Probably no job in this sport is as dependent on the form of the day and as shaky as that of the head coach. I’ve experienced it often enough as a player myself. For example, with Jupp Heynckes, who was undisputedly a world-class coach, things didn’t really work out that well at Schalke 04 between 2003 and 2004. But he personally put me back on the path towards the national team and helped me a lot. When he had to leave, I asked myself: Why him?! He would have brought us further!
Or Mike Büskens, when he was a trainer at Greuther Fürth: In 2012 we were promoted to the 1st Bundesliga together – then we weren’t successful. A few months later he had to leave and was no longer the hero but the bogeyman.
But that’s not the reason why I decided against a career as a coach and went into sports management. After I finally ended my career as a player in 2015, I wanted to continue straight away, to start my second career in football. I had my coaching licenses including an A license in my pocket and tried my hand at Willi Landgraf’s assistant coach for a season in the Schalke U15s. I quickly felt that I was more drawn to the side of the pitch. I think that surprised a lot of people a bit; especially those who associated me more with the DFB cabin DJ from 2006 or just the good mood guy.
I want to design, develop, implement
No question, I like to be in a good mood and I like to listen to good music. But I also want to make a difference. My thought was: I want to design, I want to develop and implement ideas. And I found that I can do that best as a manager. Of course, it was really new territory for me. As a player, you drove to training, then to the game and then back home. At least I didn’t give much thought to everything that happened around it in the past. I was now learning all of this in fast forward – and sometimes the hard way.
I completed a sports management degree and then sat in my own office for the first time in my professional life. For five years I was allowed to lead the Schalke 04 U23 team as sports director, put together the squad and make personnel decisions. For a little over a year I have been working closely with sports director Rouven Schröder as head of the professional team at Schalke. I made a conscious effort to take as many experiences and discussions with me as possible. I just want to be prepared.