GC head of sport Alain Sutter has worked with coaches such as Hitzfeld, Hodgson and Trapattoni. Nevertheless, he is impressed by Gerald Scheiblehner.
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- GC sporting director Alain Sutter is impressed by coach Gerald Scheiblehner, whom he praises for his knowledge of human nature and clear leadership skills.
- Scheiblehner sees GC as a great challenge and, with his active playing philosophy and work ethic, fits in well with Sutter's ideas.
- Despite setbacks, GC wants to strengthen the squad in the winter, and the signing of left-back Maximilian Ullmann was the first step.
It was on the drive home to Linz when Gerald Scheiblehner called his wife and told her: "I hope it works out." He was referring to the commitment to GC, a "very big club", as Scheiblehner says. The Austrian coach's gut had given him this feeling - as had Alain Sutter, the record champions' head of sport, who had taken up his post just a few weeks earlier.
The two quickly hit it off on a personal level after a conversation lasting three or four hours. And they also tick the same way in sporting terms. This is exactly what surprised Scheiblehner a little, as he reveals in the home game on blue Sport. "Alain was a midfielder at a time when pressing didn't play a major role."
And yet Sutter has stood for a certain type of football since his St. Gallen days: active, aggressive, with a high approach. The 62-time international hates nothing more than boredom. In his St. Gallen days, Sutter often spoke of the "Bravehearts" he wanted to see. Of courageous players who were allowed to die a sporting death as long as they entertained.
Scheiblehner quickly took a liking to the idea. "I wanted the challenge, and I wanted to go abroad. I think I've landed at the right club." He compares GC to Rapid Vienna, the traditional club in his home country. Yet he made his only Bundesliga appearance as a player for Rapid's local rivals - Austria.
"I could have stayed in Linz"
He had no need to switch. "I could have stayed in Linz. I was the boss there, cemented in because I was successful for four years and still had a two-year contract. But I wanted the challenge." In four years, he led Blau-Weiss Linz from the second division to the championship group of the Bundesliga.
The challenge is big enough for GC, as the recent defeats in St. Gallen and Lucerne within a week showed: the Hoppers went down 0:5 and 0:6. Rebuilding a team - that is also a challenge. "But certainly not one that I need every week." After all, the team had shown a reaction twice - with a 3:3 against YB after the debacle in St. Gallen and most recently the 1:0 in Winterthur in the last second after the setback in Lucerne.
Scheiblehner is sure to have the support of his head of sport. Sutter is probably even more convinced of Scheiblehner than he was at the beginning. "Gerald is absolutely brilliant - the way he is, the way he works. I've never seen a coach with such a feel for what's appropriate in which situation," says Sutter. And he has worked with a number of prominent coaches: Hitzfeld, Hodgson, Trapattoni. And in St. Gallen for five and a half years with Peter Zeidler.
Between heart and ass-kicking
Scheiblehner manages the balancing act between sharpness and empathy like no other. "He knows exactly when to give someone a hug and when someone needs a kick up the ass." A coach needs all facets, says Sutter. "He needs incredible empathy, but he also has to be incredibly strict, consistent and straightforward." One more thing is important: that the coach remains himself. "Gerald never puts on airs," says Sutter.
The two harmonize - also because they have a similar view of work ethic. The players start work on the GC campus at eight o'clock, and then they have to work until five o'clock. Sutter wanted this from the outset, Scheiblehner supports it unconditionally. "If the attitude isn't right, then I get grumpy," says Scheiblehner. The club gives a lot to the players - so he wants the same in return.
The team is still "at the very beginning", says Scheiblehner. Mistakes, setbacks, sins of youth in the game - everything is planned for. It is clear that the 48-year-old coach will receive reinforcements in the winter, if possible. Sutter says: "We are very happy with the team we have. Nevertheless, we want to see if we can find two or three additions in the winter to make the whole thing more stable." The signing of 29-year-old Austrian left-back Maximilian Ullmann is an initial correction. His goal to make it 1:0 against Basel on Sunday can certainly be seen as proof.
