SPIEGEL: Mr. Scheuer, what did you look at last Saturday? The 4: 0 Bayern men against Dortmund? Or the international match of the DFB women in Wembley?
Scheuer: I was here in the Allianz Arena, I watched the international match as a recording afterwards. An impressive backdrop, almost 78,000 spectators in London, very impressive. That could be a role model, that should also be a role model for us. It would be nice if we get there. Maybe in Germany international matches should be given more to places where women's football is anchored. For example Potsdam, Freiburg or Essen. You will not get 80,000 into the stadium, but with 20,000 or 25,000 spectators, the cabin will be full and you have a great atmosphere.
SPIEGEL: Would it be a goal for you to become national coach of a women's team? Or sometimes men train?
Scheuer: I have no such ambitions, I'm talking about goals with Bayern. We have to continue to improve because the competitor from Wolfsburg currently has the edge. But I want to beat Wolfsburg in the two upcoming games in the Cup (Saturday 14 clock, live ticker SPIEGEL) and in the league (23 November, the Red.). I want us in Germany to close the gap to Wolfsburg, that we can permanently become champions and cup winners and also approach international top teams like Lyon.
SPIEGEL: So that means you want to become number one. In Germany and in Europe.
Scheuer: Who knows me knows my ambition. Sure, all the top teams in Europe want to improve constantly, only then we just have to improve a bit more than the others. That this is anything but easy, is beyond question.
SPIEGEL: Do you have a timeline for when you want to implement this?
Scheuer: Preferably this year, but we have to be realistic. Of course, when I start a competition, I want to finish it as a winner. I can hardly go into a season and say, I want to be seventh in the league and in the Cup in the semifinals. There is a four-year plan we want to get there with, what I'm talking about. But I will do anything to make it happen earlier.
SPIEGEL: That sounds quite like Bavaria gene. To Mia san mia.
Scheuer: Already, but also after: I am me. I consider it a privilege to work here and am grateful that I was chosen for the job. But I'm not satisfied with that. I am only satisfied if we win games and show good performances. I have the ambition and the drive to eventually become the best. In Germany and in Europe. No more and no less.
SPIEGEL: In terms of audience, the Bundesliga lags behind in international comparison. In Madrid 60,000 fans came to Atlético against Barcelona, in Italy 39,000 to Juventus against Florence. In Munich watched the top match of your Bayern against Turbine Potsdam 956 spectators. What is wrong?
Scheuer: Of course, women's football played a very minor role in Italy so far. They're starting right now at zero, inventing and discovering women's football for themselves and for society. There is a certain spirit of optimism. My impression is that in Germany, women's football played a big role early on, but we may have made the mistake of being too happy with it. After the motto: Runs so well. I think we could have used the potential more sustainably.
SPIEGEL: How should you catch up with other leagues?
Scheuer: Names pull naturally. Club name. Without wanting to devalue pure women's football clubs such as Turbine Potsdam or the SC Sand as an outstanding recreational sports club that have been doing a great job for decades and put a lot of passion into it. But if I think, how many fans would come to the stadium, if the women of Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 would play against each other, just because of the rivalry. That would give a boost to the entire league.
SPIEGEL: Only BVB and Schalke vehemently refuse to form a women's department.
Scheuer: Yes, unfortunately. But maybe those responsible there will discover the attractiveness and advantages of women's football for themselves.
Lackovic / imago images
Coach Jens Scheuer has a lot to do with his players
SPIEGEL: According to national goalkeeper Almuth Schult, there are a number of international players who would switch to Dortmund immediately, just to wear the jersey in black and yellow.
Scheuer: We would then probably sooner or later a serious competitor more. In England, the clubs of the Premiere League are required to establish a women's team in one of the top leagues. That's why you have such explosive derbies as Chelsea against Arsenal or in Manchester City against United. Or just imagine here, Bayern against Dortmund, that would be terrific.
SPIEGEL: And is there any exchange between you and the coaches of the men's department, Niko Kovac or now Hansi Flick?
Scheuer: I've only been here since summer, so far there has not been an opportunity to do so. In addition, we are also physically separated and everyone is really involved in his job and in the daily coaching business. Maybe there'll be a conversation at the Christmas party. Of course, we talk to the youth coaches here on campus regularly.
SPIEGEL: Was one of the club bosses there to watch? Hoeneß, Rummenigge, Salihamidzic?
Scheuer: So far this season, Serge Gnabry has been here. With all the possibilities that are offered to us, we know about our high standing in the club.
SPIEGEL: You arrived at the club?
Scheuer: Yes. I feel very comfortable since the first day and I am happy to come to the campus every day. We have many new faces in the team and of course we still have to get to know each other better. Champions League trips to Kazakhstan will help.
SPIEGEL: You mean this arduous 5000-kilometer trip in the Champions League to Shymkent in mid-October, just before the border with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan?
Scheuer: Right. This experience has welded us together. Just on the six-hour flight, we had plenty of time for discussions, or just to talk about topics away from football. Then to make a really good game and fly home with a 5: 0, was great. From that moment on, there was another piece of fire and passion in the team, from then on I had the feeling that now more and more puzzle pieces fit together in the overall picture.
SPIEGEL: There is a debate that is as old as women's football itself. Is it better for a woman or a man to train a women's team?
Scheuer: In the end it all depends on the quality - whether a man trains women or whether a woman trains men. It does not make a difference whether a woman or a man on the trainer's post, at most, whether you have to knock when you go into the dressing room.
SPIEGEL: Your predecessor Thomas Wörle once said that women would like to ask questions and wanted to be informed about decisions in order to understand them. One had to speak to them more sensitively, while in a men's cabin a hearty announcement would suffice.
Scheuer: My claim is that they do not even have to ask, because I explain it to them straight away understandable. Clear announcements must also be made with women, and everyone must and can handle this in team sports. I'm not a guy who talks around it and I'm not the chief diplomat trying to clarify anything about 23 detours. Good is good for me and bad is bad. We are in competitive sports. And a clear statement does not mean that there is no mutual trust, on the contrary. I'm straightforward, the players always know what they are about me.
SPIEGEL: Are you in contact with the national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg?
Scheuer: Yes, we talk regularly.
SPIEGEL: Are you complaining to national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg that her midfielder Melanie Leupolz only sits on the bench as a reserve player in the DFB team while she is a regular player at the club?
Scheuer: No. Martina has to see that your system works, and so am I. If she thinks that she is doing better with another player, then I must and can accept the same as you have to accept if I put a national player on the bench. We will not get in each other's way and everyone will understand each other's choices.
