Özcan: 'Transition from player to coach was not a problem'

Rambo, first question: How are you?
I'm very well, thank you. My family and children are healthy and that's the main thing at this time. Otherwise, we are busy again working with the youth players after the long lockdown. First of all up to 3 July and then there's a short summer break for us at the same time as the start of the holidays.

You ended your playing career last summer in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic without being able to say farewell to the fans. You must have imagined it would be very different after 17 years as a professional footballer. Let us know how that affected you.
I think every athlete wants to take it all in one more time in front of a full stadium and enjoy saying farewell to your own fans. At the end of the day, it wasn't down to us as the pandemic was here and we couldn't change it. It was a difficult time, which everybody has experienced – whether a football fan or not. There is no alternative but to accept it.

Was the decision to retire difficult? Or was it just time to do something new?
Taking the decision to stop playing was difficult. Above all, if you're fit and physically completely up for it. It was always my aim to be in control of the decision myself and stop in peak condition knowing that I could spend a lot of years with my children as a healthy dad. When I made the decision, I experienced and perceived everything completely differently from that moment – every away game, every hotel stay, the stadiums… The enjoyment was much more intensive.

It was good news you're still at the club as a goalkeeping coach. When was it confirmed that you would be doing the job?
It was clear to me relatively quickly after Simon Rolfes and Rudi Völler came to me and said they wanted to keep me at the club. And I wanted to remain part of Bayer 04. The last few years as a football player make you think about what happens next. It was clear to me that I wanted to stick with football and become a goalkeeping coach and I wanted to pass on the experience I've gathered over the years.

You've just finished your first year as a goalkeeping coach in the youth section – how was it?
I've settled in well at the Performance Centre. The first year has gone very well in terms of starting, getting to know people and readjusting. The transition from player to coach was not a problem mentally. And I am fully involved in getting my coaching badge. I did my first licence during lockdown and the next course starts in September. I definitely want to have all the badges and I'm very keen and motivated. Of course, the first year was very difficult from a sporting perspective because the children have suffered a lot due to the lockdowns.

What attracted you to working with children and teenagers?
The main attraction is being able to follow the development of young players. Another incentive is that we want to establish ourselves in goalkeeper coaching at Bayer 04 and bring through our own keepers who go on to the senior squad. There's a lot of work outstanding but we will give our all in the coming years to establish ourselves at home and abroad.

Are you still in contact with your former Werkself teammates? How often do you bump into each other at the club?
I'm still in contact with a lot of them and I pop into the dressing room to say hello when I'm at the BayArena. With the European Championship now, I'm sending congratulations via WhatsApp. I watched several of the home games last season and from a coaching perspective I watched our goalkeepers Lukas Hradecky and Co. in warm-ups and games.

What are you hoping for next season?
I hope we can have a bit more normality. I hope all the lads stay fit and we can have a long season and work well. We want to set ourselves new targets for the new season and I hope we can move forward and achieve a lot.