Zeidler's successor Enrico Maassen has quickly gained a foothold in eastern Switzerland. The 40-year-old German talks to blue Sport about his rise in football, his departure from Augsburg and his plans for St. Gallen.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- blue Sport meets Enrico Maassen in St. Gallen for a personal interview.
- The German talks about his beginnings, Toni Kroos and his goals with the Eastern Swiss club.
If you hate boredom, you have to like Kybunpark. That was true under Peter Zeidler, and it's still true today. The team plays attacking football with a penchant for the dramatic - and often successfully. 10 points after 5 games in the league and qualification for the Conference League are the most recent proof.
But something striking has changed. Peter Zeidler is no longer incessantly pacing along the touchline. Now Enrico Maassen is there, almost the opposite. He coaches his team calmly and calmly, even in hostile Wroclaw, where goalkeeper Zigi is racially abused. Or in heated Trabzon, where the Espen are shaking their way into the league phase.
How does he manage that? "I know it's no good shouting and making everyone nervous. But I can be very emotional and get out of the saddle," says Maassen. But there have been few reasons for this in St. Gallen so far.
Enno", as everyone calls him, grew up in the old GDR, born in 1984 in Wismar, the capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. His parents work for the railroad. Two younger sisters are also part of the family. He has hardly any memories of life in the East, after all he was only five years old when the Wall came down in November 1989. But he emphasizes one thing: "I had a great childhood." This is mainly due to the fact that a school friend motivated him to join his football club. The fire has been burning ever since. "Alongside family and friends, football is my great passion," says Maassen. Room for other hobbies? There's hardly any.
Training with Toni Kroos
As a player, it's only enough for clubs like Hansa Rostock II, Greifswalder SV or Verl. But at least his path crossed with the very young Toni Kroos. He comes from the region and was allowed to train with Hansa's second team as a teenager. "It was already clear then that he could do something," says Maassen.
His playing career ended at 30. Within a year, he tore his cruciate ligament twice and once. His career ended at Drochtersen/Assel, a fifth division club in western Germany at the time. The club is currently looking for a coach and thinks of Maassen. He is ambitious and intelligent about the game. And he is a qualified sports therapist and trained sports and fitness manager. Maassen goes for it. "After that, I asked my previous teammates if it would be okay for them if I became their coach." Yes, it was okay.
Years of trial and error begin - and hard work. If necessary, he tapes the players' ankles himself. His main job is as the manager of a fitness studio. A day back then? "Get up at 5:30 am. To the gym at 7:00. To the training ground at 18:00. Back home at 23:00." The birth of his son Matteo also took place during this time.
The path leads steeply upwards: Promotion to the regional league, a move to Rödinghausen, where he was allowed to coach full-time for the first time in 2018, high-profile cup appearances - including against FC Bayern, which he only lost 2:1. Maassen will soon be called to higher things.
On first-name terms with Watzke
Borussia Dortmund is calling, where he is learning how to operate in a world club. That also means being self-confident enough not to be overlooked. But it also means being modest enough not to offend everyone. He is quickly on first-name terms with boss Hans-Joachim Watzke. And he trains talents such as Antonios Papadopoulos, the current Lugano defender - with success. Borussia was promoted to the 3rd division and held its own there. When Lucien Favre had to leave at the end of 2020, Maassen was also being discussed as his successor. However, Edin Terzić is given preference.
A year and a half later, however, Maassen is where he wants to be: in the Bundesliga. But the situation in Augsburg is dangerous. The investor pulls out, long-term sporting director Stefan Reuter takes a back seat and the team undergoes a major upheaval. In the first year, Maassen keeps the team in the league with a young squad, but in the second, a false start is his undoing. "Nevertheless, it was a very good time," he says. The only accusation leveled at Maassen by those around him is that he deviated from his course and played more defensively "contre coeur". He himself does not deny this.
Family via Facetime
After that, his name was in the news at many clubs, such as Bochum, where Zeidler now coaches. Or in Nuremberg. FC St. Gallen won him over - not least the bosses: President Matthias Hüppi and Head of Sport Roger Stilz. But he also loves Kybunpark. "The atmosphere is very impressive. What goes on here is in no way inferior to the Bundesliga."
He hasn't seen much of the city itself yet. There was too much going on professionally. He recently moved into an apartment on Rorschacherberg. And at least there has been enough time for Maassen to recognize his weakness for St. Gallen bratwurst. "I've had a lot of them - but you have to watch the line a bit," he says. Even today, he is still a fitness trainer.
His family still lives in Augsburg, where his soon-to-be eight-year-old son Matteo goes to school. He chats with him and his three-year-old sister Lilly every evening via Facetime. "A great invention," says Maassen. And when it's convenient, he makes the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Augsburg.
Apart from his family, he doesn't miss anything in St. Gallen. And at least the good start eases the pain of separation. "The team met us with great openness," says Maassen. That helped. However, he, who is a big fan of Argentinian coaching legend Marcelo Bielsa, still sees a few points for improvement. Not least: improving ball possession and standards. The club has set itself the target of fourth place and the cup final. Quite ambitious. "I'm an ambitious person," says Maassen firmly.
St. Gallen's goals are unlikely to fail because of his nerves.
