Many ambassadors of German football are active around the world and do excellent work. An example: Christian Schweichler, who last worked as a goalkeeping coach in Bangladesh. We spoke to him in an interview.
Mr. Schweichler, thank you for taking the time for this short interview. You have been a goalkeeping coach for more than 15 years. You worked outside of Germany for the first time in 2009. How did the move abroad come about?
At the time, Michael Krüger was a coach at the African club Al Merrikh. I was contacted by his advisor regarding a collaboration. I was lucky enough to have a licensed and reputable partner at my side in Udo Schräder and his agency StarKick, whom I could fully trust, especially with such a commitment abroad.
I am very grateful to Michael Krüger and Willi Kronhardt, who was also part of the coaching staff. Both of them made it very easy for me to get started with their professionalism and experience. Our good cooperation eventually led to winning titles.
What experiences have you gained from your foreign assignments? Is there an anecdote you can tell us?
In the last 6 years I got to know about 20 countries and their football in connection with tournaments, games and training camps. From Africa, the Middle East to Asia and Australia. Whether Kenya or Rwanda, Qatar, Kuwait or Oman, Iran, South Korea or Malaysia. Everywhere I was able to gain a lot of valuable experience abroad.
However, I will not forget my first training session in Africa. The trainer pointed out that more spectators than in Germany would follow the training and everyone would be looking forward to the upcoming Champions League game. However, it took some getting used to the fact that 10,000 fans with drums and trumpets would make training only possible in sign language. The number of spectators and the atmosphere during training did not decrease in the following days either. However, my enthusiasm for African football increased with this experience.
You worked together with Theo Bücker in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Did it make your work easier to work with a colleague who had the same mentality?
Working with Theo Bücker was and is a stroke of luck for me. His expertise, the high reputation in Arab football and his outstanding human qualities have made our cooperation harmonious and successful.
As a former player and assistant coach to Dettmar Cramer, Theo often describes him as his mentor. Theo successfully continued his mentality and football philosophy and is now passing them on to the next generation of coaches. He is truly a football ambassador.
I therefore follow the same ideal. To represent German football with professionalism, passion and modesty, worthy of representing it abroad.
You are currently back in Germany, what do you have planned for the future? Is there a country or a club/association that you would like to work for again?
There are so many and varied challenges in football. With Al Merrikh I worked for a top club in Africa, for which only titles and good placements in the Champions League count. With Lebanon, the challenge was to successfully lead a national team through a World Cup qualification, and in Bangladesh, my work focused on the basic knowledge transfer of training theory and didactics for goalkeepers.
Professionally and privately, I always follow a sentence that an important person in my life gave me: “Where would we be if everyone said where we would be, and no one would go to see where we would be if we went.”
