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Even in the hour of greatest success, Frank Schmidt did not lose his level-headed attitude. When he just talked about the DNA of 1. FC Heidenheim and his team’s incredible mentality after the 3:2 at SSV Jahn Regensburg in the last round, which was unbeatable in terms of drama, his players stormed into the press conference room. They gave their coach several beer showers.
The wet spectacle lasted a little too long for him, so Schmidt said rather sourly: “Then we train for another week – I don’t care.” And not because he is a nice brake, but out of respect for the opponent who, unlike the FCH, had pressed the wrong button in the elevator: “My apologies, I know that Jahn Regensburg got out today. And who knows us , know that people come first.”
Hamburg has Elversberg, Heidenheim gets Bayern
This Frank Schmidt and his 1. FC Heidenheim will play in the Bundesliga next season. While traditional clubs such as Schalke 04, Hertha Berlin and Hamburger SV play in the second division against clubs such as SV Elversberg and SC Paderborn, Heidenheim can play against Bayern and Borussia Dortmund. It is the greatest miracle that football Germany has experienced.
Based on Heidenheim’s car registration number HDH, spotters called the place “beyond the hills”. While Ulm, 50 kilometers away, has its minster and the neighboring town of Giengen its Steiff teddy bear, the city of 50,000 on the River Brenz now has a Bundesliga club and its king from Heidenheim: Frank Schmidt.
From insurance job to coaching function
After his professional career (including Alemannia Aachen, Wiener Sport-Club, SV Waldhof Mannheim), Schmidt returned to his homeland in 2003 in the Ostalb. He finished his career in Heidenheim, playing in the highest league and working at a friend’s insurance office before acting as interim coach for just two weeks in October 2007.
It’s been over 15 years now. In comparison, clubs like VfB, Schalke 04 or HSV have since worn out more than 20 coaches each. “It’s unbelievable how long I’ve been here. I’ve now spent almost a third of my life as a coach at this club – great,” said the married father of two adult daughters in an interview with the Stuttgarter Zeitung and the Stuttgarter Nachrichten. In the summer he overtakes Volker Finke (formerly SC Freiburg) as the longest-serving coach at a German professional club. “This record,” the 49-year-old recently assured, “I’m not interested in.”
“It’s unique, incredible”
What drives the ambitious coach is to further develop this club together with his sympathetic partner, CEO Holger Sanwald. He attacked for the FCH predecessor club Heidenheimer SB and joined in 1994 as head of the football department. Four years later came the first promotion from the state league (seventh league). Five more followed.
“It’s unique, incredible, fantastic, it even surpasses SC Freiburg’s success story,” says someone who knows the Ostalb like few others: the former VfB Stuttgart professional and former Heidenheim coach Helmut Dietterle. For him, continuity is not only the magic word for this fairytale-like development. Expertise, reliability and character characterize the management duo FCH. “They have always held their own line consistently and straightforwardly and have never been unnerved by outside criticism,” says Dietterle.
The decision makers blindly understand each other. They work for each other with the utmost transparency and honesty. The structures are streamlined, the hierarchies clear. “Crying away somewhere doesn’t work in this club,” says Dietterle, who already thought his former player Schmidt was an “incredibly hard-working and reliable strategist”.
Nothing was given to the club, everything was worked hard for. With a fine nose in scouting and a very good transfer policy, FCH was able to develop further with relatively modest financial resources. Players who fit Schmidt’s profile must possess the virtues of effort, running power, intensity and mentality.
No nonsense results football
Is that enough for the Bundesliga? Anyone who has accompanied this club on its way to success is sure of one thing: no one will lose their grip on the ground, no one will suddenly deviate from the chosen path. The crash of neighboring SSV Ulm 1846 – 1999 under coach Martin Andermatt in the Bundesliga – is cautionary enough. “The FCH remains grounded, does not make crazy transfers with old stars”, Dietterle is also sure.
One thing is clear: the budget will increase from almost 40 million euros to 55 million euros. Just as certain: Heidenheim’s specialty of defending well, eagerly, aggressively, stable and structured, also comes into play one floor higher. Greuther Fürth, who was promoted from last year, came over the fun rail and also wanted to play one floor higher.
In Heidenheim things are getting uncomfortable for the Bundesliga teams
Heidenheim counts on no-nonsense football results. Some Bundesliga teams are likely to have a hard time with that – especially in the cramped Voith Arena, which will always be sold out with euphoric fans, but not fit for the Premier League. A feasibility study for expanding the capacity from 15,000 to 23,000 spectators is available. Construction could start in 2024, but will initially only continue with a special permit, which is a formality.
As someone who knows the scene recently said: “If the Bayer Leverkusen team bus with four Brazilians on board drives to the Heidenheim stadium in minus four degrees Celsius and freezing rain in early February, they will be surprised and have to prepare for a lot of Ostalb resistance » This Ostalb resistance is led by Frank Schmidt, the king of Heidenheim, who is still under contract in his hometown until 2027.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
