German’s football can indeed be recognized for producing the world’s best talents. Germany has never stopped giving birth to world players from generation to generation. Germany’s four World Cup titles to date are proof of the quality of football that this country has.
But it’s not just the talented players that Germany has. They also have a line of quality coaches who have careers in the domestic and international arena. For example, Ottmar Hitzfeld who managed to bring Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League title, Otto Rehhagel who surprised him by bringing Greece to the Euro 2004 champion, to Jupp Heynckes who won the Champions League with Real Madrid and Treble with Bayern Munich.
Now that the era has changed, quality names from Germany have emerged to prove their worth. The 2019/20 season is arguably the proof of German tactics on their respective teams. Hansi Flick won the Champions League as well as completing the Bayern Munich trophy to record the second treble winner. Juergen Klopp managed to give Liverpool the league title after 30 years and the Champions League trophy a year earlier. Thomas Tuchel also made a brilliant record with Paris Saint Germain by winning Ligue 1 and penetrating the Champions League final for the first time in the team’s history.
The German coach’s achievements continued with contributing three coaches in the Champions League semi-finals, namely Hansi Flick (Bayern Munich), Thomas Tuchel (PSG), and Julian Nagelsmann (RB Leipzig). For the first time in the history of the competition, there were three coaches from the same country in the semi-finals. Hansi Flick and Thomas Tuchel made it to the Champions League final, repeating the German coach’s duel in the 2013 UCL final between Jupp Heynckes vs Juergen Klopp.
The triumph was complemented by a UEFA Men’s Coach of The Year nomination for the 2019/20 season with the German coach in the top three. Hansi Flick, Juergen Klopp, and Julian Nagelsmann filled the three nominations followed by Thomas Tuchel in fourth position which was announced earlier. Again, the German coach has dominated even the top four best European coaches.
Germany has also always entrusted local coaches to take care of the national team, it was noted that Der Panzer has never used a foreign coach in the history of the team’s formation. The current German national team coach, Joachim Loew, also did not escape the quality and achievements by successfully winning the 2014 World Cup and the 2017 Confederations Cup. Joachim Loew is the second coach who currently serves the national team the longest after Oscar Tabarez for Uruguay who was appointed for 3 months. before Loew in 2006.
The glory of the German coaches is certainly not surprising and does not just happen. Just like forming young players, Germany has long paid special attention to football coaches
Coaching Career Formation in Germany
Not only for being a professional football player, pursuing a career as a coach also requires special courses to conduct training activities or supervise matches at the highest level. In Germany, coaches must obtain a coaching license equivalent to a UEFA Pro license to train in the top three divisions of the league (Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and 3). The license is usually obtained from a Fußball-Lehrer or football teacher qualification, the only place to take it is at the Hennes-Weisweiler academy in Cologne.
The prestigious football coaching academy was formed in 1947, named after the legendary coach of Gladbach and Cologne, Weiweiler. The academy is competitive enough to enter, each year only 24-25 people are selected after taking a fairly rigorous aptitude test. Anyone who wants to participate in this training must even have a DFB A license, at least one year of experience coaching a team, and be part of a DFB club.
The training lasts 11 months, during which the aspiring coaches will learn all aspects of modern football with a strong emphasis on practical applications. This training underwent changes in the 2019/20 semester by being made more individualized. Prospective coaches will spend the majority of their time working at the professional club they choose, although they still come to Cologne eight times a season for workshops.
Under the Pro license, UEFA stipulates that training is at least 240 hours, but coaches following the Hennes-Weisweiler academy will spend at least 800 hours during the training period. So don’t be surprised by the performance that Hansi Flick, Nagelsmann, or Tuchel put in. Nagelsmann stated, “Coaching education in Germany is good. I have enjoyed a good study time as a coach and am satisfied with what I am learning.”
The quality of coaching in Germany is in line with the changes in the system made in the early 2000s which refers to the development of young players. The DFB has set up training centers in each region, besides the DFB also requires Bundesliga clubs to set up academies for young players, each club academy will require at least two coaches with licenses. The principle of German football is quite simple, if you want to have the best players you need the best coaches.
Hansi Flick was one of the best graduates of the Hennes-Weisweiler academy in 2003. Most people have only known him since managing Bayern Munich at the start of last season, but Flick has shaped his coaching career for a long time. In 2006, he was appointed assistant coach to Joachim Loew, who previously secured licenses with Juergen Klinsmann and Matthias Sammer. Flick’s role at that time was to compile a database of all German players at all age levels and to open up opportunities for young players.
Another achievement from this academy product was when Hoffenheim made Julian Nagelsmann head coach in February 2016. At that time, Nagelsmann was only a few weeks away from getting his coaching license, he became the second best in his generation after former Schalke coach, Domenico Tedesco. People are too focused on seeing his unusual age as a coach, but Hoffenheim knows what they are doing.
Nagelsmann’s career continued to improve after bringing Hoffenheim to the European scene until he finally joined RB Leipzig and became a Champions League semifinalist. In this competition, Nagelsmann managed to beat “old people” like Jose Mourinho and Diego Simeone. It is a testament to the success of the method of the extraordinary German coaching academy. The 33-year-old coach is known as an innovator by using technology on the training ground as well as being a sharp tactician.
Currently German coaches dominate competitions and awards in Europe. They are the result of a long process of reform in German football in the 2000s which put a young figure as the spearhead.
ASL
