Tobias Schweinsteiger: "Munich needs 1860 as a second division club" - mood in Osnabrück better

Created: 09/24/2022, 17:48

By: Jacob Alschner

Head coach at last: Tobias Schweinsteiger is in charge at VfL Osnabrück.

Photo: imago © imago

He played for the FC Bayern amateurs and Unterhaching, and was then an assistant coach in Hamburg and Nuremberg.

Munich – Now Tobias Schweinsteiger (40), a native of Rosenheim, has started his first job as a professional head coach in Germany at VfL Osnabrück.

In an interview with our newspaper, he talks about his reasons for stepping into the first row on the sidelines, interpersonal problems in Upper Bavaria with Franconia and the upcoming duel with TSV 1860.

Mr. Schweinsteiger, northern Germans are said to have a certain reserve.

Can you confirm that as an Upper Bavarian in Osnabrück?

The people are friendly, I'm quite good with Lower Saxony.

That was more difficult in Franconia.

The Franconian, if you can put it that way, can be quite pessimistic and in need of communication.

A bad combination (laughs).

Tobias Schweinsteiger takes over VfL Osnabrück after the preparation

How did you settle in at VfL?

Well!

I'm starting to have a little more free time.

There was a lot to do at the beginning: I had to get to know the team, prepare them for the first game, the transfer window was closing soon and I also had to get used to it.

It was intense, very intense.

But I chose that myself.

You took over Osnabrück after the preparations, unsettled by a sudden departure from the coach (Scherning to Bielefeld, ed.).

A team in twelfth place in the table, which is by no means what the club is aiming for.

Why did you do this to yourself?

Because I finally wanted to be the head coach in Germany.

My requirement was always that the team and club fit me.

I had and still have this feeling with Osnabrück.

A club with a good environment, blatant fan culture, the stadium is amazing and the second division ambitions are right.

Sure, you wish for the first station as head coach that you can organize the entire preparation.

But you can't always choose.

And now I say: That fits very, very well.

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You were previously an assistant coach at HSV and in Nuremberg, as well as head coach of the second team at Linzer ASK.

You worked under excellent conditions that you don't have in Osnabrück.

To date, VfL has not had a single training pitch with undersoil heating.

Didn't that put you off?

No not at all.

The conditions at VfL are not that bad.

The level here is of course not the same as at HSV or at the club, but it is similar to the level at LASK.

In addition, VfL is currently building a new training center, so it is developing further.

Our stadium may be old, but that's what makes it special.

The atmosphere is brutal and compared to the Grünwalder a number above.

I'm not someone who needs frills.

I am a worker, I want to lend a hand myself.

That fits here well.

After nine games you are in tenth place with three wins, three draws and three losses each.

Satisfied?

The team has potential to win against every opponent, but also to lose.

That's what makes the 3rd division fundamental.

If we continue to work like this, we might still be able to attack at the very top.

In winter we have to see where we stand and whether we can strengthen ourselves in certain areas.

You seem very level-headed, very calm.

A healthy antidote for the volatile mood at VfL?

I have learned that there are many more important things in life than the question: victory or defeat?

I'm competitive enough to push my players.

But I can analyze sober relatively quickly after the final whistle.

Thinking in black and white for too long, I learned that in Hamburg and Nuremberg, only takes energy and doesn't really make you any smarter.

I too have a lump in my throat for two or three days after a defeat, but I still have to build up the boys.

So far I feel that this species is well received here.

Tobias Schweinsteiger praises the work of TSV 1860

Do you have a role model?

I've had a lot of coaches myself, and most of them I use as examples, both positive and negative.

To put it bluntly, role models for me are Marcelo Bielsa, Jürgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and Erik ten Haag.

Bielsa's intensity with the ball is what impresses me.

From Klopp it's the game against the ball, from Tuchel it's the tactical variability during the game.

And ten Haag (Schweinsteiger coached at FC Bayern, ed.) got me to become a coach.

He has his own playstyle, but also knows that you can adapt it depending on the opponent.

It's good to see that even for top coaches, sometimes the key to victory is simplicity.

You can give the team a good feeling and that should always come first: a good feeling playing football.

You were at FC Bayern and in Unterhaching.

What is your view of the TSV 1860?

Sixty has always played a big role in my life.

They currently have a good squad with a good mix of talent and experience.

Michael Köllner brought continuity to the club and it was good that they aggressively declared promotion as a goal.

Whereby everything else would not have been for sale after two fourth places in previous years.

The reinforcements this summer were also great.

You definitely have what it takes to rise.

The city of Munich needs TSV as a second division club.

What do you fancy more?

The home game against the Löwen on October 15 or the second leg?

Definitely for the home game.

And after the home game, I'm in the mood for the second leg!

Returning to the Grünwalder, to the city of Munich, as head coach... that will be special!

Interview: Jacob Alschner