Jerome Boateng is taking up his first role as an assistant manager at professional level. He will be assisting Thomas Reis in Turkey.
The line-up of big names at Turkish club Trabzonspor continues to grow. After the Süper Lig side had already signed former Liverpool stars Mohamed Salah and Fabinho in the summer, as well as bringing in goalkeeper André Onana on loan, there is now another very prominent name on the coaching staff: Jerome Boateng.
The 2014 World Cup winner officially confirmed on Tuesday that he has taken up the role of assistant manager under Thomas Reis, who took over the team from his predecessor Fatih Tekke in mid-September. “I am very proud and happy to be part of the coaching team. It means a great deal to me to learn from Thomas Reis and his team every day,” the 38-year-old wrote on Instagram. At Trabzonspor, the former centre-back now hopes to pass on his “own experiences” as a player.
As early as the end of September, Turkish media had reported that an agreement had been reached with Boateng regarding his role as assistant coach at the club, which currently sits fifth in the table.
For Boateng, this marks his first role on a coaching staff at professional level. Previously, the former centre-back had worked for several months as assistant manager of the Austrian side’s reserve team at Linzer ASK, alongside his final spell as a player. After his playing contract in Linz was terminated in August 2025, he was no longer employed in this role at LASK either. Shortly afterwards, Boateng ended his playing career and announced his intention to become a coach.
Bayern work placement fell through due to fan opposition
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany, who played alongside Boateng for both Hamburger SV and Manchester City, subsequently offered the 2014 World Cup winner the chance to join him at FC Bayern as part of a work placement. However, this plan met with resistance from the fans of the record champions, who, shortly after the plan became public, protested against Boateng’s internship with banners at the top-of-the-table clash against Borussia Dortmund.
The defender, who played for FCB from 2011 to 2021 and won the Champions League twice with the Munich side, was found guilty in 2024 by Munich Regional Court I of intentionally causing bodily harm to his ex-girlfriend and given a caution. Boateng denies the allegations.
The trial period at FC Bayern ultimately fell through, and Boateng stated that he now wanted to focus on obtaining his A licence. Since then, things had gone quiet around him – until now.
