On his return to Cologne, Gerhard Struber spoke about his new role in Bristol, his time at FC Cologne, and why less is sometimes more when it comes to young players.
The return to Cologne was of course special, even though Gerhard Struber was not even supposed to be coach of 1.FC Cologne for a whole season. Nevertheless, the Austrian was delighted, as he explained during his appearance at the Matchplan conference at the German Sport University.
There, Struber spoke with organizer Prof. Dr. Daniel Memmert and moderator Franzi Müllers about his new job in the Championship, where he currently ranks eighth with Bristol City. He is particularly fascinated by the focus on soccer on the island. “Soccer is also of interest in Austria, but there’s also skiing,” Struber explained, elaborating on why he believes the game is even more important in England than in Germany: “The influence of coaches is different than in Germany. That’s why England is very sexy when it comes to soccer.”
The biggest differences between the lower leagues in England and Germany are the number of games and the enormous physicality. And then there’s the money factor: “The quality is incredibly high because there are clubs that invest a lot.” This also applies to innovation and science, of course, because the owners, who are often from the US, have a completely different approach to data.
A long evening at the wine tavern with the WAC president
For Struber, who had already gained experience abroad with Barnsley FC and the New York Red Bulls before his time in Cologne, this was certainly a culture shock in a positive sense. He recounted his time at Wolfsberger AC with humor and a grin: “I spent the night at a wine tavern talking to the president about a GPS system. At 2 or 3 a.m., he finally agreed.”
Despite being fired at the end of the season, he now looks back fondly on his time in Cologne: “There was incredible pressure on the club and the players. We struggled to get into a football flow.” The transfer ban and relegation had “mentally shaken the team. Nevertheless, we got them into a promotion spot. So I look back positively.”
Struber’s advice to youth coaches: “Don’t coach everything”
Now he wants to reach the promotion playoffs with Bristol in the grueling Championship, as he did last season – even though the club from the southwest was able to spend significantly less on transfers than many of its competitors. Struber’s team is capitalizing on its good start and a special game: “The 4-1 win against Sheffield United gave us a boost.”
And, of course, at a conference on match analysis, coaching, and scouting, the question of what could be done better in youth development is a must. Struber’s motto: Less is more. For the 48-year-old, “coaches, especially in youth development, should learn to just let things happen and not coach everything.”
What Struber means is: don’t overcomplicate everything and don’t incorporate endless topics and details into every exercise. Young players need time on the ball. “And we have to create the conditions in training so that players have to make as many decisions as possible.”