Urs Fischer, on his return to Union, naturally kept his emotions under control. And Leverkusen’s coach Kasper Hjulmand wouldn’t be baited either.
E There were times in the Bundesliga when coaches not only did cocaine, but also publicly attacked their colleagues. Bores were frowned upon and attacked for their reserved manner.
People gave little thought to their own image. Max Merkel once frank about his method: “In training I once had the alcoholics on my team play against the non-drinkers. The alcoholics won 7–1. Then I said: Keep drinking!”
Not only the performance-focused approaches, but the coaches themselves have changed fundamentally. The Swiss Urs Fischer is certainly a prime example of this. On the return to the Alte Försterei in Köpenick, the place of his greatest successes, the Mainz coach had, as always, everything under control on Saturday. As far as his emotions were concerned, he gave away not the slightest sign. In the embrace of his longtime companions before the kickoff, he kept his left hand in his jacket pocket except for one exception. And afterwards he stated that his focus had been mostly on the game.
What’s crazy is that this sober Fischer could trigger such reactions at a sentimentally charged venue like Union Berlin — both sportingly and emotionally. Coaches have long since become diplomats in the upper echelons of the profession. Week after week they praise their colleagues, the strengths of other teams, steer clear of conflict-laden topics within their own club with the elegance of a slalom skier, and can talk for hours without really saying anything. Urs Fischer stands out in this art.
All of this contributes to the fact that even small deviations trigger media over excitation. Half an hour before the Bundesliga top clash between Leverkusen and Stuttgart, the broadcast channel Sky wanted to discuss Bayer coach Kasper Hjulmand’s social-media post from the beginning of the year. Hjulmand, who is in a relationship with a Greenlandic politician, had written that knowledge, international structures, dialogue and respect for cultural differences were the enemies for some heads of state and government around the world. He wished for “more humanity, empathy and love.”
Perhaps consciously, Hjulmand had framed his wish in a fairly apolitical, indeed diplomatic, manner. Nevertheless, it was blown up. In the pre-match interview, Leverkusen’s coach had to repeatedly beg that they would now talk only about football. His stark call for more humanity remained unaddressed.
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