Jens Keller has arrived. He has arrived in Berlin, Union Berlin to be exact and he has arrived at second place in the 2. Bundesliga table. “Things are going very well. I feel fantastic and being here is so much fun,” said the Union head coach in an interview with DFB.de.
The 45-year-old will be returning close to home, when he travels to Dortmund in the second round of the DFB Cup on Wednesday (20:45 CEST). Born in Stuttgart, The Union Berlin head coach lives in the Ruhr valley with his wife and two sons.
It is also a return to the past, as the game takes place just 30 kilometres from his old work place. From December 2012 to October 2014, Keller was the man in charge at Schalke 04 and successfully too, even if he was controversial from the start of his reign. However, the successful work he carried out couldn’t prevent his sacking. Now he is with a different club. “If you have a look at the stages of my career as a player, then you will see that I was at similar clubs back then also,” said Keller, who has been in charge of the Berlin side since July 1. “I feel like the atmosphere at the club corresponds very well to me as a player. I feel right at home here.”
Keller: “I don’t live in the past”
As a player, Keller was a reliable centre back and as tough as nails, whether it be for TSV 1860 München, VfL Wolfsburg, VfB Stuttgart, 1. FC Köln or Eintracht Frankfurt. He has 142 Bundesliga and 115 Zweitliga appearances to his name, as well as 20 DFB Cup games and one DFB Cup goal. “That must have been with Köln in the penalty shootout against Bayer Uerdingen,” recalls Keller as he laughs.
Keller didn’t manage to win DFB’s premier club competition, neither as a player nor as a coach. In 1968 his former club Schalke won the 1968 DFB Cup, which was well before Keller was even born. Then in 2001, Schalke overcame his current side Union Berlin in the cup final. Yet, Keller isn’t paying much attention to what has gone before.
For the upcoming task ahead, the Union Berlin head coach can’t find any benefit in looking back. “I don’t live in the past,” he says. “It’s great for the history of the club, but we are looking in the here and now. That is the most important thing for me.
Keller ahead of BVB clash: “We’re not at the same level.”
Keller is focusing on the future. Wednesday’s challenge entails a flood-light game, cup atmosphere and 80,000 spectators. Only a quarter of that number would fill out the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, the same amount of people as the yellow wall at Signal Iduna Park alone.
“It’s not going to be easy when the majority of my players have never experienced this kind of atmosphere, “ said Keller. The experienced coach is fully aware of the difference between the two sides. However, Union Berlin sniff their chance of qualifying, even if it is small. “We want to push them to the limit and cause an upset, but we are all keeping our feet on the ground,” said Keller.
“Dortmund have unbelievable quality”
Keller won twice against Borussia Dortmund during his two years as Schalke manager. “Schalke are on the same level at Dortmund, we’re not. It’s definitely David versus Goliath,” said Keller.
Matthias Ginter, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lukasz Piszczek are likely to feature for Borussia Dortmund. However, Union manager Keller considers the opposition to be a strong side no matter what their starting line-up is. “They have a few injury problems, but they have depth in their squad with players of unbelievable quality,” said Keller. He also referred to Dortmund as one of Germany’s top football teams.
Two meetings, two wins for Dortmund
The two sides have only ever come up against each other in friendlies. Ten years ago, Borussia Dortmund beat Union Berlin 6-2 on 23rd July 2006. They won again on 24th January this year 3-1. However, FC Ingolstadt proved that it is possible to put up a good fight against Dortmund in the 3-3 draw last weekend. “The most important thing is for us to defend strongly and play to our physical strengths. We have to take the fun out of the game for them.”
Keller played for 1860 München, VfL Wolfsburg and Frankfurt during his career and therefore he knows how it feels to be the underdog. “Surprises are always possible in the DFB Cup. When you’re more up for it than your opponent, it’s possible to get the win. That’s what we’re hoping for.”
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Jens Keller has arrived. He has arrived in Berlin, Union Berlin to be exact and he has arrived at second place in the 2. Bundesliga table. “Things are going very well. I feel fantastic and being here is so much fun,” said the Union head coach in an interview with DFB.de.
The 45-year-old will be returning close to home, when he travels to Dortmund in the second round of the DFB Cup on Wednesday (20:45 CEST). Born in Stuttgart, The Union Berlin head coach lives in the Ruhr valley with his wife and two sons.
It is also a return to the past, as the game takes place just 30 kilometres from his old work place. From December 2012 to October 2014, Keller was the man in charge at Schalke 04 and successfully too, even if he was controversial from the start of his reign. However, the successful work he carried out couldn’t prevent his sacking. Now he is with a different club. “If you have a look at the stages of my career as a player, then you will see that I was at similar clubs back then also,” said Keller, who has been in charge of the Berlin side since July 1. “I feel like the atmosphere at the club corresponds very well to me as a player. I feel right at home here.”
Keller: “I don’t live in the past”
As a player, Keller was a reliable centre back and as tough as nails, whether it be for TSV 1860 München, VfL Wolfsburg, VfB Stuttgart, 1. FC Köln or Eintracht Frankfurt. He has 142 Bundesliga and 115 Zweitliga appearances to his name, as well as 20 DFB Cup games and one DFB Cup goal. “That must have been with Köln in the penalty shootout against Bayer Uerdingen,” recalls Keller as he laughs.
Keller didn’t manage to win DFB’s premier club competition, neither as a player nor as a coach. In 1968 his former club Schalke won the 1968 DFB Cup, which was well before Keller was even born. Then in 2001, Schalke overcame his current side Union Berlin in the cup final. Yet, Keller isn’t paying much attention to what has gone before.
For the upcoming task ahead, the Union Berlin head coach can’t find any benefit in looking back. “I don’t live in the past,” he says. “It’s great for the history of the club, but we are looking in the here and now. That is the most important thing for me.
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Keller ahead of BVB clash: “We’re not at the same level.”
Keller is focusing on the future. Wednesday’s challenge entails a flood-light game, cup atmosphere and 80,000 spectators. Only a quarter of that number would fill out the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, the same amount of people as the yellow wall at Signal Iduna Park alone.
“It’s not going to be easy when the majority of my players have never experienced this kind of atmosphere, “ said Keller. The experienced coach is fully aware of the difference between the two sides. However, Union Berlin sniff their chance of qualifying, even if it is small. “We want to push them to the limit and cause an upset, but we are all keeping our feet on the ground,” said Keller.
“Dortmund have unbelievable quality”
Keller won twice against Borussia Dortmund during his two years as Schalke manager. “Schalke are on the same level at Dortmund, we’re not. It’s definitely David versus Goliath,” said Keller.
Matthias Ginter, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lukasz Piszczek are likely to feature for Borussia Dortmund. However, Union manager Keller considers the opposition to be a strong side no matter what their starting line-up is. “They have a few injury problems, but they have depth in their squad with players of unbelievable quality,” said Keller. He also referred to Dortmund as one of Germany’s top football teams.
Two meetings, two wins for Dortmund
The two sides have only ever come up against each other in friendlies. Ten years ago, Borussia Dortmund beat Union Berlin 6-2 on 23rd July 2006. They won again on 24th January this year 3-1. However, FC Ingolstadt proved that it is possible to put up a good fight against Dortmund in the 3-3 draw last weekend. “The most important thing is for us to defend strongly and play to our physical strengths. We have to take the fun out of the game for them.”
Keller played for 1860 München, VfL Wolfsburg and Frankfurt during his career and therefore he knows how it feels to be the underdog. “Surprises are always possible in the DFB Cup. When you’re more up for it than your opponent, it’s possible to get the win. That’s what we’re hoping for.”
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