Daniel Thioune on coaching Werder Bremen, the relegation battle and more
Werder Bremen have picked up some crucial results in their fight to stay in the Bundesliga since Daniel Thioune took charge at the start of February.
The Green-Whites were just a point outside the relegation zone when the 51-year-old replaced Horst Steffen, but nine points from a possible 21 since have lifted them four clear of the relegation play-off spot.
With seven rounds of fixtures remaining, Thioune discusses the relegation battle, the demands of coaching in the Bundesliga for the first time and more...
Bundesliga: How relieved were you after that hugely important win in Wolfsburg? What did you make of it?
Daniel Thioune: "The same as everyone involved. We need to be honest and say that the first half wasn’t what we’d imagined. But the energy we played with in the second half, showing Wolfsburg that it won’t be that easy today. We were definitely happy in the end, but you need to create that. The team did that with incredible work rate. I think everyone was relieved at the time, but also knowing that we’ve got work ahead of us."
Watch: Wolfsburg 0-1 Bremen - highlights
Bundesliga: It was a hugely important win in the relegation battle. You’re now seven points ahead of Wolfsburg. St. Pauli’s loss to Freiburg also benefited everyone else. What’s your take on the situation right now?
Thioune: "If you’d asked me three weeks ago how it felt being second bottom in the table, I would’ve said it’s not that nice right now. That does something to you. But it’s much more important in that moment that you show some resilience, remain tenacious and convinced of what you’re doing.
"And now, three weeks later, momentum is with us. But that shows how quickly things can change in this league, how many team teams are fighting to stay up, how many are playing for that. As a rational, subjective, football-mad Werder fan at the weekend, it probably created some relief and joy for me when St. Pauli didn’t win."
Bundesliga: You always look at the collective, that the team works together, but as well as goalscorer Justin Njinmah, we also need to look at 21-year-old goalkeeper Mio Backhaus. Even Wolfsburg's Christian Eriksen asked how they can win when the goalkeeper has the game of his life. What did you make of him in the game?
Thioune: "I think it was really important that day that we had a goalkeeper who surpassed himself. A relegation battle also means you don’t get many chances. And whoever scores the first goal is usually on course to win. Wolfsburg have the best set-piece takers, as Christian Eriksen showed. I think we only saw set plays and corners from them.
"So, when you’re a small team, you need someone who surpasses himself. And Mio Backhaus, he dealt with the first corner, second corner, third corner; caught free-kicks; turned shots onto the bar. He surpassed himself and was crucial in us keeping a clean sheet, which obviously really helps a young person and also Mio Backhaus the sportsman and person."
Bundesliga: How has he developed, even before you arrived? He’s a really young player. What do you expect from him?
Thioune: "Maximum success, because I also want that. It’s special as a Bremen youth product for him to be playing in goal for Bremen. I can’t say too much on how he’s developed. From a distance, his loan move certainly helped him, but it’s also helped him being first choice in Bremen.
"We’ve got a great back-up in Karl Hein, who isn’t actually a back-up. The pressure is so great. He needs to prove himself every week. Kiki Vander, who’s seen many good goalkeepers in Bremen over many years and helped develop them, he’s had a big impact. The guys listen to him.
"Mio is very open, listens a lot. In recent weeks, especially with the loss at St. Pauli where he was involved in the first goal we conceded, he’s showed he can grow in difficult situations and wants to do that as a young player. Given his current state, there’s a lot to come for him. And he’ll no doubt have another game of his life somewhere else."
Bundesliga: As a coach, do you have any advice for him in the future?
Thioune: "He’s a very grounded boy, very humble. He listens and watches. He can deal with criticism well, but you see he needs encouragement and praise. I think those are virtues, his grounded nature, that he should keep hold of, and keep working hard. It’s good fun working with him."
Bundesliga: Leo Bittencourt wasn’t in Horst Steffen’s plans, but made his 300th Bundesliga appearance against Wolfsburg. How important was it to have him back in the fold for the team and also the atmosphere in the changing room?
Thioune: "A new coach means a new chance for many to prove themselves. I’ve always said that, even when our results weren’t good, this team has energy and lots of players who want to prove themselves. He’s not the only one getting more playing time, but every player has to take their chance, and take it in training.
"Leo Bittencourt has played 300 games, also for very big clubs. He knows how things work in the changing room, how a relegation battle works. He’s had to suffer relegation before with Werder Bremen. Our goal is absolutely to avoid that. Obviously you feel better when you get more of a look in, when you get the chance again to prove yourself. He’s done that, not just against Union Berlin, but also against Wolfsburg.
"That wasn’t necessarily magic but an uncompromising approach, getting stuck into everything. He did that. I think he’s a role model for many. People listen to him in the changing room, but I also expect players like him to make their mark when they’re on the pitch."
Bundesliga: You’ve also made your mark over the last four games, earning nine points. How happy are you with your team’s progress?
Thioune: "In terms of results, given we started with three losses, I’d say it can’t be much better than that. You can’t expect us to win every week, even though we had two wins. But that little setback against Mainz wasn’t good for us. It wasn’t necessarily a backward step, but like losing a round in boxing. But you need to come back from that.
"The conviction within this team has been great from the start. I think it’s important this team has someone who’s resolute, doesn’t let emotions get the better of him but also brings emotions, tries to regulate things. You maybe need more than three weeks for that.
"You need more time than a game against Freiburg or away at Bayern [Munich]. I maybe would’ve liked us to have done well against St. Pauli, but I think we all would’ve taken three wins from the last four games – not just for the wins but for the run of results."
Bundesliga: What does a relegation battle mean, especially mentally? Having that pressure every day, every game. Can you put it to one side? What does it come down to if you want to prevail in a relegation battle?
Thioune: "There are several factors. First, I’d say regulating emotions. I don’t think you can allow yourself to get too emotional. Noise-cancelling is always important for me. Sometimes putting on your headphones and not listening to what’s said on the outside, whether positive or negative.
"Then it’s important to have someone who’s resolute, who can lead, who has conviction and can also add something himself. Maybe also framing it all differently, not saying it’s a 'relegation battle', because that’s fighting ‘against’ something. We want to fight ‘for’ something, which is to stay up.
"I think we’re doing that quite well, taking every game one game at a time. You need to do that in a relegation battle, setting yourself little goals so you can achieve big goals."
Bundesliga: It’s your first head coach job in the Bundesliga, at a big club in Werder Bremen. What makes you 100 percent sure that Werder will stay up?
Thioune: "Like you said, it’s the Bundesliga, a big club. I also know big clubs in Bundesliga 2 and the 3. Liga. At all those clubs, objectives were set – maybe not always achieved, but we always won the fight when it was against relegation and for staying up. Both at Osnabrück and [Fortuna] Düsseldorf.
"I believe we can achieve that in Bremen as well. But I think it’s much more important not to talk about it, but to work on it. That’s how I live. I’ve got the energy for it. Without having the experience of the first division beforehand, it’s special to work in this league and gain this experience, but also knowing it’s a fight. It’s a marathon. It’s a boxing match. There are many rounds to this.
"We’ve still got seven to go. We need more points, but we’ve got plenty of chances to get 21 points from seven remaining games. That drives me. And it means the conviction is great, because I’ve achieved all goals at every club I’ve got to work at in recent years, at least in terms of staying up."
Bundesliga: "At the end of the day, it’s not about what system or formation we play in but about playing to our principles," is a quote from you. How would you describe your playing philosophy?
Thioune: "I’m an impatient person, which means when the opposition have the ball, I want it back. I’m not someone who wants his guys to drop back but to go and press. I like it when two players argue over who should win the ball back. It’s cool to see.
"I like it when the ball is played forward quickly. I prefer to get in behind rather than play it wide, ideally with the ball on the ground and not in the air. I was a midfielder. There’s nothing worse than being on the pitch and seeing the ball fly over your head. But if the ball does go over your head, you need to be active and maybe transition defensively, win the ball back, have more players behind the ball than in front of it.
"That’s about responsibility and the bigger picture. That’s what I’m about. The impatience I have as a coach is something I maybe didn’t have as a player, but I think it’s better having the ball than having to chase after it."
Bundesliga: On 18 April, we’ve got the 110th Nordderby, where you face your friend and Hamburg coach Merlin Polzin. How much are you looking forward to such a special match?
Thioune: "Two days after that we’re celebrating winninig promotion with Osnabrück, many years ago, on 20 April. We’ve been invited by the players. I don’t know if we’ll both go. I think it’ll end up being not the best experience for one of us. It’s a derby, it’s a fight.
"Merlin and I talk about a lot of things. We’re very close and are friends, but that goes out of the window on the day. I’d say it’s a fight, a war; we’re enemies. But that’s because we know how valuable winning a derby can be for each club.
"I think we’ll both battle hard in the coming days and weeks. We’ll hug each other at some point. But he can be sure, if we lose, he should stay away from me."
Watch: The Nordderby explained
Bundesliga: Hamburg got a boost after winning the first derby, but we want to come back to your friend and colleague Merlin Polzin. He once said, “without you, I wouldn’t be where I am now”. What’s he like as a coach and a person?
Thioune: "It’s important to put things into perspective. We had many years together, but it was never master and apprentice. We were always equals. We both developed in the youth teams at Osnabrück, we took over the first team.
"We shared lots of ideas with each other, because we have ideas of how a changing room can work. We maybe have similar values. And we’ve now both had the huge opportunity to work in the Bundesliga. That’s something that unites us both. What divides us are the colours.
"But he’s showed in recent years how good he is as a coach. He’s a well-trained coach. He did his badges two years ago. He mastered the demanding challenge he faced at Hamburg of getting promoted. Now it’s about staying up. At the end of the day, I always wish him maximum success, but I also hope he finishes behind Werder Bremen in the table."
Bundesliga: You said when you joined, “when Werder calls, you don’t need to think twice”. But did you hesitate for a moment as a former HSV coach?
Thioune: "I don’t think you can think by looking at the past, thinking that something in the past excludes you from doing something now. I look ahead.
"Getting to coach one of the biggest clubs in the north in the Bundesliga, you don’t need to think twice. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. I’m now a guest at this club. I’m the one who gets to coach the team, the one who’s convinced we’ll stay up. That’s my job.
"Even with my past, I still think I’m a welcome guest in Bremen and a welcome coach, if we achieve our goals."
Bundesliga: Looking ahead to Easter Sunday, you face another familiar face in Ole Werner, who returns to the Weserstadion as RB Leipzig coach. How will you go about taking points off a UEFA Champions League contender?
Thioune: "We’re the challengers. Last matchday showed how good Leipzig can be when they get going. That was a show of strength against Hoffenheim. It’ll be a nice visit for Ole, with everything going on around here over the 90 minutes.
"I think he left his mark here, did great work here. But it’s a chance for us to trip up a big club. Towards the end of the season, you maybe need to pick up points that weren’t expected.
"We’re the challengers, the underdogs, but we’re at home. And I think it’s about time we gave the people at home a good feeling. We’re sportsmen – I’m a professional sportsman – and we don’t play football to finish second. We want to win against Leipzig and will do all we can for that. At the end of the day, we’ll see by the result if we did that."
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