The 3. Liga is full of particular players. DFB.de introduces the series “a history of the 3. Liga”. Today: Horst Steffen, manager of the Stuttgart Kickers, who currently sit in a promotion place ahead of Saturday’s Stuttgart derby with VfB II (14:00 CEST).
“It can stay that way,” said Horst Steffen whilst laughing, in reply to being asked what he thought of the league table in the 3. Liga in an interview with DFB.de. No wonder, as the 44-year-old’s side, the Stuttgart Kickers, sit in second place in the table and therefore occupy one of the automatic promotion places. However, with 24 points, they only sit in second place behind leaders SV Wehen Wiesbaden (26 points) thanks to a better goal difference. There are four other teams that all have 24 points that currently sit below the Kickers. “I’ve rarely experienced such a close group of teams,” said Steffen.
The ex-player has been manager of the traditional club since September 2013 and had previously managed other teams in Germany. About a year ago, the manager left his role as manager of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s under-19s, who he had coached for 3 years, to be manager of a first team. When Steffen took over, the Kickers sat in 18th place in the table. But under Steffen, they’ve gone steadily uphill. At the end of that season, they finished eighth and qualified for the DFB cup. Now, Stuttgart are in the mix for a promotion place.
“Make the team better with every session”
Steffen, who played for KFC Uerdingen 05, Borussia Mönchengladbach and MSV Duisburg, is not worried about a long dry spell. “It doesn’t matter whether the team is at the top or the bottom: my work doesn’t change,” explained the manager. “That has never influenced training. It’s all about trying to make the team better with every session.”
Everything is going well at home- after seven games there, they’ve had six wins and a draw and therefore they’ve collected 19 of their 24 points in front of their own fans. Steffen said: “Our aim is to make the fans happy with how we play every game, no matter where it is.”
Steffen favours 4-3-3 formation
The Kickers fans have seen their side play attacking football since the start of the season, which is down to Steffen’s introduction of the 4-3-3 formation. “It was also a first for me,” said Steffen. “I’ve never played this formation before. I had thought about the change in the last winter break. But the winter break was only short and over the summer, we had a lot more time to look over it.”
Steffen gives his players enough space. “I don’t run a regime, but I’m the manager of a football team,” explained Steffen. “If the boundaries are too tight then there will be a lack of creativity and I don’t want that. My players should feel at ease and have fun and it’s only then that they can start to learn new things.”
“Sometimes I hit the table”
But he doesn’t want to give the players unlimited space. “I sometimes hit the table when I realise that a player is not giving all he’s got,” said Steffen. “I don’t like laziness. Fortunately, I have a team in Stuttgart that are extremely motivated.”
Above all, the success of the team is the most important for Horst Steffen. But he doesn’t want to predict what will happen this season at the moment: “We are consistent, but there are one or two things that we can still work on. We want to pick up as many points as possible before the winter break and then we’ll look further. In football, there’s always the chance of problems. Unlucky own goals, suspensions and injuries are never out of the question. But one thing is clear: we want to and won’t sit back.”
Video analysis on the train
Steffen’s family don’t live in Stuttgart. They still live in Kaarst-Büttgen in the Lower Rhine region. Horst Steffen uses the train journey there and back in order to use video analysis. If the whole family is together is Kaarst, then there’s a lot more too talk about. The Steffen family includes his wife Claudia, along with children Jonathan (17), Jana (19), Lars (22) and Marc (25). “I’ve been married twice and both my wife and I already had two children,” he said. “To have four children was always my dream and I think that there’s nothing nicer.”
There is also Steffen’s father Bernhard. The 77-year-old was a successful footballer. He played for Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga and made two appearances for the Germany national team. “Obviously he still follows the sport and he’s very happy when he sees that the Kickers have won;” said the manager.
Derby against VfB Stuttgart II
Horst Steffen would like it if his father was happy after reading the score from their derby game against neighbours VfB Stuttgart II on Saturday (14:00). Steffen won his first and only derby last season 1-0. “Now I know how much the derby means,” he said. “We’ll do everything we possibly can to try and win the game.”
But Steffen will have to do without the captain and leader of the Kickers, Vincenzo Marchese, who is out with collateral ligament damage. “It’s obviously not good that he won’t be able to play,” said the manager. “But I see it as a challenge. We all have to come together to try and compensate for him not being there and it’s also a chance for other players.”
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The 3. Liga is full of particular players. DFB.de introduces the series “a history of the 3. Liga”. Today: Horst Steffen, manager of the Stuttgart Kickers, who currently sit in a promotion place ahead of Saturday’s Stuttgart derby with VfB II (14:00 CEST).
“It can stay that way,” said Horst Steffen whilst laughing, in reply to being asked what he thought of the league table in the 3. Liga in an interview with DFB.de. No wonder, as the 44-year-old’s side, the Stuttgart Kickers, sit in second place in the table and therefore occupy one of the automatic promotion places. However, with 24 points, they only sit in second place behind leaders SV Wehen Wiesbaden (26 points) thanks to a better goal difference. There are four other teams that all have 24 points that currently sit below the Kickers. “I’ve rarely experienced such a close group of teams,” said Steffen.
The ex-player has been manager of the traditional club since September 2013 and had previously managed other teams in Germany. About a year ago, the manager left his role as manager of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s under-19s, who he had coached for 3 years, to be manager of a first team. When Steffen took over, the Kickers sat in 18th place in the table. But under Steffen, they’ve gone steadily uphill. At the end of that season, they finished eighth and qualified for the DFB cup. Now, Stuttgart are in the mix for a promotion place.
“Make the team better with every session”
Steffen, who played for KFC Uerdingen 05, Borussia Mönchengladbach and MSV Duisburg, is not worried about a long dry spell. “It doesn’t matter whether the team is at the top or the bottom: my work doesn’t change,” explained the manager. “That has never influenced training. It’s all about trying to make the team better with every session.”
Everything is going well at home- after seven games there, they’ve had six wins and a draw and therefore they’ve collected 19 of their 24 points in front of their own fans. Steffen said: “Our aim is to make the fans happy with how we play every game, no matter where it is.”
Steffen favours 4-3-3 formation
The Kickers fans have seen their side play attacking football since the start of the season, which is down to Steffen’s introduction of the 4-3-3 formation. “It was also a first for me,” said Steffen. “I’ve never played this formation before. I had thought about the change in the last winter break. But the winter break was only short and over the summer, we had a lot more time to look over it.”
Steffen gives his players enough space. “I don’t run a regime, but I’m the manager of a football team,” explained Steffen. “If the boundaries are too tight then there will be a lack of creativity and I don’t want that. My players should feel at ease and have fun and it’s only then that they can start to learn new things.”
“Sometimes I hit the table”
But he doesn’t want to give the players unlimited space. “I sometimes hit the table when I realise that a player is not giving all he’s got,” said Steffen. “I don’t like laziness. Fortunately, I have a team in Stuttgart that are extremely motivated.”
Above all, the success of the team is the most important for Horst Steffen. But he doesn’t want to predict what will happen this season at the moment: “We are consistent, but there are one or two things that we can still work on. We want to pick up as many points as possible before the winter break and then we’ll look further. In football, there’s always the chance of problems. Unlucky own goals, suspensions and injuries are never out of the question. But one thing is clear: we want to and won’t sit back.”
Video analysis on the train
Steffen’s family don’t live in Stuttgart. They still live in Kaarst-Büttgen in the Lower Rhine region. Horst Steffen uses the train journey there and back in order to use video analysis. If the whole family is together is Kaarst, then there’s a lot more too talk about. The Steffen family includes his wife Claudia, along with children Jonathan (17), Jana (19), Lars (22) and Marc (25). “I’ve been married twice and both my wife and I already had two children,” he said. “To have four children was always my dream and I think that there’s nothing nicer.”
There is also Steffen’s father Bernhard. The 77-year-old was a successful footballer. He played for Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga and made two appearances for the Germany national team. “Obviously he still follows the sport and he’s very happy when he sees that the Kickers have won;” said the manager.
Derby against VfB Stuttgart II
Horst Steffen would like it if his father was happy after reading the score from their derby game against neighbours VfB Stuttgart II on Saturday (14:00). Steffen won his first and only derby last season 1-0. “Now I know how much the derby means,” he said. “We’ll do everything we possibly can to try and win the game.”
But Steffen will have to do without the captain and leader of the Kickers, Vincenzo Marchese, who is out with collateral ligament damage. “It’s obviously not good that he won’t be able to play,” said the manager. “But I see it as a challenge. We all have to come together to try and compensate for him not being there and it’s also a chance for other players.”
