Martin Schmidt has been everything: extreme skier, chief mechanic in the DTM, coach and sports director. What he wants to be in the future is clear: football coach - in the south.
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- Martin Schmidt talks about his time in the Bundesliga in the football talk show Heimspiel.
- When his father had a heart attack, he took a step back at Mainz and looked after his dad together with his siblings.
- Now he would like to return to the touchline, preferably in Spain or Italy.
You could call him dazzling: exciting, charismatic, unconventional. All adjectives apply to the football coach from Valais with the long hair, who has already coached Mainz, Wolfsburg and Augsburg in the Bundesliga. But above all, Schmidt is down-to-earth, familiar and extremely reliable. He provided proof of this in the summer of 2024, when his father was in intensive care in hospital: he had suffered a heart attack shortly beforehand. The prognosis? Unfortunately poor. The only question was: "How long would he even live?" recalls Schmidt.
Martin Schmidt immediately resigned from his position as Bundesliga manager in consultation with Mainz board member Christian Heidel and from then on supported his father wholeheartedly with his siblings. Schmidt junior only helped the Bundesliga club as an advisor, no longer on the front line. "The money was really secondary," says Schmidt. "I just wanted to spend as much time with him as possible."
Over the course of the spring, he and Mainz terminated the contract altogether in order to spend more time at home in Valais, far away from the hustle and bustle and hubris of the Bundesliga.
"After dad's heart attack, everything else was far, far away"
Schmidt's attachment to his homeland, the mountains, his friends and his family lasted a lifetime. Whether he was a Bundesliga head coach, chief mechanic for the German Touring Car Championship or extreme skier. And this was true even though his father was not a particular football fan. He only watched his son play twice: a promotion match in Valais and the first as a Bundesliga coach in 2015, when the senior was delighted with Martin's Mainz's 3:1 win over Frankfurt.
Today, his father is already 93 years old - but even after the heart attack, he is "in top form", as his son Martin credibly conveys in the home game of blue Sport. "Dad said: Yes, the people are all very nice and they look after me well....but I actually want to go home again," says Martin Schmidt and laughs.
His father's wish has now been granted. Father Schmidt now lives at home again in Naters, supported by family, friends and Spitex. "During all this time, the job in the Bundesliga was far away," says Schmidt.
But the ball should be rolling again soon
But slowly you could say: it was! Because the fire of football has long been burning again in Martin Schmidt, the 58-year-old man of many talents. Anyone who knows him better will notice that Schmidt is watching games differently again - or rather: dissecting them. In a relentless search for mistakes. Or else he is thinking about the longing for team spirit, training sessions, players' meetings and preparation outings.
Jean-Paul Brigger, the former Valais international, once coached Schmidt at FC Naters in the 1st division. He says: "Martin is a people catcher in a positive sense. He was already able to inspire people as a player. He can grab the players, captivate them - but as a coach, not as a sports director."
....or even to Sion?
Martin Schmidt doesn't deny any of this. But he also says what all diplomatic coaches who are looking for a new job say: "It's not a dream job. But I don't want to rule anything out. But at the end of the day, you always have to have dreams. When I was a car mechanic, I also dreamed of working in Formula 1."
And back to football? "Well, I always thought that my approach from Germany and Switzerland, an athletic and intensive one, could also be implemented in the south. Yes, I dream of Spain and Italy! My backpack is full. I was a Bundesliga coach and sports director. But what I lack in Italy is the language. I might be able to give an incendiary speech and move well in everyday life. But talking to journalists about tactics? That wouldn't work," says Schmidt honestly.
Nevertheless, one thing is clear: the man wants to be a coach again. "Even when you're in the wind."
And Switzerland? "As I said, I'm not ruling anything out. It could be anything. Even an ambitious second division team that wants to get back to the top. Like Servette back then. But let's not forget: I haven't been a coach since 2020." Back then, FC Augsburg sacked him, his third coaching position after Mainz and Wolfsburg.
Andreas Böni, editor-in-chief of blue Sport, brings a romantic twist into play in Heimspiel-Talk. "Why not start a series at FC Sion? Together with Jean-Paul Brigger?" Together with head coach Christian Constantin? The round laughs.
