Happy Birthday, Thomas Eichin: The down-to-earth go-getter turns 60

When he hops on his bike at three in the morning – in the middle of the night after returning from an international trip with the Werkself – come rain or shine, it occasionally draws astonished glances. It is about twelve kilometres from the BayArena to his home in Leichlingen – a journey that the now 60-year-old consistently makes without a car.

Thomas Eichin is enviably fit – an athlete through and through. On away matchdays, he is one of the first to lace up his trainers in the morning and clock up the kilometres – all in a very relaxed manner. He is not a puritan; he certainly knows how to appreciate a glass of wine and good food. But fitness and healthy eating are nonetheless among his passions. And that is just as well, because otherwise he would hardly be able to cope with his enormous workload with this level of energy.

wide range of responsibilities

Eichin has been Director of Professional Teams since July 2023 and is responsible for many aspects that are not necessarily visible: he oversees internal procedures and processes relating to the men’s and women’s professional teams, as well as the coaching staff, organisation, infrastructure, logistics and nutrition. He also acts as the link to the medical department, marketing, the media department and other areas of the club. This wide range of responsibilities requires many qualities – organisation, consistency, the ability to anticipate, decisiveness, and a measure of empathy and pragmatism. These are qualities that Eichin has honed over almost three decades in professional sport.

“Thomas Eichin is a very important member of staff for Bayer 04 and for me personally. To put it simply, he gets a lot done and often sorts out problems before they even arise,” said managing director sport Simon Rolfes. “It’s not always a walk in the park, but even back in his days as a rock-solid defender, he was always happy to go where it hurt. Thomas always brings that resilience and tenacity to bear when there are issues to be tackled. He’s a leader with rough edges and always thinks with success in mind.”

Eichin played as a defender for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga for twelve years, and he undertook further training in sports management during that time. He then discovered a whole new world of sport with the Kölner Haie, joining their marketing department in 1999 and becoming managing director two years later. He stayed for 14 years and worked in almost every department. “It was a bold move from football to ice hockey and from Gladbach to Cologne,” Eichin admitted in retrospect. “But professionally speaking, it was definitely the period that shaped me the most.”

There, the club had to tackle structural changes such as the construction of the new training centre and the move from Lentstraße to the Kölnarena. Under Eichin, the club succeeded in increasing average attendance from 3,500 to between 12,000 and 13,000. In 2002, the club celebrated winning the German Championship, and in 2004 KEC won the Pokal. Thanks in part to their managing director at the time, the Haie established themselves as a brand in Europe. Yet by the end of the 2000s, they were facing insolvency. “I learnt a great deal,” says Eichin of his time with the Haie. When he left in 2013, the club’s management praised him for his “great foresight, decisiveness, commitment and tenacity in good times, but also in very difficult times”. Under his leadership, they said, KEC managed to stabilise itself both on the ice and financially.

Eichin’s son-in-law, Moritz Müller, is still captain of the Haie, so there remains a close family connection to the Cologne ice hockey club. Following his formative years there, Eichin returned to football – initially as sporting director at Werder Bremen, and later, for a short time, at 1860 Munich.

Carro: "one of the key figures at our club"

He has worked for Bayer 04 for six years and is held in the highest regard in Leverkusen. “With his wealth of experience and leadership qualities, Thomas is one of the key figures at our club,” said CEO Fernando Carro, speaking about the director of professional teams. “He takes responsibility in many areas without ever putting himself in the spotlight. His natural authority, sound judgement and straightforwardness will continue to be of particular value to Bayer 04 in the future.”

a passion for all sports

When he joined Bayer in 2020, Eichin initially took on the role of Head of Youth Development, assuming responsibility for the training centre and all its youth teams. In this role, he spent three years establishing, amongst other things, the vital link with the senior squad. Furthermore, from the very beginning and to this day, the further development of Bayer 04’s women’s football has been one of his key responsibilities. Working closely with manager Linda Schöttler, Eichin has driven forward many processes over the past six years, including structural changes within the department. Even today, he still puts his heart and soul into this work. The impressive development of the Bayer 04 women’s team into one of the top five sides in Germany is also down to his efforts.

His job is not done from behind a desk, says Eichin. So he spends a lot of time out and about at the BayArena: as an attentive observer, a good listener and someone who questions the status quo and has a clear eye for where and how things need to be improved. Meticulous, resilient, approachable. And last but not least: modest.

Home-loving and perceptive

The fact he has been dubbed the ‘barrack-room lawyer’ in the media makes him smile. “I didn’t object to the term, but ultimately it’s a bit over the top,” Eichin said in an interview with the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. It may well be that he sometimes comes across as a tough character to outsiders. In reality, he’s very perceptive and has never lost touch with reality. Eichin grew up in modest circumstances in Freiburg, where his mother still lives. He still feels a close connection to his hometown and even occasionally spends his holidays in the Black Forest with his family.

Speaking of family: they keep the 60-year-old on his toes too. Coming home, relaxing, reading a book at his leisure? That hardly ever happens.

Be that as it may: Happy milestone birthday, dear Thomas! Let your loved ones celebrate with you.