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Michael Henke is looking forward to being the main man (Getty Images)
Henke relishes new role
Wednesday, 13 July 2005
By Alois Urban
Henke wants to win his own trophies
After spending years under the wing of the legendary Ottmar Hitzfeld,
Michael Henke has finally decided to go it alone and has taken over as a
head coach of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Flying solo
Henke spent 15 years being groomed as Ottmar Hitzfeld's assistant at BV
Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München but found it impossible to resist
Kaiserslautern's overtures when the club offered him the chance to step out
of Hitzfeld's shadow.
'The right time'
"For me personally, it was the right time to take this responsibility and
join a Bundesliga side as coach," the 48-year-old told uefa.com. "It will be
a new experience for me and hopefully I can add some more trophies to the
ones I won with Ottmar." Henke is certainly no stranger to success having
won two UEFA Champions League trophies, seven German championships, three
German Cups and two European/South American Cups as an assistant coach.
'Highly rated'
Now his mission is to prove he can be successful without the guidance of
Hitzfeld. He already has a tremendous reputation, with Hitzfeld regarding
him as one of the most knowledgeable people in football. Indeed, it was his
reputation as one of the most meticulous disciplinarians in the game that
persuaded Kaiserslautern to tempt him into their hotseat.
Shades of Hitzfeld
It is not too surprising to see parallels between Henke's football
philosophy and that of his mentor. His side are likely to adopt a similar
strategy as he tries to squeeze the same level of success out of the
Kaiserslautern squad as he enjoyed with Hitzfeld at Dortmund and Bayern.
Henke plans every single tactical movement on the pitch in a considered,
focused manner and has already convinced his new employers he is the right
man for the job.
'Great experience'
"Michael Henke exemplifies the next generation of coaches at the highest
level," club chairman René Jäggi said about his new trainer. "We have
managed to buy football experience at a level which we would never normally
have dreamed of." Such quality is exactly what the 1998/99 Champions League
qualifiers need right now, having been hit with major financial problems and
relegation worries in recent years. But Henke is expected to lead the club
back into calmer waters in his first season.
This is a huge challenge, but I am absolutely convinced that I can handle it
'Huge challenge'
Despite being given a modest budget of ?15m this season, one of the lowest
in the Bundesliga, Henke remains full of optimism. He said: "This is a huge
challenge, but I am absolutely convinced that I can handle it." That
confidence is likely to be spurred on by Kaiserslautern's vociferous home
support.
Home form
"I remember that I always had a strange feeling when we had to play here
with Dortmund or Bayern," Henke said. "We want our opponents to stand up in
respect of our team and our fans when they travel to Kaiserslautern."
Under pressure
But Henke still has an enormous job proving that his great reputation as a
top coach is fully justified - especially because the Red Devils have signed
him on a one-year deal with a performance-related option for another year
should he do well. He is also keen to shed his tag as 'the next Hitzfeld',
preferring to be regarded as his own man. It promises to be an interesting
year at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion.
©uefa.com 1998-2005. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. UEFA 1998- 2005 - Terms and Conditions - Privacy
Policy - Contact UEFA
Michael Henke is looking forward to being the main man (Getty Images)
Henke relishes new role
Wednesday, 13 July 2005
By Alois Urban
Henke wants to win his own trophies
After spending years under the wing of the legendary Ottmar Hitzfeld,
Michael Henke has finally decided to go it alone and has taken over as a
head coach of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Flying solo
Henke spent 15 years being groomed as Ottmar Hitzfeld's assistant at BV
Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München but found it impossible to resist
Kaiserslautern's overtures when the club offered him the chance to step out
of Hitzfeld's shadow.
'The right time'
"For me personally, it was the right time to take this responsibility and
join a Bundesliga side as coach," the 48-year-old told uefa.com. "It will be
a new experience for me and hopefully I can add some more trophies to the
ones I won with Ottmar." Henke is certainly no stranger to success having
won two UEFA Champions League trophies, seven German championships, three
German Cups and two European/South American Cups as an assistant coach.
'Highly rated'
Now his mission is to prove he can be successful without the guidance of
Hitzfeld. He already has a tremendous reputation, with Hitzfeld regarding
him as one of the most knowledgeable people in football. Indeed, it was his
reputation as one of the most meticulous disciplinarians in the game that
persuaded Kaiserslautern to tempt him into their hotseat.
Shades of Hitzfeld
It is not too surprising to see parallels between Henke's football
philosophy and that of his mentor. His side are likely to adopt a similar
strategy as he tries to squeeze the same level of success out of the
Kaiserslautern squad as he enjoyed with Hitzfeld at Dortmund and Bayern.
Henke plans every single tactical movement on the pitch in a considered,
focused manner and has already convinced his new employers he is the right
man for the job.
'Great experience'
"Michael Henke exemplifies the next generation of coaches at the highest
level," club chairman René Jäggi said about his new trainer. "We have
managed to buy football experience at a level which we would never normally
have dreamed of." Such quality is exactly what the 1998/99 Champions League
qualifiers need right now, having been hit with major financial problems and
relegation worries in recent years. But Henke is expected to lead the club
back into calmer waters in his first season.
This is a huge challenge, but I am absolutely convinced that I can handle it
'Huge challenge'
Despite being given a modest budget of ?15m this season, one of the lowest
in the Bundesliga, Henke remains full of optimism. He said: "This is a huge
challenge, but I am absolutely convinced that I can handle it." That
confidence is likely to be spurred on by Kaiserslautern's vociferous home
support.
Home form
"I remember that I always had a strange feeling when we had to play here
with Dortmund or Bayern," Henke said. "We want our opponents to stand up in
respect of our team and our fans when they travel to Kaiserslautern."
Under pressure
But Henke still has an enormous job proving that his great reputation as a
top coach is fully justified - especially because the Red Devils have signed
him on a one-year deal with a performance-related option for another year
should he do well. He is also keen to shed his tag as 'the next Hitzfeld',
preferring to be regarded as his own man. It promises to be an interesting
year at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion.
©uefa.com 1998-2005. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. UEFA 1998- 2005 - Terms and Conditions - Privacy
Policy - Contact UEFA
