“Fast forward” with Altach
Klose is now under pressure in the provinces
6/20/2022, 3:22 p.m
Miroslav Klose is the best goalscorer in World Cup history, world champion, only Lothar Matthäus played more often for Germany than the striker. Klose is now beginning his career as head coach – where he also started his great career as a player. Not in the Palatinate, but deep in the provinces.
Just as he did as a goalscorer, Miroslav Klose is also approaching his first position as head coach in the football province. When he presented himself to the Austrian village club SCR Altach, the World Cup record scorer was determined, self-confident and focused. “I’m convinced that we’ll be able to move forward quite quickly,” Klose announced courageously: “I’m putting myself under a lot of pressure. I have clear ideas.”
His entry as head coach is unlikely to be easy. The club from the 7,000-strong community in the state of Vorarlberg, right on the Swiss border, only saved itself from relegation last season under Klose’s former teammate Ludovic Magnin. “This season has left its mark,” admitted Altach’s managing director Christoph Längle. Magnin, with whom Klose once played at Werder Bremen, preferred to return to his Swiss hometown of Lausanne. But Klose is full of anticipation and sounded almost euphoric. “I’m here and I’m really happy,” said the 44-year-old, repeatedly speaking of a “huge feeling”.
With the announcement of the coaching personnel last Friday, Altach caused euphoria – apparently with calculation. “It’s an upgrade for us as a club and region,” said Längle. “With Miro, the club will definitely get a little bigger.” Klose himself sees this less as a burden than as a motivation – even if he formulated the reason for his commitment in Altach as dryly as simply: “If I’m honest: I can now work where other people go on vacation.” Nevertheless, he is well aware of the effect his name has on those around him, which makes Klose happy. “I had a great feeling from the talks right from the start. People want something to happen here,” said the 2014 world champion.
“I don’t want to go the easier way”
It remains to be seen whether the claim of the former world stars as footballers and the reality of the previous season’s almost relegated team fit together. “There is no doubt that there was a lot of euphoria. Nevertheless, we will not start with castles in the air,” said Längle. And despite all the anticipation, Klose seemed to have to slow himself down a bit. “I’ll probably have to lower my expectations,” said Klose, who once began his career as a player in a rather provincial manner in the Palatinate.
Even now, after a year off, also for health reasons, after his job as assistant coach to the current national coach Hansi Flick at FC Bayern Munich, he made a conscious decision to go to Altach. Klose could have continued to work in Flick’s coaching team with the national team. “Assistant coach would be the more comfortable way, and I don’t want to go that way,” Klose had recently announced.
Now he doesn’t seem to shy away from the danger of a “culture shock”, which the “Neue Vorarlberger Tageszeitung” prophesied. “For one or the other, that may not seem appropriate and even absurd,” admitted Längle. Klose, however, gave the impression of knowing exactly what he was getting himself into and what he was doing.