How a German should further professionalize Kosovo’s football

Director Weidner in an interview

Kosovo is the youngest member association of FIFA and has big goals. We are relying on German support in the person of Markus Weidner, who has held the role of Technical Director and Acting Secretary General since September 2023. At Transfermarkt he talks about his career, his work and Kosovo’s chances of taking part in a major tournament.

Weidner, who was born in Frankfurt, began setting up the “International Relations and Coaching” department at the German Football Association in 2006. A department that was now 16 strong and had a clear task: to bring German football knowledge abroad. “I originally started working at the DFB in 1997 in various positions. I worked in the area of ​​coach training and further education and was also responsible for team management for the U teams. At some point I noticed that the international activities were located in different departments and there was no common thread. I then sat down and developed a comprehensive concept on international relations. I then presented this concept to a group of interested people at the DFB, including Dr. Theo Zwanziger,” explains Weidner.

He says about the inquiries made to the DFB at the time: “African football associations, among other things, approached us and were looking for a U21 national coach or a referee trainer, for example. Over the years we had built up a portfolio of foreign experts and these experts were then recommended to those in charge. Overall, these trainers must be open-minded, curious and adaptable. Of all the trainers I received, Bernhard Lippert particularly stuck in my mind. He actually didn’t want to go abroad. In the end he stayed in Azerbaijan for twelve years and then went to Ghana. In general, we have placed a large number of trainers and occasionally other experts in various associations. In fact, there were also strange requests: For example, we were asked to look for team buses for the respective national team several times.”

German trainers and their training enjoy a good reputation, especially on the African and Asian continents. It all started after the first World Cup triumph in 1954. Suddenly coaches like Rudi Gutendorf were in demand abroad, especially in exotic countries, to help build structures. Cooperation with the Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development also played an important role in Weidner’s department.

“Every coach who goes abroad doesn’t just represent German football. In addition to specialist knowledge, he or she is also expected to embody so-called German virtues such as diligence or thoroughness. Sometimes trainers in exotic countries in particular don’t get the spotlight as often. That’s why I think it’s even nicer that Roland Bischof founded the ‘German Football Ambassador’ initiative in 2011 to offer these coaches a platform. In the years in which I was able to do this work for the DFB, I was able to get to know many great people,” emphasizes Weidner.

Weidner on Kosovo job: “Can expand my horizons”

After 20 years at the DFB, he moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2017 and worked there in the area of ​​internationalization until 2021. “After twenty years at the DFB, I was open to a new challenge and I temporarily found it at Eintracht. In general, one can say that internationalization is a marathon and requires a lot of time and patience. The impressions of the past few years have shown me that football in the USA has grown extremely. I would even commit to the fact that the USA will play a larger role in world football in the medium term – both with the national team and with Major League Soccer. However, I am disappointed with the development of football in China. The potential is very great, but development there has been stagnating for years. “At this year’s Asian Cup you could see that the Chinese national team doesn’t play a big role,” says Weidner.

He has been working at the Kosovo Football Association since September 2023. “In 2016, as part of the recognition of FIFA membership, I came into close contact with those responsible for the first time. We stayed in touch over the years. Association President Agim Ademi approached me in spring 2023 and asked whether I could imagine the role as technical director. For me, this job is associated with breaking out of my comfort zone. I can expand my horizons and at the same time I can help advance football on a holistic level,” says Weidner.

Under the 55-year-old’s leadership, the Kosovo Football Association hopes, among other things, to help build more professional structures: “Due to the association’s young history, we can initiate many processes and measures faster and better. We will adopt a four-year plan in the next few weeks. For example, we will offer a pilot course for the UEFA A license and in the long term we also want to enable coaches to obtain the UEFA Pro license. We also want and need to improve the infrastructure. Among other things, we currently only have one stadium that is approved for international games. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am sure that this work will pay off.”

Kosovo director Markus Weidner.

The senior national team squad currently includes 17 Legionnaires. But Weidner doesn’t just want to recruit players with Kosovar roots abroad, he also wants to train them in his own country: “It takes a mix of both. Of course, we also scout for players abroad and also use Transfermarkt for pre-sorting. Overall, we are further along than we were a few years ago. The national team squad consisted almost exclusively of players who were active abroad. Our goal is for the young players to receive the best possible training here before they take the step into football abroad.”

Kosovo director Weidner: The national team’s potential is “great”

The league structures can still be expanded and not every club trains under professional conditions. But there are sporting role models such as the reigning champions FK Ballkani, who were able to qualify for the European Cup for the first time last season and were the first Kosovar team to do so. Ultimately, the club from the city of Suhareka reached the group stage of the Conference League.

The national team will not be taking part in the upcoming European Championships and there is great hope that things will look different in the future. In the qualifying group, Kosovo finished second to last in the table, but was only six points behind the Swiss in second place.

A new national coach, who is currently being sought, should also make a contribution on the right path. Names such as André Breitenreiter and Bruno Labbadia were associated with the association. Weidner doesn’t allow himself to be drawn into the cards when searching: “I can use a well-known phrase at this point: The future will show who will be the new national coach and I really don’t want to make any water level reports.” According to him, the national team’s potential is “great “: “By increasing the number of participants at the European Championships, the opportunity for ‘smaller countries’ has increased. This is also why I believe that there is a realistic chance that Kosovo will take part in a European Championship finals in the near future.” Weidner is positive about the future.

Interview: Henrik Stadnischenko

To home page