He worked in Leipzig for three years, but PSG bought him for 1.5 million euro. He knows all the secrets of the Germans. Football

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First, he played with the Poles. Juskowiak: “You couldn’t see his emotions”

Low is a homegrown of Ujpest where he spent the first five years of his football career. However, he never won the championship, but only the Hungarian Cup in the last season spent in the colors of the team from Budapest. From there, in 2002, he went to Germany, starting with game for Energie Cottbus. He performed there together with three Poles – Andrzej Kobylański, Radosław Kałużny and Andrzej Juskowiak. – He had a great cross, he was able to confuse the defenders with one move and send the ball to the striker. He was very calm, balanced on and off the pitch. His emotions were not visible at all, maybe he hid them inside himself and experienced everything inside. When you looked at him, you could never read it. He did not seem to be a good coach either – describes Lowa for Sport.pl Juskowiak.

He spent three seasons in Cottbus, Hungary and moved to Hansa Rostock, but was only there for a year. Even then, Ralf Rangnick was watching him. As Low himself said, the coach “convinced him with his vision” to transfer to Hoffenheim. The role of Rangnick and later of Thomas Tuchel, with whom Low worked in Mainz, was crucial to his future. These are the two coaches to whom he owes the most. First, thanks to Rangnick, he found himself in the Austrian Liefering, where he worked for a year as an assistant to Peter Zeidler. The club then returned to the second tier in Austria, and Low obtained his coaching license. After the season, Rangnick gave him a place alongside Adi Huetter in Salzburg, and a year later, after winning the championship and the Austrian Cup, he invited him to visit Leipzig for three years.

Shaped by Rangnick, bought by Tuchel for 1.5 million euros

– I know how much I owe him, he shaped me. If it weren’t for him and Helmut Gross (advisor to the board of RB Leipzig – editorial note) I would not have thought about becoming a coach at all – he said in an interview for the club’s official website. – They have worked with hundreds of players in their lives and could notice the coaching qualities of each of them. They bet on me, but it’s no accident: I’ve always wanted to take this chance and learn something, Low assessed. With Rangnick, they did a lot in three years: they were promoted to the Bundesliga, became runners-up in Germany in the first season and played the club’s first matches in European cups. They ended up dropping out in the Europa League quarter-finals, although they were previously in the Champions League group. Then Tuchel came for Lowa.

After the Hungarian season, he went to his family at Lake Balaton. He had to rethink the offer he had received from Tuchel. The German was interested in him from the beginning of his work in Leipzig, during a joint meeting, he recalled the old days of cooperation in Mainz and indicated: with me you will add trophies to your hard work. “We have spoken many times in recent years, but yes, we are now thinking of working together,” he confirmed when the German media reported on his possible departure to Paris Saint-Germain. He did not want to reveal whether he had already made his decision, and it was very difficult. However, Low chose Paris and the next path in his career. And PSG had to pay Leipzig EUR 1.5 million.

PSG will play faster in the final of the European cups? “Who knows who knows”

The first weeks in France were difficult. – I’d be lying if I said it was a smooth acclimatization in the new team. It took a long time to adapt because I left my comfort zone. Now the cooperation is going as we expect. One of my daughters learns to sing French songs, the other starts a sentence in German, continues in French and ends in Hungarian. But I think we all got used to the changes in life – he explained for “Nemzerti Sport” in October 2018. To earn the players’ respect, Low had to get baptized and sing a Justin Timberlake song in front of the entire team. He was afraid that he would be embarrassed, but when he started, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and Neymar joined him. Accepted. – PSG makes me more human. I have to remember that apart from the fact that our players are world-class stars, they are also just footballers. And that’s how they behave. And for my coaching career, being here with Thomas is a highlight that could give me a lot in the future. I believe that every trainer is like a beautiful mosaic. Becomes a pro when all the pieces are in place. Mine is still under construction, but I know that I will arrange many elements in Paris – described Low.

In the first season, alongside Tuchel, he won the championship and the national cup, but was eliminated from the Champions League in 1/8 of the final. In the aggregate match against Manchester United, the English turned out to be better due to three away goals. Despite many voices calling for the immediate dismissal of the entire staff, Tuchel and Low stayed with the club for another season. The goal, as always at PSG, was success in Europe. In February 2019, the Hungarian gave an interview to the site RB Lipsk. – You know that we can meet in the Champions League next year? the journalist asked him. – Well, I’d rather avoid such a fight. I don’t want to win with Leipzig and suffer. If we meet in the final, all memories and friendships will disappear for 90 minutes – assessed the coach. The journalist suggested to him that the probability that PSG will be in the final is much greater than in the case of Leipzig. “Who knows who knows,” Low laughed.

Nagelsmann asked Low for material to analyze. Now she will be his rival

Now the chances of both clubs for the final are the same. They meet in a direct match in the semi-final of the Champions League in Lisbonand Zsolt Low is tasked with defeating the former club that introduced him to the world of European football. There are reports that some teams want to hire him as their first coach. Hoffenheim, for example, would be ready to make an offer, in which Low would become the club’s long-awaited replacement for his Tuesday rival, who sits on the bench as the coach of RB Leipzig – Julian Nagelsmann. – We had fierce duels with Julian when I was an assistant in Leipzig and he was working in Hoffenheim. It was hot at times, although after the matches we shook hands and discussed in full culture. We know each other very well and when Leipzig played Olympique Lyon in the Europa League, he even asked us for video material to be analyzed. We value each other – said Low a year ago for dierotenbullen.com.

“Nemzeti Sport” posted a brief interview with Low about the game against RB Leipzig, in which it says that both teams will walk away in silence after the game. – One to the finals, the other home, analyzing what went wrong. If we win, we must respect the emotions of the losers. Texting or joint conversations are not important then, no one will be offended. I hope that we will be promoted further, and Leipzig will be proud of reaching the level of the LM semi-finals anyway – said the coach. The Hungarian has said repeatedly that he is “still heartbroken” after he chose to go to Paris instead of staying with a Bundesliga club. – When do I finally say it was the right decision? On September 24, at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, if I come there as a Champions League winner for the European Super Cup, Low pointed out. RB Leipzig semi-finals start against PSG on Tuesday at 21:00 in Lisbon. Live coverage on Sport.pl.

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