Markus Wuckel has played four times in his active career against VfL Wolfsburg, twice for Göttingen 05, once for VfB Oldenburg and VfB Leipzig. On Wednesday (2 p.m. Livestream on sportschau.de) he competes in the DFB Cup semi-final with the soccer players of Arminia Bielefeld against VfL Wolfsburg. As a player, the 53-year-old was a migratory bird, storming for Stahl Brandenburg, 1. FC Magdeburg, Rot-Weiss Essen – and Bielefeld, among others. But he has had his current coaching job for 17 (!) Years. In the SPORTBUZZER interview, Wuckel talks about identification, his Arminia heart and the sensational jump into the last four.
Mr. Wuckel, your team is a sensation in the DFB Cup. What makes the team special?
We have something that the others may not have. If you look alone in our cabin wing, the players have done everything themselves. We mow our lawn ourselves, clean it, it’s a lot of personal work – somehow that has something. You can’t compare that to Wolfsburg, for example. They have their training ground, the AOK stadium, but that’s not built and maintained itself.
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Is that the reason why your top scorer Sarah Grünheid is not yet playing in the Bundesliga?
Sarah is a good example because when we took over the buildings here the door frames were red. She then organized a pot of paint, sanded everything and painted it in Arminia colors. You only do that if you feel comfortable and that’s the case with us. The heart of Arminia beats.
Did the Arminia heart bleed when you and your players could not celebrate properly after the sensational quarter-final victory due to the corona restrictions?
Let’s put it this way: We celebrated a bit as far as possible and without violating regulations. We knew, of course, that we cannot go to a restaurant or party in a disco. But we didn’t just go home and go to bed. It was simply unbelievable for us that day, because we invested a lot in advance. The players took extra vacation for the quarantine or made home office, the time in the quarantine hotel welded us all together again and made them stronger and really brought them forward. Where there is a will, there is a way – everyone has followed.
In the post-game interview, you were very emotional.
The SC Sand was twice in the final itself, so it is not a walking customer. Nobody could really believe that. If you have only been a coach here for a year or two, that may be different, but if you are connected as I am, it was the first time that tears of happiness and joy came to me . But I was not the only one, our President also had tears in his eyes, which affected us all very much. That we did it and are in the semi-finals is honest work. Nothing is played there. I’m not ashamed of my tears because why shouldn’t you show how you feel?
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VfL women against Frankfurt – The pictures of the game
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Dominique Janssen against Geraldine Reuteler
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Do you have a cup team?
First we had Nuremberg and Eintracht Braunschweig, which were two real cup battles. Against a first division team, we then outgrow ourselves again, so it was again now. We have always caused a sensation in the cup for years and made it difficult for the first division teams. It was only a matter of time before we took another step.
Now the supposedly biggest hurdle there is with Wolfsburg. What’s the mood like before the game?
We played against Wolfsburg three and a half years ago and lost 0-2, but it was a long time 0-0. There is a certain tingling of the stomach, there must be an inner nervousness. We are still absolute realists. We were training Saturday morning, and when we collected the training balls, I said: ‘We probably felt as many training balls as Wolfsburg’s national team.’ Every game still starts at 0-0. We did a video analysis and professionally prepare the team. We take it very seriously. That is the least we can do to stand up to it.
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You were a second division striker, how did you get into women’s football?
I have two hearts in my chest. One beats for Magdeburg because I was at the boarding school for a long time, and the second for Arminia because I played football there successfully. Both colors are blue, so that fits well. After my active time I worked in football schools and the son of a player from Arminia Bielefeld was there. At the time, their team was in acute danger of relegation six games before the end. Arminia asked me if I could take over. Then I watched a game and let me put it this way: women’s football was something completely different from today. But they persuaded me and we sensationally kept the league. I actually wanted to leave again, but they asked me if I could not continue until winter so that they had enough time to find a new coach. But they weren’t really looking – and if 15 women stand in front of you and beg that you stay: Yes, what do you do? I became weak there. I’ve been a women’s trainer for 17 years now.
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And obviously always with passion.
It is always easier if you go to clubs where the structures and the surrounding areas are already there. The charm of building something up appealed to me. At the time, I was standing on the ash field with only three players. In the meantime we have made it into the 2nd Bundesliga. Many changes, many moves – I had enough in my active career, I don’t have to have that anymore.
What environment do you work in today?
With Hans-Jürgen Laufer, we have a president who is a fan of our women’s team and really encourages us and doesn’t just think economically. With the EDImedienArena we have a nice venue, we have built something nice, also pimped up the clubhouse. We recognized the potential that can be in women’s football early on. We train as much as the men and you can now look at that with us. When people come over from the men, they are always enthusiastic. In the 2nd league we have the highest average audience as promoters. There is a sense of euphoria in the city and not only because the men are just so successful, but the women also play a part in this.
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