With a lot of vigor and clear ideas, Sandro Wagner introduced himself as a new coach at the Bundesliga club FC Augsburg.
He will “come to work with a smile every day”, said the 37-year-old on Monday, 29 days after his departure from the German national team, where he was an assistant to national coach Julian Nagelsmann: “I am a learner, very humble and see the FCA as an incredible chance.”
Managing Director Michael Ströll lit him in an “incredible” first conversation “from second one,” said Wagner, “I noticed: someone was in the mood to get to know me. After this conversation it was clear to me: I would like to go to FCA!”
What can he bring to the club? “Active football is my DNA,” emphasized Wagner in the WWK Arena, with eight camera teams and around 30 journalists, “but that doesn’t just mean Hauruck forward. It doesn’t have to be nice to go to Augsburg – and sometimes hurt.” It is about “not having the opponent’s book dictated”.
“Sandro is a person who is highly motivated who is very ambitious who gets to work meticulously. A human catcher,” said Ströll. The new man has “a clear plan, a clear game idea of playing football – all attributes that coincide with our goals”.
Ströll emphasized that he wanted to “tidy up” with the idea that Wagner was mainly brought to get more attention. “The beam effects were totally uninteresting for us, completely irrelevant.” Wagner was obliged “because he fits a hundred percent of sport in the requirement profile”.
For Wagner, who signed Jess Thorup until 2028, it is the first stop as a coach in the Bundesliga. His head coach experience has so far been limited to promotion to the 3rd league with the SpVgg Unterhaching (2021-23), but he is considered great talent.