Sissy Raith once coached TSV Eching. Now she would love to attack again in the men's soccer area. The FT spoke to the 59-year-old for the series "What actually does ...?"
Eching - Sissy Raith (59) is in the mood for soccer again. The "globetrotter" and women's football legend from Eching is eager for a new challenge after a year and a half break. She once coached the TSV Eching - and would love to attack again in the men's soccer area.
From January to October 2009, the Echingerin coached the men's team in her home club - a commitment that was observed with interest throughout Germany. With the TSV the return to the national league succeeded, but then the dismissal followed in a turbulent time for the club. She proudly tells of this time that players from neighboring clubs had asked if they were allowed to train in Eching. From her point of view, her work as a female coach in the men's area worked well, both professionally and personally. "I have not yet finished with the men," emphasizes Raith, who can imagine a new engagement in men's football - be it as head coach or as assistant coach. It doesn't have to be a full-time job either, she says.
On the throne of European football
The 59-year-old already became a legend as a player: Between 1983 and 1991 she played a total of 58 international matches (four goals) and won two European titles in 1989 and 1991 with the DFB selection. In the Bundesliga, she wore the jerseys of FC Bayern Munich (1975 to 1984 and 1999 to 2002), FSV Frankfurt (1984 to 1985) and TSV Siegen, which was leading in women's football at the time (1985 to 1991). Four times - once with FCB and three times with victories - the Echingerin with her clubs became German champion and five times German cup winner. There were also three national cup wins in the active career with Bavaria and Hesse.
Clear instructions: Sissy Raith took on her first job as head coach at FC Bayern in 2004.
© Lackovic
After the active period, Sissy Raith stayed at Bayern, where she was hired as an assistant coach in 2002 and promoted to head coach two years later. The route from Munich to Eching in 2009 then led to her first post in the men's division. This episode was followed not only by the return to women's football, but also an international trip - first to Azerbaijan and three years later to Switzerland.
Development work in Azerbaijan
In 2010 she moved to Azerbaijan to build a U15 and later a U17 national team. At the time, Berti Vogt was the coach of the men's national team - and it was he who made the contact. "I have never refused a conversation," says Sissy Raith, who still shakes her head at the experiment in the distant country: Azerbaijan had applied to host the U17 World Junior Championship and needed a host team for this. Raith remembers her first conversation with representatives of the association well: "All my questions were answered in the negative - that was so crazy." Because the small state on the Caspian Sea had neither a national team for women, let alone a league operation. "There was just zero," says the Echinger, who had to find players for a team in her youth.
But Sissy Raith agreed and accepted the adventure. This new life experience had a big impact on her: "It is simply unbelievable how poverty and wealth divide there." “I had recognized eight talents there before,” says Raith. She built up the youth selection teams - but it was also clear that there would be nothing to be won at the World Cup in her own country.
Thanks to the commitment of the Echingerin, girls' and women's football in Azerbaijan went up. From 2010 to 2012 she worked on the Caspian Sea.
© Affa
Nevertheless, she looks back proudly on this time and is pleased that her development work has borne fruit. Today there is a league operation and a national team of women in Azerbaijan. This commitment lasted two and a half years and gave her so many unforgettable experiences.
Successful years in Switzerland
For her next adventure, Raith came through a former teammate at FC Bayern, who made contact with FC Staad in Switzerland. In 2013, the now 59-year-old joined the club in the first Swiss league, and from there it went to FC Basel. In their eyes, he not only has the acronym FCB in common with FC Bayern: "This club is just like FC Bayern." In addition to the highest athletic demands, a fantastic training ground came "where they cut the lawn with nail scissors".
Sissy Raith was enthusiastic about these framework conditions and after her time in Staad (2013 to 2016) also built up a lot in Basel from 2016 to 2018: After all, the team with the German trainer achieved the qualification for the Champions League. But when the club changed its philosophy, the Echinger decided to say goodbye and gave in to her homesickness. After her time in Staad, returning home was an issue for her - however, she could not refuse the request from FC Basel.
Today Sissy Raith says that it was the right decision to end her coaching era in National League A. But even during her short trip to Europe, she always had her residence in Eching, where she has been living again for a year and a half. Her conclusion after the years of hiking: “That was a great time. But now it is high time to get back among the people, ”says Raith about her wish to be back on the soccer field soon. She would like to take over a team in the home region and also in the men's area. The women's soccer legend is ready for discussions with ambitious clubs.
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