Face to face: Christian Ziege
How did your relationship with the club begin?
It was quite simple. I moved to the club only two years ago when I didn’t have a job. My wife and I decided to move into this area in Austria where we could follow our son playing football. Through watching him and spending time with him, we formed a connection with the club. There were six games left to play in the 2018-19 season when I said: “I’m here with nothing to do.” Then I became involved and it all started for me.
How have things developed since you joined?
We’ve had to become more professional – in the dressing room, on the pitches and in understanding our ambitions. You can’t change everything in one day, especially if you don’t have a lot of money. Everything you want to change has something to do with money. So, step-by-step we’ve made a lot of changes. We’ve brought in some professional players but it’s a process. Half of the team is still working and studying.
What is it like working in the mountains?
The good thing is that the surroundings make you more relaxed. Obviously, we have our ambitions and we are working a lot, but the environment makes things a bit easier. You wake up in the morning for a session on the field and then you look up and say: “Ooh! Nice mountains here.” You stop for ten minutes and just listen to the nature.
How are you finding coaching compared to playing?
More stressful! You have to think a lot more. You have to prepare. As a player you just come in. You look after yourself. You go to the gym or you train but you don’t really have to think about the next step, to think about whether this player is right or not? What can we change? There are talks, discussions, meetings and telephone calls. So, I would say that the job as a football player is the best thing that you can have.
How does a matchday experience compare to your playing days?
You can’t compare the two. This is still an amateur club. You have small dressing rooms but there are lovely people everywhere. That is probably the difference. You can’t even compare it to the places I’ve been to as a player. But that’s not a problem. From my point of view, when it comes to football, there is a pitch, 90 minutes and two goals. It doesn’t matter how the dressing room is, how the surroundings are or how the people are, it’s a football game.
What are you enjoying most about your role?
It’s unique. I guess not many managers take this route and try to make their lives so complicated, but for me it’s completely different. I’m happy to live here. I have good surroundings and good circumstances. It’s a club that has ambitions, which perhaps means more work than at a big club. We don’t have the best physios or the best doctors. Some players are not working full-time at the club. Sometimes we don’t even have a pitch to train on when it’s raining or when winter arrives because of the conditions. Professional clubs can find good pitches and visit foreign countries even in preseason. You have to find solutions and different schedules. It’s a lot of work but it’s so interesting and a lot of fun as well.
How important is it to keep local fans on board?
It’s always important. Last season we finished second. We could see the football and everything evolving at the club. People should support this club and feel comfortable, realising that this is a club from the region and a club for the people. It has a good relationship with guys arriving from the US who have the same ambitions. They should enjoy the games and what’s going on in the area. The next city is Salzburg – a one-hour drive away. In an area like this, if we could reach our ambitions, it would be amazing.
How would it feel to see the club reach the heights of Red Bull Salzburg one day?
That would be a proud feeling because the people here are working hard to achieve this goal. But you should never forget where you’re from. We have ambitions, but there is a long way to go. Sometimes you take two steps forwards and then three steps back. It’s not going to be easy. Then again, I would be extremely proud. We could say that we achieved something really good. But this is far away in the future.