Terodde: “My step back into the Regionalliga was groundbreaking”

Simon Terodde once “consciously decided to step back into the Regionalliga. From today’s perspective, I have to say: That was one of the groundbreaking decisions in my life,” says the new second-division record scorer in an interview with kicker. Otherwise “I might have disappeared into oblivion at some point”.

14 coaches have accompanied Simon Terodde through his time in the second division so far, but the most important mentor for him was one who decisively influenced his path before Terodde even scored his first goal in the 2nd division.

“Without Frank Schaefer, I would never have achieved what I have achieved,” Terodde tells kicker in an interview. “I was facing a very uncertain future in terms of sport at the time, I lacked perspective when he brought me to 1. FC Köln in 2009.” To the regional league eleven, mind you.

Although the striker had long since made his second league debut by then (October 2008 for MSV Duisburg against Ingolstadt), he “consciously decided to take the step back into the regional league. From today’s perspective, I have to say: That was one of the seminal decisions in my life. If I had persistently tried to assert myself with a professional team, I might have disappeared into oblivion at some point. ”

“He came to talk to me with the Harley Davidson, looked at me and made it clear that he really wanted to sign me. “

TERODDE ON NEURURER

A seminal role was also given to Peter Neururer later on. And it was like this: After 23 goals in 87 games, Terodde’s path at Union Berlin seemed to be at an end after the 2013/14 season despite a running contract, as he was threatened with the bench under new coach Norbert Düwel. That’s when Neururer, then coach at VfL Bochum, got in touch. “He came to talk to me with his Harley Davidson, looked at me and made it clear that he really wanted to sign me,” Terodde recounts.

“He had the ability to talk me strong. I remember what he said about me in the kicker: ‘Simon Terodde is incredibly fast! And in outstanding form.’ I was never an arrow on the field and a benchwarmer in Berlin at the time, but Peter Neururer conveyed that so well that I believed it myself. It then almost went by itself for me. ”

First time top scorer in the second division with Bochum

And how! Terodde scored 16 goals in his first season with VfL Bochum and 25 in his second, making him the Zweitliga top scorer for the first time in 2015/16. He later repeated this feat when he first shot VfB Stuttgart to the second division championship in 2016/17 with 25 goals in the season and even helped 1. FC Köln back into the Bundesliga in 2018/19 with 29 goals as well.