How German Bundesliga Coach René Wagner came to professional football
- René Wagner played amateur soccer in Germany before moving abroad to the United States to play and coach in college soccer. It was the beginning of an exciting journey. The 34-year-old has been an assistant coach at 1. Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln (FC Cologne) since last season and managed to qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League.
- As part of the Warubi Sports Coaching Staff, René was responsible for the coaching license courses of the DFB-Akademie Training Centers in Fort Lauderdale and Largo (Florida, USA).
- René holds an UEFA A Level from the Deutscher Fußball Bund (DFB) and is one of the guest speakers in the German State FA (TFV) – Online Course.
How would you describe your career path?
Nowadays, my career path is considered more “normal” compared to maybe ten years ago. I chose a slightly different path by gaining experience abroad during my studies, and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. You can’t plan that, but it has always been my goal to train as high as possible. It was not to be expected that things would happen so quickly.
Do you enjoy what you are doing?
I currently have the best job I can imagine.
When was the time you decided a coaching career is something you want to pursue?
Maybe if I had stuck with playing, with a lot of luck it would have been a third division appearance. But it wasn’t worth it to me. Studies and experience abroad were more important for my personal development so I decided to play college soccer and start my coaching career in the USA.
What have you learned during your time abroad?
Above all, dealing with other people, cultures and perspectives. My team consisted of Scandinavians, Spaniards, French, Japanese… just to name a few. After my time in America, my perspective was much more open and I no longer had any problems feeling comfortable in a new environment.
After studying and coaching in Hawaii you then went on to Florida, where you ended up at Barry University and Inter Miami.
Yes, that happened more or less by accident and through networking. I met the club’s academy director and we started talking. As a result, I became an assistant coach for the U17s and U19s, parallel to my full-time coaching job at Barry University.
After your return to Germany you worked as a scout and performance coach for SC Paderborn. Were you on the same wavelength as Steffen Baumgart?
That developed over the course of the first year. At some point we realized that we fit together and that we complement each other well. Maybe that’s because I wasn’t a professional soccer player. My degree gives me a different perspective on work processes. I am very grateful to Steffen for giving me the chance to come to Cologne with him.
What are your responsibilities?
I’m part of the team, we prepare the sessions and the games and bring together the different working groups within the coaching staff.
How do you enjoy FC Cologne?
It’s a dream. When we signed autographs for two hours at the racetrack on Easter Monday, you could feel how FC means something to many people. I live in Nippes, there’s a Cologne flag hanging from every pub. That doesn’t exist in this form in many cities. Cologne feels cool in all parts of the city. That is beautiful.
