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  Interview with Hoffenheim Coach Ralf Rangnick: 'Football Is Always the Future'

Interview with Hoffenheim Coach Ralf Rangnick 'Football Is Always the Future'

Part 2: 'Nothing Has Been Perfected"

SPIEGEL: Is it still the case at Hoffenheim that no player can earn more than the head coach?

Rangnick: That's only logical. But it isn't because I'm "the big cheese," as they say in Swabia. The person with the greatest responsibility should also make the most money. It's no different in big companies like Daimler, Siemens or SAP.

SPIEGEL: You never played at the professional level. Just last week, Andreas Müller, the general manager of Schalke, said: "Ralf seems, well, I wouldn't say schoolmasterly, but he isn't exactly a real footballer." Are you trying to stick it to the establishment with your Hoffenheim model?

Rangnick: No, not at all.

SPIEGEL: Do you feel like an outsider?

Rangnick: No. But I must be a pain for some of the big clubs that are drenched in history. At Schalke, for example, there was this but-we've-been-together-for-so-long attitude. Then I showed up and really shook things up. For me, it's very important that all my colleagues have just one goal in mind: to provide a service to the 25 professional players.

SPIEGEL: That should seem obvious.

Rangnick: But it isn't -- and partly because the idea of choosing the best person for the job doesn't always apply when the job assignments are being made. But as long as clubs keep putting clauses in the final professional contracts of the players that had earned it guaranteeing that they'll be coaching the B youth team or working as chief scouts once their playing careers are over, there will be no progress.

SPIEGEL: Uli Hoeness would say that that's Mr. Know-it-all speaking.

Rangnick: Sure, but he doesn't even know me.

SPIEGEL: But you do come across as a zealot sometimes.

Rangnick: I have shed some of my missionary characteristics. For instance, making a TV appearance like the one I gave 10 years ago on the "Current Sports Studio" program, when I explained how the "chain of four" works, is something that wouldn't happen again today. And I also don't want us to be the measure of all things. The Hoffenheim model would not be possible anywhere else. Two and a half years ago, we were looking at a blank page. First, we assembled a staff of advisers, using professional expertise as the main criterion; and then we built the team. This is unprecedented. Can you imagine someone showing up at a professional club and -- just like in a corporate takeover -- reassessing everyone and asking questions like: "Who is really good, and who is really in the right place?"

SPIEGEL: Are you a better coach today?

Rangnick: Yes. The first two and a half years were a constant learning process for me. I've had to lock horns with some very good people on a daily basis, and we really get down to brass tacks in these discussions. I doubt I would have ever offered such a thoroughly planned training program.

SPIEGEL: Are you in the process of reinventing football?

Rangnick: Of course not, but we are trying out a lot of things. We've gotten rid of some drills and kept some others, even though they seemed confusing at first. For example, there is one drill we call "bananas," which tries to teach players how to get the ball up front as quickly as possible. If we had introduced drills like "bananas" in a traditional club -- with 10 journalists watching over us during our practices -- the next day, we would have had to deal with headlines like: "Chaos during training! Now Rangnick has gone completely bananas!"

SPIEGEL: Can success be planned?

Rangnick: Not success, but performance. We see our young players as blue chips. They contribute speed, technical skills, good basic tactical training, a willingness to learn, determination and a special "weapon," depending on the position they play. The trick is to equip these highly qualified individual players with something strategic as well.

SPIEGEL: Ten years ago, you said that tactics is the only aspect of football that hasn't been perfected. Is this still true today?

Rangnick: It wasn't even true back then. Although I had looked at what was happening in some countries, I hadn't look at other types of sports. Nothing has been perfected yet, not even conditioning.

SPIEGEL: Could you ever imagine working anyplace else besides within your Hoffenheim biosphere?

Rangnick: You should never say never, but I am so happy with my job right now that it isn't something I think about at all. I'm on vacation now until the beginning of January. By the time Christmas is over, I'll probably be asking myself: "When do I get to see the guys again?"

SPIEGEL: Do you think your players feel the same way?

Rangnick: I have no idea. But they don't seem to be able to get enough of each other. Before our match against Schalke, I asked them all: "What will you guys being doing during the winter break?" It turned out that 10 of them will be flying to New York. That's something I have never experienced in professional football: They spend the entire year together, and then they go on a trip together for New Year's.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Rangnick, thank you for this interview.

Interview conducted by Christoph Biermann and Michael Wulzinger.

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