More than half a dozen well-known coaches and officials started their careers at SC Paderborn. And the current executives of the second division soccer club seem to confirm the reputation as a talent factory. A prominent attempt, on the other hand, once went wrong.
It's probably no coincidence that the project with Stefan Effenberg failed spectacularly. While SC Paderborn has proven to be the ideal launchpad for coaches and officials with a supposedly small name for years, the former national player and Bayern captain made the only real belly landing. Wilfried Finke, who died in 2019 and was a patron and president of the SC for 21 years with two short breaks, recognized in 2016 under Effenberg, who then never worked as a trainer again, "a Hollywood world that doesn't fit Paderborn".
It sounded much more down-to-earth, which the new sports director Benjamin Weber recently explained at his presentation. The club is "righteous, purposeful, honest and innovative. These values are mine too," said Weber, who had previously worked as Thomas Tuchel's assistant in world cities at world clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea FC. And President Thomas Sagel confirmed that the SCP does not choose officials by name. "None of our five-member committee knew Benjamin Weber beforehand," said Sagel: "But he brings almost everything we need with him."
Entrusting the most important offices to supposedly nameless people has done well in East Westphalia. And so are those affected. "We have repeatedly delivered players, coaches and sporting directors to the House of Lords in recent years," said Sagel. It was something like "the self-service shop of the Bundesliga".
In the noughties, Pavel Dotchev and Jos Luhukay started their careers as head coaches at a higher level in Paderborn, since 2011 it was the future Gladbach coach André Schubert, Roger Schmidt, who came to Benfica Lisbon via Leverkusen or Eindhoven, who after stations André Breitenreiter, who works in Hannover or at Schalke today in Hoffenheim, and Steffen Baumgart, who caused a sensation in Cologne. In addition, there are Eintracht Frankfurt board members Markus Krösche and Fabian Wohlgemuth, who switched to Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart as sports director in the winter. On Tuesday (6 p.m. / Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de) there will be a quick reunion in the DFB Cup round of 16.
"According to the current state of knowledge, Paderborn is actually the perfect first step for the 1st or 2nd Bundesliga," said current coach Lukas Kwasniok: "That's why not only coaches and officials develop, but also players." In addition to the calm in the media and that in the club, "which sometimes allows you to make mistakes that you can learn from," the 41-year-old has two surprising and conclusive answers to the secret of success. "We have a bit of a gray mouse image. So we have to define ourselves through attacking football in order to be attractive to fans and new players. That might make you stand out as a coach and official," he said : "In addition, everyone here can bring in new ideas and a personal touch, because we are a relatively young club and the structures are not that rigid."
But the constant surrender of the best forces should now be over, said President Sagel. They no longer want to be the "self-service shop of the Bundesliga". But although SC Paderborn is financially healthy, it is a classic training club. And more than most not just for gamers. "The upheaval is the basis of business here," said Wohlgemuth. Krösche, who knows the SCP well after 16 years as a player and official, explained years ago what makes the club special. "Paderborn wasn't naturally the football city, but it's developing more and more into it," he explained: "We're a family club. Everyone knows everyone. Distances are short. That's a plus. We should have that charm too receive."
This was also successful after Finke's death. This is also confirmed by Roger Schmidt, who describes Paderborn as a "second home" and keeps a close eye on things from Lisbon. "The SCP manages well, is developing step by step and is always - as the two promotions to the 1st league have shown - good for a sensation," he told the "Westfalen-Blatt": "I'm curious where to go the journey that SCP will take in the next ten years." In any case, the goals are ambitious. "The club wants to move forward, to broaden the base a bit, so that in the event of a positive accident, we'll be able to enjoy this accident for longer," said Kwasniok. After the guest appearances in 2014/15 and 2019/20, the desire for the Bundesliga was awakened in the second division fifth. And maybe you can live them out without changing clubs.
