1. FC Mönchengladbach set the course early on and in January Alexi Triantafillidis succeeded Frank Mitchkowski. For the 41-year-old it is the second station as head coach after the engagement in the 2013/14 season with the former A-league team SuS Krefeld.
In the current season he was on the sidelines of the VSF Amern national team as assistant coach to Willi Kehrberg. In the same function, he previously worked for 1. FC Viersen. He is now following in great footsteps for the westerners because the team has always been in the top 4 since 2008/09, with one exception in the Landesliga.
“Of course I don’t want to do worse. But at the moment it is difficult to talk about certain places in the table, ”said the new coach of 1. FC. He’ll have a lot of work to do. The majority of the current squad has announced its farewell at the end of the season. “It is important that we grow together into one unit,” added Triantafillidis. But other things are important to him. He is completely a team player and not only has an eye for his future team. “I have already looked at some units of the A-youth. The coaching team does a really good job here, ”says the deputy parts manager of a car dealership.
The former junior international also attaches great importance to the external image: “It is important that we get some peace and quiet here. After all, we all represent the philosophy of the association. Of course we always have to keep an eye on the big picture. ”His players are likely to learn a lot under the direction of their new coach. He himself laced up his shoes for SC Bayer 05 Uerdingen and Borussia Mönchengladbach when he was young. But it wasn’t enough for the jump to the top. “I was relatively small for my age at the time. So it was difficult to assert myself physically, ”Triantafillidis admitted.
Nevertheless, his other stations are quite impressive. At 17, he was a member of the KTSV Preussen Krefeld team, which played in the then Oberliga Nordrhein between 1992 and 1996. Then Klaus Fleßers brought him to 1. FC Viersen. For the Viersener he ran in the Oberliga and Verbandsliga. In the same class he also played for Sportfreunde Hamborn 07. Due to his job, he stepped a little shorter after ten years at a higher amateur level and was then still active in the district league in the Krefeld area.
The system with which the former midfielder will send his team onto the field in the future remains open. “We have to see how exactly the new players with their diversity fit into which system. Of course, I have my own ideas and like to play aggressively, for example, ”says the new FC coach. Triantafillidis makes no secret of the fact that they are defensive and that his team’s defensive qualities are just as important to him and that he attaches great importance to owning the ball.
The exciting question is how 1. FC Mönchengladbach, with its new coach and the squad that has largely changed after numerous departures, will do in the new season. In at least two weeks, the new face of the team should be ready, after an agreement could already be reached with many players.
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