The steep rise of coach Sandro Wagner continues: He becomes assistant coach to national coach Julian Nagelsmann. The roots of their connection lie in the depths of Munich youth football.
Sandro Wagner was recently able to test drive. At the 2-1 friendly win against France he took a seat on the national team bench. Exactly where he will sit at the 2024 European Championships. Wagner took on the role of assistant coach during Rudi Völler’s brief appearance as interim national coach. Wagner will continue to act as an assistant coach in the future Julian Nagelsmann assist.
National coach Nagelsmann: Sandro was on fire
At his presentation on Friday in Frankfurt, the new national coach gave insights into how little convincing it took to convince Wagner of the assistant coach job. It was “typical of Sandro”. “The phone got very warm in my ear because he was really burning and he immediately signaled to me that it was the right decision, that we need exactly that kind of guy in the coaching staff.”
Wagner found favor in his interim assignment. He followed the game of his charges against the runner-up world champion France with focus. While Völler and Hannes Wolf hugged each other in celebration after the 1-0 win, Wagner’s loud voice made its way through the shouts towards the defender to give the next instructions.
Wagner as an alternative to Flick and Löw
Wagner was well received by the players. He was already a figure in German football before his first big coaching job. Because as a TV expert, with his self-confident manner and his analyses, in which he rarely minced his words, he made many friends, especially among the viewers – and with his authentic, chummy manner he also made friends with one or more people A statement to another player that he would otherwise not have made in front of a microphone.
Because Wagner has retained his stable smell. It is this direct and carefree manner that sets him apart so much from the former DFB coaches Jürgen Klinsmann, Joachim Löw and now Hansi Flick, who are often perceived as smooth – and that is precisely why he has skyrocketed in the fans’ favor. Wagner comes across differently; imposing, it immediately takes up a room that it enters. “A real guy,” as one would say in regular parlance, and therefore one who is sorely missed in many football debates. This also leads to some people forgetting that Wagner hasn’t been in the coaching business for that long.
SpVgg Unterhaching: Promotion to the 3rd league
His career on the sidelines began just a few months after his last game in the jersey of China’s Tianjin Jinmen Tigers. He had previously returned to his youth club FC Bayern Munich after many positions. He took up his first position in October 2020: As a striker coach, he was supposed to teach the DFB young talent how real center forwards should behave in the center of the attack. After almost half a year, he moved to Unterhaching’s U19 department and – again just a few months later – was promoted to head coach of the first team.
For two years Wagner was the most prominent name at Unterhaching and then, despite that Promotion to the 3rd league, outgrown the team as a coach. Despite some efforts, Unterhaching President Manfred Schwabl was unable to keep his coach. Wagner was drawn back to the DFB.
A first meeting at the Munich youth derby
As Hannes Wolf’s assistant coach, he wanted to take the next step in his career with the U20 and was also invited to the “Young talent team“. No one could have predicted that this step would lead to the assistant coach position of the senior national team just a few months later, even with this steep career path. With his short appearance he left a lasting impression on the players, which is why they are said to have campaigned for him internally.
And Nagelsmann also still has good memories of him. Wagner was once Nagelsmann’s player. They met at TSG Hoffenheim in 2017. “I have known Sandro for a long time, I trained him in Hoffenheim and I know that he is an extremely intelligent man who has dealt with it a lot as a player,” Nagelsmann praised his new assistant at the inaugural press conference.
For the first time, however, their paths crossed much earlier. In 2006, both played in the youth teams of the biggest Munich clubs. Nagelsmann at TSV 1860, Wagner at FC Bayern Munich. However, it is not yet known whether striker Wagner made as big an impression on defender Nagelsmann there.
Video: Haching President Manfred Schwabl about Sandro Wagner: “It was clear that he was going his own way”
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Source: BR24Sport September 22, 2023 – 6:30 p.m
