Marcel Koller, Al Ahly’s new coach, sat down with us to talk about the beginnings of his coaching career in the second part of the interview.
Koller also revealed an interesting story about how he discovered Lukas Podolski, German World Cup champion. He also as sent a message to our fans and talked about his role model while growing up.
The Start Of His Coaching Career
“I began career in coaching with youth teams before I got the opportunity to coach FC Wil, which used to play in the second division in 1997. Afterwards, I got the chance to coach St. Gallen and win with them the league in the second time in the club’s history.”
Discovering Podolski
“During my time at FC Koln, I saw Podolski who was 18 years old back then. I remember watching him with his team and the German youth time at the time. One day, I saw him score 5 or 6 goals in one game with the German youth time and since then I decided to promote him to the first team.”
“He was very talented and gave his maximum whenever he was on the pitch. He had a great career both on a club level and with the national team. I’m still in contact with him.”
Coaching Clubs & National Teams
“Coaching clubs is different than coaching national teams, with clubs you’re responsible for everything. Moreover, you play every three games and you are always on the spot. However, coaching national teams means that you get to see your players for around ten days in a training camp and that’s where you have to implement your style of play; coaching national teams is much more relaxed than coaching clubs.”
Talking About Maradona & Pele
“During my time as a player, I was a midfielder and had the chance to man-mark Maradona. I remember once I was about to take the ball from him with my left foot but he was able to dribble past me. However, it was a really nice opportunity to get to play against such a legendary player.”
“In my opinion though, Pele is the greatest player of all time. He’s an exceptional player.”
Final Message To Our Fans
“I’m very happy to be here. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the club and the fans. Ever since our arrival, I’ve felt the love and the support of Al Ahly fans toward the club. It runs in their blood and we can feel that. We hope to see them soon in the stands.”
