Bundesliga
Live ticker | Schedule | table
Ralph Hasenhüttl, 52, a gray tracksuit, sits in his office on the Southampton FC training ground. For a little over a year now, his life has been going on here, in the seclusion of the Staplewood campus.
The trainer comes early in the morning and stays until late evening. He is about to give the club employees Christmas gifts, he says. His team are fighting relegation for the second year in a row, on Boxing Day, the traditional Premier League match day on December 26, Southampton meets Chelsea FC (4 p.m .; TV: In the conference at Sky).
SPIEGEL: Mr. Hasenhüttl, do you regret your move to Southampton?
Hasenhüttl: Not at all. I knew what I was getting myself into.
SPIEGEL: You exchanged the championship fight in the Bundesliga for the fight for relegation in the Premier League. So far, you have only won five leagues this season.
Hasenhüttl: Of course it is nicer if you win more often. But it is even more fun to be able to work in what is probably the strongest league in the world and to be involved in the development of a club. It is an honor to get a chance in the Premier League. I knew I would take it when it came.
SPIEGEL: What makes the league so interesting?
Hasenhüttl: Football is very important in England - and is a melting pot of different football traditions. There are many different types of trainers and approaches here. If you play against Manchester City with Pep Guardiola, you have 20 percent possession. Against Jürgen Klopps Liverpool it is clear: If you lose the ball, the post goes off. Other teams only stand against you in the back. Every opponent plays differently - but always at the highest level.
SPIEGEL: Wasn't that the case in Germany?
Hasenhüttl: Many coaches initially focused on being well organized against the ball. With smaller clubs in particular, you can score even against larger teams. That's how we did it in Ingolstadt. But the Bundesliga has rarely been as balanced as this year.
SPIEGEL: Which coaches in England impress you the most?
Hasenhüttl: Guardiola and Klopp set the benchmark, that's how it is.
SPIEGEL: Klopp has been in Liverpool for over four years, but only in the past two years has the leap from a very good to a world-class team. Why?
Hasenhüttl: Jürgen needed time to change the team. Time - and the necessary money. Obviously, he knew exactly where the squad vulnerabilities were, and he targeted them.
SPIEGEL: What is it like to play against Liverpool?
Hasenhüttl: You often have the feeling that they are also vulnerable. But in the end they win anyway because they can make huge gains towards the end of the game. And the three up there (Liverpool striker Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, editor) are incomparable.
SPIEGEL: You have been in Southampton for about a year. What has been your best moment since then?
Hasenhüttl: I remember the first win well, a 3-2 win against Arsenal. That was very important because we realized that we could also win against a team from the top six. From that moment on, the team started to believe in themselves again. But more importantly, and that sounds a bit strange now, was our reaction to the game against Leicester.
SPIEGEL: Southampton's 0: 9 against Leicester City on match day 10 was the highest defeat in the history of the Premier League.
Hasenhüttl: There we were bottomless. But that, and how we found our way back afterwards, was one of the most important experiences of my career.
SPIEGEL: What do you say to a team that has just lost 0: 9?
Hasenhüttl: The truth. That from now on we have to live with this flaw. We can't get rid of the 0: 9, you will probably always remember that. And that it will depend on how we react. It was about giving the team faith in themselves. We then had to play twice against Manchester City, one of the best teams in the world. That could have been bad. We lost twice, but we almost got something in the second game (1-3 in the League Cup, 1-2 in the Premier League, editor's note). Shortly afterwards, after the international break, we came back from seven games with seven points.
Mark Fletcher / MI News / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Hasenhüttl: "We all failed"
SPIEGEL: Did you doubt yourself after the 0: 9?
Hasenhüttl: Who wouldn't do that? We have all failed. But as a trainer you have to be the first to find the direction. It was impressive how the club got together afterwards. We have maintained the belief that we will be relegated this season.
SPIEGEL: The expectations were different. In the "Kicker" you spoke of a single-digit place in the table before the season. Are you afraid for your job?
Hasenhüttl: Those who survive a 0: 9 lose all fears. Joking aside: The previous support has shown me that the club realistically assesses our situation.
SPIEGEL: In the past, you left stronger teams behind with outsider teams because you were tactically better. Why doesn't that work in England?
Hasenhüttl: Because it makes a difference to work in the second or third league in Germany or in the Premier League. In Aalen and Ingolstadt we held the class in the first year, after that we were able to change the teams with relatively little money. You need a lot more funds in the Premier League and even then there are no guarantees.
SPIEGEL: You have been in Southampton for just over a year now.
Hasenhüttl: I would also like it to be faster. But after good phases, there were always setbacks. The problem in the Premier League is that the quality of the opposing players is so great. Sometimes you only need one or two chances to show you the weaknesses. Even with good organization and a perfect process, you can lose games in this league. So we have to be patient.
SPIEGEL: The development of the team is one thing. How about your own Where does the trainer Ralph Hasenhüttl want to go?
Hasenhüttl: I want to play a system that doesn't specialize in one phase of the game. Think of Liverpool. Jürgen noticed at some point that possession phases are essential for his game. In modern football you won't get far with just one plan. All big teams can do everything.
SPIEGEL: Do you have another example?
Matt Watson / Southampton FC via Getty Images
" What does a Bayern coach have to win before he gets the recognition he deserves?"
Hasenhüttl: Take Manchester City. There is often a misconception that the team would especially convince with the ball. City is excellently organized in the game against the ball. How good their counterpressing is, how quickly they regain balls, and how high their remaining defense is, is often not noticeable.
SPIEGEL: At the beginning of 2018, you were considered a candidate for the coaching position at Bayern, but said that you were not ready for it yet. So much reluctance is unusual in your business.
Hasenhüttl: I absolutely stand by what I said then. FC Bayern is something of a knighthood for every coach in Germany. But that only makes sense if it is probably the last stage of your own development. Because after that, nothing much bigger can actually come. That being said, the question is whether FC Bayern is really a desirable goal for a coach.
SPIEGEL: You have to explain that.
Hasenhüttl: What does a Bayern coach have to win before he gets the recognition he deserves? The double? Niko Kovac has just experienced that this is not enough. The Champions League? Is that enough for people to say: "But he's doing a good job"? And does he get the time to develop things?
SPIEGEL: Guardiola is experiencing something similar in Manchester. Despite two championships with 100 and 98 points, critics claim that he failed in the Champions League.
Hasenhüttl: That's the way it is with the absolute top teams. Success is a matter of course, failure is a disaster. Each trainer has to decide for himself whether he can live with it or if he wants to go another way.
SPIEGEL: Isn't professional football about victories and trophies?
Hasenhüttl: Always for victories, not necessarily for trophies. For me personally, last year's class stay with Southampton felt like a title. An ambitious trainer can also set other goals and take great pleasure in supposedly small development steps.
SPIEGEL: If you think back to the day you signed, what advice would you give yourself?
Hasenhüttl: The most exciting time of your coaching career awaits you. Just enjoy it.
