said.

But apparently there was no major reason for criticism, none of the eight preparatory games were lost, in the cup there was a 9-1 win at FV Oberachern. “It’s good for confidence and mood. The manner was also really good in places. But there is still room for improvement. We are in good spirits, but far from being too euphoric” said the coach.

Frank Kramer – persuasion with the ascent hero

When Schalke announced that they would sign the ex-Bielefeld player, their own fans were very cautious. After Mike Büskens had led the club back into the Bundesliga as interim coach, the supporters had wished for a more well-known coach to succeed them. But there is great optimism in the club that Kramer is the right person for the demanding project to stay up in the league.

“We have to be among the top teams in terms of mileage to be able to compensate for differences in quality. But that’s exactly what fits here: People want to see that, in addition to playful elements, you give your last shirt and leave your heart on the pitch“, said Kramer. “Maloche” – a word from the Ruhr area for hard work – is something that the Schalke north curve expects. Then they also forgive failures.

In order to prevent this, Kramer must succeed in forming a new team into a unit. Eleven newcomers are in the squad, many of them will be in the starting eleven when the season starts on Sunday (07.08.2022). And Kramer has someone sitting next to him on the bench who could help him with problems. Promotion coach Büskens has returned to his previous position and is now Kramer’s assistant coach.

“If Mike had wanted to, I wouldn’t even be here right now“, said Kramer of “Sport-Bild”: “He is an important partner for me in my team. He lends a hand with me to make sure everything goes in the right direction and he sits next to me on the bench. This is different from someone sitting in the stands and casting their shadow down onto the bench from above.“

Enrico Maassen – a novice after the Augsburg chaos

Like Farke, the 38-year-old got the tools for the top level of football from the Dortmund U23s. It remains to be seen whether he has found the right station for his start at the highest level in Augsburg. Last season ended in chaos, the then coach Markus Weinzierl announced to the surprise of those responsible at the club after the last game on the TV microphone that he would no longer remain Augsburg coach.

“We are 100 percent convinced that Enrico is the right coach for FC Augsburg“said manager Stefan Reuter: “We’ve had our best times with coaches who were young and hot. That was the case in the first phase with Markus Weinzierl and then also with Manuel Baum. We are very optimistic that this also applies to Enrico.“

Maassen wants to do it with a courageous offensive game and a lot of possession. And above all he wants to be successful as a sponsor. “It’s about developing all players‘ he made it his goal.

Andre Breitenreiter – restart with master recommendation

There was hardly any doubt that the 48-year-old would be the Bundesliga coach again this season. After he surprisingly won the championship title in Switzerland with FC Zurich, interested Germans queued up – and in the end Breitenreiter decided on Hoffenheim.

For him it is already the third station in the Bundesliga. With SC Paderborn he missed relegation after promotion, the following year he was on the line at Schalke 04 and had to vacate the coaching bench after one season in fifth place. Since then, Breitenreiter”maybe a bad image“He told the “Sport-Bild”.

But he prefers to emphasize the positive: “When some people hear my name, they say: Andre Breitenreiter was a trainer at Schalke. But they don’t know that we finished fifth, had the best start to the season in 45 years, that Schalke had around 90 million euros in transfer income, that players like Leroy Sané, Max Meyer, Alessandro Schöpf and Roman Neustädter became internationals for their countries. These are facts.“

In Sinsheim, the view of his time at Schalke is apparently similar, TSG is completely convinced of the new coach. “Andre Breitenreiter is a very ambitious coach who, with his attacking style of play, fits in perfectly with TSG“, said TSG manager Alexander Rosen: “In addition to his technical expertise, he convinces from the first moment with his engaging, emphatic manner. He stands for team spirit, passion and communication and has worked successfully in all of his previous positions.“

Edin Terzic – Returning to open arms

In contrast to his newcomer colleagues, the BVB coach does not need any adjustment time. Although Terzic handed over his position to Marco Rose a year ago, as technical director he was always close to the action and to the team. He should now form them back into a unit, as he had already done as interim coach in 2021 when he won the DFB Cup with Dortmund.

A video published by BVB shortly after the decision showed that it was not a typical coaching commitment. In the midst of sports director Sebastian Kehl and managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke, Terzic got the BVB fans in the mood for the new season, garnished with a number of pats on the back from his fellow men.

“Let’s be hungrier than ever, let’s work harder than ever. Let’s be as positive as never before. And most importantly, let’s be louder than ever“, said Terzic. Then BVB would “have the great opportunity to celebrate like never before.”

But the task is not easy. Five high-quality newcomers who came with corresponding (starting eleven) ambitions are in the squad and have to be integrated. However, Terzic has to compensate for the loss of the only striker Sebastien Haller (testicular cancer).

Niko Kovac – the man for Wolfsburg’s big ambitions

The 50-year-old won the double with FC Bayern Munich in 2019 – but still had to go. Most recently, Kovac coached AS Monaco for a year and a half and led the club back to the top in France. He should now do the same with the Wolfsburg team.

“Twelfth place didn’t make anyone happy here. Champions League and Europa League – that’s what people want here and what we want“said Kovac. The Croatian immediately made an uncomfortable decision, he took the captain’s armband from goalkeeper Koen Casteels and made Maximilian Arnold the boss. “Arnold deserves this. He’s the one in midfield who should and can wield the scepter“, Kovac reasoned.

The combination of decision-making and the transmission of this is what convinced those responsible in Wolfsburg. “He’s very clear in his announcements, very clear in his ideas, but not uncomfortable. He’s not one to laugh in the basement, but everyone knows where the limit is with him“said sports director Jörg Schmadtke.

Sandro Schwarz – crisis manager in the capital

If the former coach of FSV Mainz 05 didn’t already know, after the first round in the DFB Cup he will know how difficult his new job is likely to be. With Hertha BSC Schwarz failed at Eintracht Braunschweig. Therefore, he had previously formulated very ambitious goals: “It’s our aim to start successfully on Sunday in Braunschweig. Of course, it’s also our aim to make it to the final.”

The reality is the immediate end of the cup and a troubled start. Last season, the Berliners avoided relegation in the relegation, now Schwarz should be the man who is slowly bringing them towards the “Big City Club”. “It is the great art not only to be dazzled by the result. The Bundesliga is a different competition. We want to go back there with anticipation. With the belief that we are good too. We also want to radiate this self-image and self-confidence” said Black.

“Like in Mainz, he also has the Dynamo team (Schwarz was last a coach at Dynamo Moscow, editor’s note.) further developed and lived through the station intensively“said manager Fredi Bobic. That makes him”the right man for Hertha in the current situation“.

Ole Werner – the bold newcomer

Unlike his colleagues mentioned above, the 34-year-old is not new to his club, but he is a new face in the Bundesliga. On Saturday (08/06/2022) Werner will celebrate his debut in the footballing Oberhaus.

The Werder coach deserved this experience himself, he took over the job at the beginning of last season because Markus Anfang had to leave because of a fake vaccination card. From then on it was always uphill for Bremen, crowned by the return to the Bundesliga – and Werner has big plans there too.

“I have confidence in my players and that we can have a good season. We’re trying to keep the things that made us stand out last year“, he said: “We have many strengths in our own ball possession and want to continue to stand for good and attacking football.“