Kießling on 'Management in professional football' course

In interview, 'Kies', who is working at Bayer 04 in the area of coordinating the first team department, talks about the comprehensive learning material and his reunion with some familiar faces.

Kies, your course started on 12 October last year and the first face-to-face teaching days started a week later and the next came in the middle of January. How have the first three months been for you?
Extremely exciting, educational and inspiring. Subjects, the range of participants and the lecturers: it all fits together wonderfully. I was really happy to meet up again with lads who I played against and have known for such a long time: Christian Gentner, Sascha Riether and Marcel Schäfer for example. Christian is still playing at Union Berlin, Sascha and Marcel are already in responsible positions at FC Schalke 04 and VfL Wolfsburg. And it was obviously great that Daniel Niedzkowski, the former assistant coach at Bayer 04, was there to lead us through the first days of the course as a lecturer. Daniel is responsible for the training of coaches as the head of the football coaching course. In addition, he is a teacher for people on the management course. The first months have been incredible fun. The participants get on really well, there is lots of material but it's always presented an interesting and varied way.

What is the main focus of the course?
Basically, there are three areas of expertise in Bundesliga know-how, management know-how and sporting know-how. The subjects offered include financial management, squad planning, sports law, licensing and leadership. The last two days in Frankfurt were about sporting side. It was about football coaching around the different phases of a match. How do you react after losing the ball or winning the ball? The subjects cover the areas of fitness plus training and player management. We had an external lecturer here in Krunosav Banovcic, the fitness coach with the Germany national team. After that there was match and player analysis. And, to round it off, it was about PR and the question: How do I behave in an interview? The whole thing is really very practical.

What are the face-to-face lessons like?
With the first time, we met up in Frankfurt at a conference building right next to the station and recently we were at the Deutsche Bank Park, the stadium in Frankfurt, and there was a big meeting area for us there. In terms of the teaching: There are no long lectures but instead we get involved from the start. We discuss a lot and work together in small groups. It was great to see people from so many different clubs could work so well together straightaway. I think it's a pity we can't meet up with each other more often. But, regardless of coronavirus, the course is structured so that a lot of online lessons are held by the digital campus at the DFB Academy.

What are you hoping to get out of the course?
When Rudi Völler came to me with the idea and said: "This could be something for you, Kies," I was hooked immediately. I was immediately convinced of the concept of the course. So I wrote an application with a CV, certificates, written references from the club and all sorts besides that. At the end of the day, I was one of the lucky ones who was selected. I'm convinced that I can really develop through this course.

It's not a first for you in this area, you carried on learning while you were playing football…
Yes, when I was a player, I successfully completed the course at the European Sports Management Academy in Nuremberg. I had to learn a lot of theory there, which was a big aks for me – but, of course, also a good base that I've now been able to build on. At this course run by the DFB and DFL, your experience as a professional footballer plays a big role. I hope I can pick up as much as possible from the online and physical meetings – from the subjects, the lecturers and my fellow participants. There is an extremely exciting mix here in terms of the individual areas of work and qualifications of the participants. There are not just former players there. Our group also includes the FIFA director of football technology and innovation, Johannes Holzmüller. I'd never heard of that job before. That's why I really enjoy meeting up with the other participants.

Many have been working in responsible positions for quite a while. You've had a range of functions over the past two years in the management at Bayer 04. That indicates this course is at the highest level terms of development.
Yes, absolutely. It's all very ambitious. But I think that's right. If you want to be a coach then you need a coaching badge. Up to now there's been nothing of that sort for managers and sporting directors. In other countries, such as Italy for example, it's been normal to complete courses for responsible positions in management. It's good the DFB and the DFL are now offering those qualifications in Germany too. Acquiring the necessary know-how in the relevant areas can be a good springboard for each and every participant.

Just relating to management or perhaps also in the direction of being a coach?
We'll have to see where it takes me. I've got two targets: I'd like to successfully complete the course and then do my coaching badge. Because I've noticed how very much subjects like designing training and match analysis excite me. It can't hurt to have both certificates in your pocket.