In his third attempt, Hagen Schmidt achieved his first victory with MSV Duisburg For the 51-year-old, the job at the traditional club is new territory – but many things look familiar to him.
“There was a certain relief. It was important to reward ourselves for the training work. The boys have noticed that our idea of the game works. We can draw self-confidence from this for the next tasks,” Schmidt reported in an interview with “dfb.de” about his first victory against Viktoria Berlin. Just in time for the international break, MSV got the all-important three points in the relegation battle – after five games without a win. “In terms of passion and mentality, it was what I expect. Offensively, but above all defensively, we were much more consistent against Berlin,” Schmidt explained the reasons for the sense of achievement.
Although MSV is still in 18th place, the team is now back in touch with the safety zone. The precarious situation did not deter Schmidt, however, when he took over the Zebras’ coaching post from Pavel Dotchev in mid-October. “I was active in the youth sector for many years. That’s why I also saw it as a personal opportunity. It’s not like I’ve raised my arm every time I’ve been sacked at the professional level. But at MSV Duisburg, the whole package was right. It’s a cool club,” said the 51-year-old.
Youth and men’s pond: Many things “quasi identical “
Professional football and the 3rd division are therefore new territory for Schmidt, who last coached the U17s at Borussia Mönchengladbach for more than five years. “In terms of content, however, the whole thing is not all that different: “The conditions are already very professional in the Junior Bundesliga. The training planning and control is therefore more or less identical.” On the other hand, the “results have a much higher value”. Also, “the approach is a little different because you are no longer dealing with just junior players. “
Results are what he urgently needs to achieve with MSV in the coming weeks. But Schmidt doesn’t want to “pay too much attention to the standings. There’s only a danger of getting too tense. If we maintain a certain looseness, the situation will soon change for the better”.
No rotation in the national cup
Before a real yardstick awaits in the day-to-day business on Saturday after the international break against TSV 1860 München, who are only one point better placed, they will face Landesliga side SV Sonsbeck in the Association Cup next Saturday “There won’t be a big rotation – also due to injuries,” Schmidt announced. “We want to use the game to further practise our routines. “
