5 things on Bochum coach Uwe Rösler
Bochum have appointed ex-Manchester City striker and former Brentford, Malmö, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Aarhus boss Uwe Rösler as their new head coach after parting ways with Dieter Hecking. bundesliga.com presents five things you should know about the former striker who took the scenic route to stardom...
1) From unknown trialist to cult hero
In early 1994, Rösler’s career was at a crossroads.
Having struggled to settle in Nuremberg after joining the Franconian club from Dynamo Dresden two years earlier, the then 25-year-old had pinned his hopes on a move to English second-tier side Middlesbrough.
However, that transfer fell through after a reserve-team match he was meant to appear in was cancelled due to heavy snow.
A dispirited Rösler had already returned to Germany by the time he received a call from his agent, asking him if he was interested in a trial at Premier League outfit Manchester City. The rest, as they say, is history.
Rösler scored 64 goals in 177 appearances in all competitions during his four years in Manchester, firmly establishing himself as a folk hero among City supporters. He was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in December 2009, while his sons, Colin and Tony, are both named after former City captains – Colin Bell and Tony Book.
2) Learning the hard way in Leipzig
As a young man playing for Lokomotive Leipzig in repressive East Germany, Rösler’s early years as a professional were a far cry from the luxurious lifestyles enjoyed by youngsters in the modern game.
Young footballers who failed to live up to the Leizpig club’s high standards would be dropped from the youth programme altogether, while the quality of food they were served in the club canteen would be dictated by their status on the global stage. “I was not an Olympic champion or a world champion,” Rösler explained in an interview with The Telegraph in 2019. “Footballers were a little bit below that.”
In his 2013 autobiography, which is aptly titled ‘Knocking Down Walls’, Rösler revealed he was once interrogated by the Stasi – the secret state police – who wanted the striker to spy on team-mates they felt were likely to defect to West Germany. Rösler eventually confided in his coach at Leipzig, who furiously called the club’s chief executive to demand that his young forward was left alone.
“I was frightened my career would be over because I said 'no',” Rösler said. “But my dad and my coach protected me.”
3) Beating cancer
In 2003, while playing for Norwegian side Lillestrøm, Rösler revealed he was receiving treatment for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma after tumours were discovered between his heart and his lungs.
He later admitted the cancer had been spotted “just in time”, but after undergoing four courses of chemotherapy over an 18-month period, Rösler was given a clean bill of health.
Rösler remembers receiving a call from an old acquaintance in Manchester during his time in hospital. “Listen,” said the friend, who happened to be at a match involving Rösler’s former employers. As he put the phone to his ear, it dawned on Rösler that the City fans were chanting his name.
“The news had obviously reached them,” he said. “They were willing me to recover and beat the cancer. It was exactly what I needed. With that kind of backing, how could I possibly fail?”
4) 'Heavy metal' style inspired by Klopp
Despite spending a large part of his career in England and Scandinavia, Rösler’s tactical approach has been shaped by the game in his home country.
“The style I favour is very much influenced by German football,” he said in 2015. “A focus on transitions, getting very quickly into attack and defence, a quick passing game with lots of attempts on goal. I want to play a quick, powerful game – what Jürgen Klopp calls ‘heavy metal’.”
If he can get Bochum playing the kind of football that helped Klopp achieve remarkable success at Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, it won’t be long before the Ruhr district club are competing at the right end of the Bundesliga 2 standings.
5) 'Dream' to coach in Germany
Bochum are the 11th club Rösler has coached since hanging up his boots in 2003, but only the second from his native Germany.
His first and only spell in charge of a Bundesliga club came in January 2020, when he was appointed head coach at struggling Düsseldorf on the back of a successful spell at Swedish outfit Malmö.
Watch: Rösler reflects on first Bundesliga game as a coach
“I worked really hard for this,” Rösler said at the time. “[I’ve spent] 16 years as a coach. To manage in my own country is a dream. I was fortunate enough that things went well at Malmö. Sweden is very close to Germany and that helped me get noticed.”
Despite losing only four of his 15 top-flight matches in charge, Rösler was unable to steer Fortuna to safety and ended up leaving the club after narrowly missing out on the Bundesliga 2 promotion play-offs the following season, but that experience has not put him off a return to Germany.
“I’m confident I’m taking over a completely intact squad,” he said upon his unveiling as Bochum boss. “I’m already really looking forward to the challenge at such a great club.”
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