His father Klaus once chased FC Bayern in vain as coach of Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen. Since the summer, Dino Toppmöller has been working as an assistant to Julian Nagelsmann at FC Bayern and has suddenly found himself in the spotlight following the latter’s Corona illness.
This Saturday afternoon, the cameras will once again be focused on Dino Toppmöller, as they were during the 4-0 win over Benfica Lisbon. He already worked with Nagelsmann at RB Leipzig, the contact was established by then sporting director Markus Krösche. “We spoke on the phone and very quickly realised that we were on the same wavelength in terms of people and content,” Nagelsmann told us on Friday from his quarantine.
As a professional, Toppmöller played mainly in the 2nd and 3rd leagues, VfL Bochum, Eintracht Frankfurt, Jahn Regensburg or Erzgebirge Aue were his clubs. And F91 Düdelingen in Luxembourg, where he made a brief detour in 2009/10 and could not have guessed that his success story as a coach would begin there seven years later. Toppmöller took over as head coach in 2016 after a few minor stints there and led the club to three league titles. Much more remarkable: qualifying for the group stage of the 2018 Europa League, a sensation for the club from the small country.
Nagelsmann: “He’s welcome to be in the spotlight a bit “
Now he is allowed to step out of Nagelsmann’s shadow for several games, even though he keeps in constant contact with the coaching team and the squad via modern means of communication. “He’s welcome to be in the spotlight a bit and do his job very well,” Nagelsmann said generously, characterising his assistant as follows: “Dino is a very calm type of person who has an incredibly big heart and a very big football mind. He is a very good addition to my coaching team.”
The decision in favour of Toppmöller as a substitute front man was also a logical one, he said. Xaver Zembrod, the second assistant, prefers to do his work in the background, Toppmöller is used to the role. Nagelsmann: “He has a certain experience of being in front of the camera. You can tell he’s been a head coach before and he’s not a pompous ass.” Before and after the 4-0 win at Benfica, he came across as authentic and likeable in front of the TV cameras. To be continued against Hoffenheim.
