Thomas Schneider has been appointed the new assistant coach of the German national team, the 41-year-old having put pen to paper on a contract up to and including the UEFA European Championships in France in 2016.
Present for the Rheinhausen native’s signature at the German Football Federation (DFB) headquarters in Frankfurt am Main on Monday were the Federation’s President Wolfgang Niersbach, General Secretary Helmut Sandrock and national team manager Oliver Bierhoff. Schneider follows in the footsteps of Hansi Flick, who became the DFB’s new sporting director on 1 September.
In DFB.de’s ‘Interview of the Week’, his first major media engagement since assuming his new position, Schneider spoke to editor Steffen Lüdeke about receiving the phone call from Joachim Löw and his imminent cooperation with the World Cup-winning head coach. He also elaborated on his stint in charge of VfB Stuttgart and looks ahead to his first appearances in the Germany dugout in the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers against Poland and the Republic of Ireland next month.
DFB.de: Thomas Schneider, you signed a contract to become Germany’s assistant coach today, completing what must have been a special few days for you. Where did you watch Germany’s games against Argentina and Scotland?
Thomas Schneider: Where I watch most Germany matches: at home with my family.
DFB.de: Did you follow the games with a different, perhaps more analytical, approach this time?
Schneider: Obviously I watched the action in more detail than I used to. I made an effort to follow the games more closely in terms of tactics and to consider situations in a more analytical way. Assisting Joachim Löw in that regard is now part of my duties after all. The Argentina game was a friendly match, one to get the World Cup completely out of our system and to get back into our rhythm again. Against Scotland on Sunday, it was hugely important that we took home the three points and started our qualification campaign in the right way. That was our target and we reached it.
DFB.de: How did you feel when your phone rang and Joachim Löw was on the other end?
Schneider: I was surprised, although I was obviously aware that my name had been mentioned as one of the candidates to be Germany’s new assistant coach. Joachim Löw asked me if I could envisage myself in the role, we then sat down together and talked everything over in detail.
DFB.de: After those discussions, were there any lingering doubts? Was there anything that would have prevented you taking up the post?
Schneider: Certainly not from my side (laughs). I basically asked myself the question: “Did I want to remain a head coach?”, and the answer was simple. I’m a very young coach with only eight months of experience in the professional game. If you’re given the opportunity to work for the DFB and the German national team, alongside one of the best coaches in the world and to learn from him, then I consider that a privilege. I can now take to the field with the best footballers in the country, with true world champions. It didn’t take me too much time to realise that it was something I wanted to do.
DFB.de: You just referred to your spell in charge of VfB Stuttgart. How have you spent your time since leaving the club?
Schneider: Firstly, I used the time to analyse and reflect on why it was that my time there didn’t bring sustained success. After that I then took the opportunity to do a few internships and develop myself further. I spent time with Roger Schmidt in Salzburg, Markus Weinzierl in Augsburg and also with Arsene Wenger in London. They were fantastic experiences and I’m very grateful that I was given the chance to exchange ideas with coaches of such repute.
DFB.de: You will now be working alongside the coach that masterminded a World Cup triumph. What does that mean to you?
Schneider: It really means a lot. I have the utmost respect for what the players, coaches and everyone involved achieved at the World Cup and in the years leading up to it, and for that reason I’m going to go about my new duties with humility. Aside from that, I’m also aware that I’m stepping into some very big shoes. The work that Hansi Flick did for the DFB team can’t be praised highly enough. It’s a big challenge for me to follow in his footsteps, but it’s one I’m really looking forward to. I’m convinced I can bring ideas and impulses to the table that will help this great team continue to develop.
DFB.de: Before becoming head coach at VfB, you had spent many years coaching youngsters. Now you will be doing something different. What do you see your work entailing?
Schneider: I’m the assistant to the coach of the national team, so my job is primarily to support Joachim Löw in the work he does. I assume we’ll have to communicate ideas and systems to players coached by the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp when they come to us. The idea is that we at the DFB have a philosophy, which we can refine and develop, and that we always find new ways of imparting it to the players. The team has stood together and there are lots of players who have been part of the squad for many years. The DFB’s teaching approach is focused more on examining our form and preparing and setting the team up to face our opponents in the best way possible.
DFB.de: Your first taste of action comes in October when Germany face Poland and the Republic of Ireland. How do you see your days being spent until then? How do you prepare for standing in the dugout as the national team’s assistant coach?
Schneider: In the coming weeks I’ll sit down and speak to a few people, especially Hansi Flick and Joachim Löw, as well as Andreas Köpke. I’ll also get to know some of the figures that work with the team behind the scenes, such as the scouting department, in order to immerse myself deeper in the details of the DFB’s philosophy - the first workshop for that will be held quite soon, in the next few weeks, with Urs Siegenthaler and Christofer Clemens. And then I’ll start looking forward to the two games in October.
DFB.de: During your career, you played under many esteemed coaches, but you once said that the one who had the biggest influence on you was Ralf Rangnick. What made him so special? In what way did he help you improve?
Schneider: What makes him special first and foremost is that he was my coach on several occasions. We enjoyed great success with the U-19 team in Stuttgart, where we became junior German champions. I also played under him in the senior team at VfB and then again at Hannover 96, my last club before I retired. At that time, he was almost revolutionary in Germany in the way he interpreted the game. We were the first team that played with a back four; that’s now become the norm. Ralf Rangnick simply had a very innovative approach.
DFB.de: You were also a player when you first got to know Joachim Löw.
Schneider: Yes, and he was the coach under whom I developed the most. It was under him that I managed to break into the Germany squad having been out for a long time with injury. I was really impressed by the way he set us up, and by the conceptual and tactical angles in which he approached games. With him we always had a clear plan of action, and he was good at getting that across.
DFB.de: You were forced to end your playing career after contracting Lyme disease when you suffered a tick bite that went undetected. How difficult was it for you to hang up your boots?
Schneider: It wasn’t easy. I got the diagnosis shortly after I’d signed a contract at Hannover, and after that I just wasn’t able to perform. My reputation suffered a bit too, since only very few players contract an infection like that. I obviously had a lot of problems at that time, but I managed to get through it and I was able to start looking forward again pretty quickly. I started and finished a degree in sports management and found a route into coaching relatively quickly.
DFB.de: You then acquired your coaching licence, scoring a mark of 1.3 in your final assessment, the second-best in your class. To what extent was your decision to become a coach confirmation of that result, and how did that academic performance prepare you for your future career?
Schneider: That coaching course led by Frank Wormuth is certainly one of the best in the world. My time at the Hennes-Weisweiler-Akademie was, and still is, essential for me. It’s like a big toolbox where you can find everything you need. As a former player, you obviously have your own experiences that you can draw on, which you can’t just theoretically acquire. But in terms of methodology, education, communication – and I could list many more – the course offers so many extremely important lessons, from which you can only profit in a practical sense. And that certainly goes for working as the assistant coach of the national team.
DFB.de: What was going through your mind when you travelled to the DFB headquarters in Frankfurt today?
Schneider: It was pure anticipation and excitement. I’ve been given a great welcome, and I have to say a huge thank you to the President Wolfgang Niersbach and General Secretary Helmut Sandrock, who together with Oliver Bierhoff have given me a very positive feeling. It was also a magnificent experience to get to know some of the team on my first day in the job. My task at the DFB really excites me – and now, finally, it officially begins.
created by sl/bl
Thomas Schneider has been appointed the new assistant coach of the German national team, the 41-year-old having put pen to paper on a contract up to and including the UEFA European Championships in France in 2016.
Present for the Rheinhausen native’s signature at the German Football Federation (DFB) headquarters in Frankfurt am Main on Monday were the Federation’s President Wolfgang Niersbach, General Secretary Helmut Sandrock and national team manager Oliver Bierhoff. Schneider follows in the footsteps of Hansi Flick, who became the DFB’s new sporting director on 1 September.
In DFB.de’s ‘Interview of the Week’, his first major media engagement since assuming his new position, Schneider spoke to editor Steffen Lüdeke about receiving the phone call from Joachim Löw and his imminent cooperation with the World Cup-winning head coach. He also elaborated on his stint in charge of VfB Stuttgart and looks ahead to his first appearances in the Germany dugout in the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers against Poland and the Republic of Ireland next month.
DFB.de: Thomas Schneider, you signed a contract to become Germany’s assistant coach today, completing what must have been a special few days for you. Where did you watch Germany’s games against Argentina and Scotland?
Thomas Schneider: Where I watch most Germany matches: at home with my family.
DFB.de: Did you follow the games with a different, perhaps more analytical, approach this time?
Schneider: Obviously I watched the action in more detail than I used to. I made an effort to follow the games more closely in terms of tactics and to consider situations in a more analytical way. Assisting Joachim Löw in that regard is now part of my duties after all. The Argentina game was a friendly match, one to get the World Cup completely out of our system and to get back into our rhythm again. Against Scotland on Sunday, it was hugely important that we took home the three points and started our qualification campaign in the right way. That was our target and we reached it.
DFB.de: How did you feel when your phone rang and Joachim Löw was on the other end?
Schneider: I was surprised, although I was obviously aware that my name had been mentioned as one of the candidates to be Germany’s new assistant coach. Joachim Löw asked me if I could envisage myself in the role, we then sat down together and talked everything over in detail.
DFB.de: After those discussions, were there any lingering doubts? Was there anything that would have prevented you taking up the post?
Schneider: Certainly not from my side (laughs). I basically asked myself the question: “Did I want to remain a head coach?”, and the answer was simple. I’m a very young coach with only eight months of experience in the professional game. If you’re given the opportunity to work for the DFB and the German national team, alongside one of the best coaches in the world and to learn from him, then I consider that a privilege. I can now take to the field with the best footballers in the country, with true world champions. It didn’t take me too much time to realise that it was something I wanted to do.
DFB.de: You just referred to your spell in charge of VfB Stuttgart. How have you spent your time since leaving the club?
Schneider: Firstly, I used the time to analyse and reflect on why it was that my time there didn’t bring sustained success. After that I then took the opportunity to do a few internships and develop myself further. I spent time with Roger Schmidt in Salzburg, Markus Weinzierl in Augsburg and also with Arsene Wenger in London. They were fantastic experiences and I’m very grateful that I was given the chance to exchange ideas with coaches of such repute.
DFB.de: You will now be working alongside the coach that masterminded a World Cup triumph. What does that mean to you?
Schneider: It really means a lot. I have the utmost respect for what the players, coaches and everyone involved achieved at the World Cup and in the years leading up to it, and for that reason I’m going to go about my new duties with humility. Aside from that, I’m also aware that I’m stepping into some very big shoes. The work that Hansi Flick did for the DFB team can’t be praised highly enough. It’s a big challenge for me to follow in his footsteps, but it’s one I’m really looking forward to. I’m convinced I can bring ideas and impulses to the table that will help this great team continue to develop.
DFB.de: Before becoming head coach at VfB, you had spent many years coaching youngsters. Now you will be doing something different. What do you see your work entailing?
Schneider: I’m the assistant to the coach of the national team, so my job is primarily to support Joachim Löw in the work he does. I assume we’ll have to communicate ideas and systems to players coached by the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp when they come to us. The idea is that we at the DFB have a philosophy, which we can refine and develop, and that we always find new ways of imparting it to the players. The team has stood together and there are lots of players who have been part of the squad for many years. The DFB’s teaching approach is focused more on examining our form and preparing and setting the team up to face our opponents in the best way possible.
DFB.de: Your first taste of action comes in October when Germany face Poland and the Republic of Ireland. How do you see your days being spent until then? How do you prepare for standing in the dugout as the national team’s assistant coach?
Schneider: In the coming weeks I’ll sit down and speak to a few people, especially Hansi Flick and Joachim Löw, as well as Andreas Köpke. I’ll also get to know some of the figures that work with the team behind the scenes, such as the scouting department, in order to immerse myself deeper in the details of the DFB’s philosophy - the first workshop for that will be held quite soon, in the next few weeks, with Urs Siegenthaler and Christofer Clemens. And then I’ll start looking forward to the two games in October.
DFB.de: During your career, you played under many esteemed coaches, but you once said that the one who had the biggest influence on you was Ralf Rangnick. What made him so special? In what way did he help you improve?
Schneider: What makes him special first and foremost is that he was my coach on several occasions. We enjoyed great success with the U-19 team in Stuttgart, where we became junior German champions. I also played under him in the senior team at VfB and then again at Hannover 96, my last club before I retired. At that time, he was almost revolutionary in Germany in the way he interpreted the game. We were the first team that played with a back four; that’s now become the norm. Ralf Rangnick simply had a very innovative approach.
DFB.de: You were also a player when you first got to know Joachim Löw.
Schneider: Yes, and he was the coach under whom I developed the most. It was under him that I managed to break into the Germany squad having been out for a long time with injury. I was really impressed by the way he set us up, and by the conceptual and tactical angles in which he approached games. With him we always had a clear plan of action, and he was good at getting that across.
DFB.de: You were forced to end your playing career after contracting Lyme disease when you suffered a tick bite that went undetected. How difficult was it for you to hang up your boots?
Schneider: It wasn’t easy. I got the diagnosis shortly after I’d signed a contract at Hannover, and after that I just wasn’t able to perform. My reputation suffered a bit too, since only very few players contract an infection like that. I obviously had a lot of problems at that time, but I managed to get through it and I was able to start looking forward again pretty quickly. I started and finished a degree in sports management and found a route into coaching relatively quickly.
DFB.de: You then acquired your coaching licence, scoring a mark of 1.3 in your final assessment, the second-best in your class. To what extent was your decision to become a coach confirmation of that result, and how did that academic performance prepare you for your future career?
Schneider: That coaching course led by Frank Wormuth is certainly one of the best in the world. My time at the Hennes-Weisweiler-Akademie was, and still is, essential for me. It’s like a big toolbox where you can find everything you need. As a former player, you obviously have your own experiences that you can draw on, which you can’t just theoretically acquire. But in terms of methodology, education, communication – and I could list many more – the course offers so many extremely important lessons, from which you can only profit in a practical sense. And that certainly goes for working as the assistant coach of the national team.
DFB.de: What was going through your mind when you travelled to the DFB headquarters in Frankfurt today?
Schneider: It was pure anticipation and excitement. I’ve been given a great welcome, and I have to say a huge thank you to the President Wolfgang Niersbach and General Secretary Helmut Sandrock, who together with Oliver Bierhoff have given me a very positive feeling. It was also a magnificent experience to get to know some of the team on my first day in the job. My task at the DFB really excites me – and now, finally, it officially begins.
