World Soccer - UK (2020-11)

eyewitness

How did your relationship

with the club begin?

It was quite simple. I moved

to the club only two years ago

when I didn’t have a job. My wife

and I decided to move into this

area in Austria where we could

follow our son playing football.

Through watching him and

spending time with him, we

formed a connection with the

club. There were six games left

to play in the 2018-19 season

when I said: “I’m here with nothing

to do.” Then I became involved

and it all started for me.

How have things developed

since you joined?

We’ve had to become more

professional – in the dressing

room, on the pitches and in

understanding our ambitions.

You can’t change everything in

one day, especially if you don’t

have a lot of money. Everything

you want to change has

something to do with money.

So, step-by-step we’ve made

a lot of changes. We’ve brought

in some professional players but

it’s a process. Half of the team

is still working and studying.

What is it like working

in the mountains?

The good thing is that the

surroundings make you more

relaxed. Obviously, we have our

ambitions and we are working a

lot, but the environment makes

things a bit easier. You wake up

in the morning for a session on

the field and then you look up

and say: “Ooh! Nice mountains

here.” You stop for ten minutes

and just listen to the nature.

How are you finding coaching

compared to playing?

More stressful! You have to think

a lot more. You have to prepare.

As a player you just come in.

You look after yourself. You go

to the gym or you train but you

don’t really have to think about

the next step, to think about

whether this player is right or

not? What can we change?

There are talks, discussions,

meetings and telephone calls.

So, I would say that the job as

a football player is the best

thing that you can have.

How does a matchday

experience compare to

your playing days?

You can’t compare the two.

This is still an amateur club.

You have small dressing rooms

but there are lovely people

everywhere. That is probably

the difference. You can’t even

compare it to the places I’ve

been to as a player. But that’s

not a problem. From my point of

view, when it comes to football,

there is a pitch, 90 minutes and

two goals. It doesn’t matter how

the dressing room is, how the

surroundings are or how the

people are, it’s a football game.

What are you enjoying

most about your role?

It’s unique. I guess not many

managers take this route

and try to make their lives

so complicated, but for me

it’s completely different. I’m

happy to live here. I have

good surroundings and

good circumstances. It’s a

club that has ambitions, which

perhaps means more work than

at a big club. We don’t have the

best physios or the best doctors.

Some players are not working

full-time at the club. Sometimes

we don’t even have a pitch to

train on when it’s raining or when

winter arrives because of the

conditions. Professional clubs can

find good pitches and visit foreign

countries even in preseason.

You have to find solutions and

different schedules. It’s a lot

of work but it’s so interesting

and a lot of fun as well.

How important is it to keep

local fans on board?

It’s always important. Last season

we finished second. We could

see the football and everything

evolving at the club. People

should support this club and feel

comfortable, realising that this

is a club from the region and a

club for the people. It has a good

relationship with guys arriving

from the US who have the same

ambitions. They should enjoy the

games and what’s going on in the

area. The next city is Salzburg –

a one-hour drive away. In an area

like this, if we could reach our

ambitions, it would be amazing.

How would it feel to see the

club reach the heights of Red

Bull Salzburg one day?

That would be a proud feeling

because the people here are

working hard to achieve this goal.

But you should never forget where

you’re from. We have ambitions,

but there is a long way to go.

Sometimes you take two steps

forwards and then three steps

back. It’s not going to be easy.

Then again, I would be extremely

proud. We could saythat we

achieved something reallygood.

But this is far away in the future.

Face to face:

Christian Ziege

Mountain views...“The

surroundings make

you more relaxed”

Coach...

Christian Ziege