Stefan Reuter, World Champion in 1990, European Champion in 1996, as well as being a five-time German champion (with Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund), has been Sporting Director at Bundesliga club FC Augsburg since 27th December 2012 (under contract until 2018.) When he took the post, the team, under manager Markus Weinzierl, had only nine points. Reuter retained Weinzierl and since, FCA have had at least 24 points in every half of each season. The team currently sit in third place.
On Saturday, FC Augsburg take on leaders Bayern München in the top game of matchday 15 (15:30 CET.) In an interview, the 48-year-old spoke about the seemingly overpowering leaders, third placed FCA, his success with Augsburg and manager Markus Weinzierl.
Question: Stefan Reuter, would you have thought it possible that third placed FC Augsburg would be playing against leaders FC Bayern on matchday 15 of the Bundesliga?
Stefan Reuter: It’s definitely a surprise that we are in third. It’s a special moment for us. But it’s always a nice moment to play against FC Bayern, wherever you are in the league. They are the team to beat and it’s a great opportunity for our players to play against the best.
Question: FC Augsburg beat FC Bayern last April. How optimistic are you that you can do that again?
Reuter: We’re doing well so far this season and we have a good balance to the team. We’ll try to make Bayern’s life as hard as possible with what we have. Last year, we succeeded in doing that but we’ll have to see whether we can do it again. Although I must say that what Bayern have done so far this season is very impressive.
Question: A lot of teams haven’t done well when playing against Bayern this season. Will you try and force your game upon Bayern on Saturday?
Reuter: We’ll try to do that as much as we can. From day one, we said that we have to be courageous and always try to search for ways to create chances going forward. And I am convinced that that will also be the case on Saturday.
Question: You wouldn’t be a good Sporting Director if you didn’t factor in the possibility that FC Augsburg could get into Europe. Have you not spared a thought about it?
Reuter: We don’t bother about that. We are only bothered about the next game. There’s no point in thinking about anything else. We never lose our focus, we never take our eye off the next game, we never dream of other things because then it’s a matter of time before you get punished.
Question: Are FC Augsburg an established Bundesliga club?
Reuter: This is our fourth year in the Bundesliga and we started with the second lowest budget. We know that we have to keep developing. If we now stay in the first division for two or three years, our television revenue would rise massively. As far as sponsors are concerned, we’ll try to take small steps forward in order to have a budget which is somewhere in the middle.
Question: When you took over as Sporting Director two years ago, the team only had nine points and manager Markus Weinzierl was on the verge of being sacked. Why did you retain him?
Reuter: Afterwards, you had to say: that’s a huge stroke of luck. It gave us an unbelievable amount of sympathy. I only knew Markus superficially, but I said that I look at the preparation. And that made a very good impression from day one. Markus and I talk on a daily basis and we basically lead the team together. I believe that it means a lot and the team also feels that we pull together as one.
Question: What type of manager is Markus Weinzierl?
Reuter: He’s very genuine, very clear and very ambitious. He also knows the right way to address the team and gives the team a clear plan in order to push them. He does that unbelievably well.
Question: And are you certain that you can keep hold of him? (Weinzierl has a contract until 2017)
Reuter: Contracts won’t be ended for fun. He’s very aware that he signed a long-term contract with us. He also appreciates the fact that we retained him in the beginning when he was in a tough situation and that we gave him the opportunity to manage Augsburg in the Bundesliga. Therefore, there will be no questions asked. We are extremely happy with him and I also have the impression that he is very happy with FC Augsburg.
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Stefan Reuter, World Champion in 1990, European Champion in 1996, as well as being a five-time German champion (with Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund), has been Sporting Director at Bundesliga club FC Augsburg since 27th December 2012 (under contract until 2018.) When he took the post, the team, under manager Markus Weinzierl, had only nine points. Reuter retained Weinzierl and since, FCA have had at least 24 points in every half of each season. The team currently sit in third place.
On Saturday, FC Augsburg take on leaders Bayern München in the top game of matchday 15 (15:30 CET.) In an interview, the 48-year-old spoke about the seemingly overpowering leaders, third placed FCA, his success with Augsburg and manager Markus Weinzierl.
Question: Stefan Reuter, would you have thought it possible that third placed FC Augsburg would be playing against leaders FC Bayern on matchday 15 of the Bundesliga?
Stefan Reuter: It’s definitely a surprise that we are in third. It’s a special moment for us. But it’s always a nice moment to play against FC Bayern, wherever you are in the league. They are the team to beat and it’s a great opportunity for our players to play against the best.
Question: FC Augsburg beat FC Bayern last April. How optimistic are you that you can do that again?
Reuter: We’re doing well so far this season and we have a good balance to the team. We’ll try to make Bayern’s life as hard as possible with what we have. Last year, we succeeded in doing that but we’ll have to see whether we can do it again. Although I must say that what Bayern have done so far this season is very impressive.
Question: A lot of teams haven’t done well when playing against Bayern this season. Will you try and force your game upon Bayern on Saturday?
Reuter: We’ll try to do that as much as we can. From day one, we said that we have to be courageous and always try to search for ways to create chances going forward. And I am convinced that that will also be the case on Saturday.
Question: You wouldn’t be a good Sporting Director if you didn’t factor in the possibility that FC Augsburg could get into Europe. Have you not spared a thought about it?
Reuter: We don’t bother about that. We are only bothered about the next game. There’s no point in thinking about anything else. We never lose our focus, we never take our eye off the next game, we never dream of other things because then it’s a matter of time before you get punished.
Question: Are FC Augsburg an established Bundesliga club?
Reuter: This is our fourth year in the Bundesliga and we started with the second lowest budget. We know that we have to keep developing. If we now stay in the first division for two or three years, our television revenue would rise massively. As far as sponsors are concerned, we’ll try to take small steps forward in order to have a budget which is somewhere in the middle.
Question: When you took over as Sporting Director two years ago, the team only had nine points and manager Markus Weinzierl was on the verge of being sacked. Why did you retain him?
Reuter: Afterwards, you had to say: that’s a huge stroke of luck. It gave us an unbelievable amount of sympathy. I only knew Markus superficially, but I said that I look at the preparation. And that made a very good impression from day one. Markus and I talk on a daily basis and we basically lead the team together. I believe that it means a lot and the team also feels that we pull together as one.
Question: What type of manager is Markus Weinzierl?
Reuter: He’s very genuine, very clear and very ambitious. He also knows the right way to address the team and gives the team a clear plan in order to push them. He does that unbelievably well.
Question: And are you certain that you can keep hold of him? (Weinzierl has a contract until 2017)
Reuter: Contracts won’t be ended for fun. He’s very aware that he signed a long-term contract with us. He also appreciates the fact that we retained him in the beginning when he was in a tough situation and that we gave him the opportunity to manage Augsburg in the Bundesliga. Therefore, there will be no questions asked. We are extremely happy with him and I also have the impression that he is very happy with FC Augsburg.
