Article from Germany about DR. Quite long but a good read.
https://www.sport.de/news/ne6692774/fuss...es-jahres/
In his new sport.de column, Florian Regelmann examines all the topics that are currently troubling, exciting or upsetting him. Episode 2 is about the secret coach of the year: Danny Röhl
Alonso? Hoeneß? HE is the secret coach of the year
Xabi Alonso with Bayer Leverkusen, Sebastian Hoeneß with VfB Stuttgart, Frank Schmidt with 1. FC Heidenheim - we saw incredible coaching performances in the Bundesliga alone last season. But we should not forget that a young German coach also achieved something historic in England.
"I was the big hope here from the start. On my first day, I was at an amateur game and 3,000 fans were calling my name, even though I hadn't done anything yet. It was crazy," Danny Röhl tells me on the phone. He is not in Sheffield at the moment, but in his hometown of Leipzig.
When I talk to him, I inevitably think back to our first meeting in a Munich beer garden in the summer of 2019. At that time, Röhl had just moved from Southampton FC under his mentor Ralph Hasenhüttl as assistant coach analysis to Hansi Flick and FC Bayern.
Röhl, who was only 30 years old at the time, was considered a hot name among the talented coaches. At 16 he said he wanted to be a coach. His own career as a player (a fast man for the wing!) was ruined by many injuries. He slipped into the coaching track very early on, at a very early stage in the RB cosmos.
Röhl is the type of tactical mastermind, but contrary to some prejudices, he is not only that. Röhl is also equipped with the necessary soft skills, he can lead a team - in the end, he has everything in his toolbox that you need to be a top coach. He also has the necessary ability to think outside the box - I remember how we talked about offensive and defensive coordinators in football or how he reported how a study trip to ManCity had made a lasting impression on him.
Danny Röhl: A Mission Impossible as first head coach
After our conversation, a very successful period followed, including a treble at Bayern, and a notoriously less successful period with the national team. In September 2023, Flick's time as national coach was history, and Röhl was also without a job. What happened next was almost like a fairy tale.
At the beginning of October, Röhl was sitting in the stands at the Champions League match between RB Leipzig and Manchester City when his mobile phone rang. It was his agent telling him that Sheffield Wednesday was likely to sack their coach. He had been in contact with Sheffield since the summer, but no deal had been made.
One day later, Röhl was at the airport and was about to fly away on a family holiday when his mobile phone rang again. The message: Dejphon Chansiri, the Thai owner of Sheffield Wednesday, wanted to meet him in London on Friday.
Now you have to know: Sheffield was in last place in the autumn of 2023, without a single win, with a measly three points to their name. Never before had a Championship club managed to avoid relegation without having won a game after a quarter of the season. Add to that a club in disarray with an owner who is not particularly popular with the fans, to put it mildly. There are easier tasks when you imagine your first head coach job.
Danny Röhl: That is the big difference to being an assistant coach
But Röhl flew to London anyway and took the job in the working-class city. "I was obviously disappointed about the end of my time at the DFB, but I wasn't empty-headed and without energy. My great affinity for English football is well known, and Sheffield Wednesday is a traditional club, so all of that played a role. And then I saw the realistic chance to turn things around. The team wasn't playing football that corresponded to my idea. I was convinced that there were still enough games to get things on the right track," explains Röhl.
But he has to admit that he underestimated the task in that he never thought he would have to get 50 points in 35 games. Normally, 45 points, or sometimes much less, were enough to stay in the Championship. But not this season.
Röhl implemented his way of playing football, naturally influenced by the RB school with lots of pressing and chasing, but also combined with possession football and solutions in the final third. In the first week of training, Röhl didn't say a word about defense, it was all about training with the ball.
Röhl's work quickly paid off. He led Sheffield Wednesday back to safety, but he also had to endure setbacks again and again. It was a real rollercoaster ride.
At the end of November they lost 2-1 at Birmingham City, although they were clearly the better team. At the beginning of February they were beaten 4-0 at Huddersfield - suddenly the deficit had grown to eight points again. They just couldn't get over the ominous line. Even after the 1-1 home draw against Stoke four games before the end, the disillusionment was still great, before they ended the season with three wins in a row and actually made the impossible possible.
"That's the big difference between being an assistant coach and being the boss. As a head coach, you still have to stand up in front of the team after a really tough game and spread optimism, even if it doesn't feel like it and you're totally depressed yourself. As an assistant coach, you just sit in the dressing room and listen to what the boss says," says Röhl, describing the transformation he had to make.
Coach in the Championship: Fanatical football - a lot of madness!
What you must not forget when looking at it: The Championship is a tough league, in terms of quality perhaps even the best after the top 5 leagues. Try playing on a Tuesday evening in wind and weather in Preston, Rotherham or Millwall. It's all about full throttle. Try playing on the 23rd, 26th, 29th December and on New Year's Day! The 24-team league with 46 games per season makes it possible! Someone like Röhl, who likes to put a lot of time into detailed training work, had to adapt extremely.
It is also worth taking a look at the finances: HSV, for example, would be in 16th place in the Championship with a squad value of around 50 million euros. The top clubs in England's second division are worth over 200 million, while cash-strapped Sheffield Wednesday are worth just 20 million.
"I know the Premier League very well and I have to say that if you are a football romantic and want to see fanatical football, you have to watch Championship games," says Röhl.
The fact that the now 35-year-old seems very mature may also be due to the fact that he has been much more than just head coach in the last six months. Is manager even a sufficient description for his area of responsibility at Sheffield Wednesday? The sign in front of his office should probably read "Mr. Danny Röhl, does everything."
The fact that all transfers go through his desk seems sensible and logical, as we know from the English manager model. But this is also a very demanding challenge for a young head coach who has never spoken to agents on the phone before. 27 players, 27 agents, plus players you want to sign - that adds up to quite a few appointments. And in the transfer business, you don't just win.
But a lot more goes through Röhl's desk. He is the person in the club who is more or less responsible for infrastructural improvements. If he wants a new gym to be built, he has to act as "project manager". He selects the hotels for the summer preparation. Even doctors' bills end up with him for countersignature.
Premier League or Bundesliga? Danny Röhl wants to move up
Despite this, or perhaps because of this, Sheffield Wednesday was exactly the right club at the right time for Röhl. He really appreciates his employer. Although Sheffield is home to two clubs, the support is also extremely good in the Championship.
At the penultimate away game in Blackburn, 7,000 fans attended, and an entire straight was full of Sheffield Wednesday supporters. Every home game in the venerable Hillsborough Stadium, sadly known to all football fans because of the spectator disaster of 1989, is a highlight. No matter where he goes, Röhl is recognized, but he stresses how respectfully this happens in Sheffield.
What's next for Röhl? Other clubs came knocking, but in the end he decided at the end of last week to sign a long-term extension with Sheffield Wednesday.
Röhl was primarily concerned with the perspective. He sees the club as a "sleeping giant" where something big can emerge. But he also knows that tradition is no longer enough and that investments will be urgently needed if things are to move up. And Röhl wants to move up. With his club. But also personally. "My aim is to work at the highest level as quickly as possible," he says.
Translated, this means: Röhl has the clear goal of working as a head coach in the Premier League or the Bundesliga as quickly as possible. That's where he wants to be. That's where he belongs.
