Ex-HSV coach Markus Gisdol on the departure of Lokomotiv Moscow

Posting abroad possible again

“For me, football coaching is the best job in the world. But I cannot pursue my calling in a country whose leader is responsible for a war of aggression in the middle of Europe. That doesn’t go with my values.” With these words, coach Markus Gisdol justified his departure from Lokomotiv Moscow after only twelve competitive games at the beginning of March, a few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with “Sky”, the 53-year-old, who, according to his own statement, has since taken a conscious break, looked back on the decision.

Lokomotiv, where Ralf Rangnick, who worked there as sporting director until his move to Manchester United, brought him in October 2021, was a “very interesting task” in terms of sport. With the beginning of the war, however, he “quickly noticed that I had great difficulties with the situation and that I couldn’t cope with it. I didn’t manage to concentrate on football.” The solution to leave Russia was therefore the only possible one, said Gisdol: “It was clear to me that I had to make a consistent decision.”

Gisdol had initially signed a contract with the capital club until the summer of 2022 and emphasized that he “would have liked to have stayed there longer”. The former coach of TSG Hoffenheim, Hamburger SV and 1.FC Köln said that his first posting abroad, where for the first time he didn’t have to speak in German, was an “important experience” despite the short duration.

New coaching job abroad for Markus Gisdol realistic option

A new coaching job abroad is therefore a real option. With the move to Moscow, he wanted to “test” “whether I like it – and whether I’m able to cope with different mentalities in other cultures,” said Gisdol, who scored an average of one point per game at Lokomotiv. He had his best average result in the Kraichgau with 1.34 points. This went well and since then he has noticed that “the interest of foreign clubs has increased through the commitment in Moscow. That definitely makes me more flexible in my decisions.”

The fact that there has been no further commitment since leaving Moscow was a conscious decision to take a break with the family: “In April we sat together with the family and my son, who is now 11, said to me: Dad It would be nice if we could spend the summer holidays together. I thought the idea was a good one, so I decided to take a break first, not to have any discussions and to block all offers.” This time gave him “a lot of strength” and he is now ready to get back on board.

Gisdol is one of a number of German coaches around Bruno Labbadia, Florian Kohfeldt and Sebastian Hoeneß, who should be among the candidates in the coming months when jobs in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga become vacant – or abroad. “I would like to coach a club that has clear and realistic ideas and is marching together in the same direction. This time I also want to take the liberty of waiting until the right moment and the right situation comes along,” he said. “It doesn’t depend on the country or the league.”

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