Manfred Schmid is where he always wanted to be – as head coach on the coaching bench of Vienna Austria.
The situation in which the 50-year-old took over his heart club could be better. In the spring, there was a doomsday mood at the distribution group. In the meantime, this has improved – also thanks to the European Cup qualification. The violets nevertheless plague great financial problems.
Together with neo sports director Manuel Ortlechner, Schmid is now responsible for the violet’s sporting fortunes.
“We decided to take this path, we want to go it together and we also know that there will be setbacks,” says the coach. The ball is held flat with the violets.
Schmid speaks in LAOLA1-Interview about his approach as head coach, his game idea, dealing with young players and the “shitty years”.
VIDEO: Austria Academy Director Florian Mader at Andy Ogris ‘regulars’ table
LAOLA1: The new season will begin in a few days. How much does it tingle?
Manfred Schmid: Very! I’m really happy, the anticipation is huge. We had a good training camp, tried to develop our idea for the game, but we don’t know where we stand. Now it starts and because of the European Cup qualification at the beginning there is hardly any breather.
LAOLA1: How difficult is it in terms of training control? Because of the European Cup qualification, the team has to be there right from the start.
Schmid: We managed it so that it should be. You never know if that’s the case. You also have to take the players with you, who may be less active, burden them so that they are there when they are deployed. And you have to protect the players who are used a lot.
“I became head coach so that I could make decisions, and be responsible for them”
LAOLA1: You are head coach for the first time in a long time. How easy was it for you to flip the switch?
Schmid: It was relatively easy. I was allowed to take on a different position with my head coaches – whether Peter Schöttel, Helmut Kraft or Peter Stöger – than just being an assistant coach. I am very grateful to them for that. What is changing are the media appointments, but I also enjoy that now. Basically nothing changes in my coaching work. I have to convey my ideas to the players during the week. The way I deal with the players won’t change either, I’m very open and honest with them. It is very important that I don’t change. I want to stay authentic and I will.
LAOLA1: As an assistant coach, you enjoyed the reputation of always being very popular with players, of being very close to the players. What is new is that you now have to make unpopular decisions that were previously made by the respective head coach.
Schmid: That’s part of it. But I became a head coach so that I could make decisions and be responsible for them. I look forward to it! But you always have to do it with respect – I think I’m quite good at that. I am not worried about that. I can take players with me.
Photo: © GEPA
LAOLA1: Keyword game idea. What will Austria stand for in the new season?
Schmid: It is no secret how Austria should play and how we want to play. We want to play offensively, we want to be dominant. But I won’t force my team into anything that they can’t implement. I have to adapt to player material. I think we’ve now found a system that fits the team. In the next few months we will try to always develop this one step further. And at some point we might see Austria play again the way every fan would like.
LAOLA1: How satisfied are you with the current squad?
Schmid: I am happy. I knew what to expect. Of course, there is a need for action in one position or another. I have a great connection with sports director Manuel Ortlechner, we are constantly in touch and already have one or two players in the back of our minds. I am not worried about that.
LAOLA1: An Argentine central defender was recently tested with Isaac Monti. Will he be obliged?
Schmid: We won’t sign him. He’s a good player with potential, he fitted into the team very well, but he wasn’t 100 percent fit. It would be too risky to sign him.
“I will protect the young players wherever I can, if they are ready to put their hearts on the field, they will always find an advocate in me”
LAOLA1: There are a lot of young players who actually have to take the next step so that Austria can succeed in the Bundesliga. Will it work?
Schmid: I am confident. I have great confidence in young players. I was a junior coach at the Stronach Academy for four years. Players like Markus Suttner and Rubin Okotie were also questioned, a year later it worked. Potential and talent are there, but the question of time is important. You have to give these players trust, you have to talk them down and then they will hear a concept on the pitch that they can implement. I will protect the young players wherever I can, if they are willing to put their hearts on the field they will always find an advocate in me.
LAOLA1: So throw young players in the deep end?
Schmid: Definitely! If you look at the roster, eleven players are 22 years or younger. Young players will inevitably play. I am not afraid of it. They have talent, how far they are then, will also show in how they deal with pressure, how they deal with spectators. You will get the chance.
Photo: © GEPA
LAOLA1: Everything is new at Austria. With Manuel Ortlechner as sports director, Florian Mader as academy director and you as coach, three men with violet pasts are at work. How important will that be in order to be able to demand patience from the fans?
Schmid: Of course that will help us for a while, but it is much more important that these people work for the club with passion. Every outsider should notice how much this association means to us. We came to the club in a very difficult situation, there would certainly have been easier tasks for us. But we made a conscious decision because we can now make a difference. We are a group in which everyone stands for something. We have chosen this path, want to go it together and also know that there will be setbacks.
LAOLA1: During your presentation you said: “It could be a shitty year or two.” You have been asked about it ever since. Do you regret this sentence?
Schmid: No not at all! I said it CAN be a shitty year or two. I hope and assume that it might not be that long.
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