Dugout watch: Sheffield Wednesday
‘If you’re good enough, you’re old enough!’ 34-year-old Danny Rohl, who leads his team to St. Andrew’s on Saturday 25 November, kick-off 3pm, is the youngest-ever manager to grace the Football League, trumping previous Bradford City caretaker manager, Kevin McDonald, by seven months.
Despite his relative youthfulness, the German has received an impressive education alongside some of the best-known managers in world football. Preceding his Hillsborough appointment, he progressed through the ranks at RB Leipzig, starting out as a Video Analyst for the youth setup in October 2010. He adopted a coaching role nine months later, working with the youth teams when former Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick was first-team manager.
In July 2016, he stepped up to first-team duties under Ralph Hassenhuttl, with the pair recording a runners-up finish in the Bundesliga to secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League in what was the club’s maiden top-flight campaign. The following season, they claimed sixth place domestically and enjoyed a quarter-final outing in the UEFA Europa League before the duo switched to Premier League outfit Southampton midway through 2018/19.
The Saints were one point from safety at the time of their arrival, with Rohl having a major impact on the training pitch, earning him the respect of the players through his positive teachings as Hasenhuttl’s right-hand man. Therefore, his absence was no doubt felt after he departed for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2019.
Hansi Flick welcomed Rohl as his assistant and they enjoyed one of the most successful campaigns in Bayern’s recent history. A famous treble was completed, with the deputy playing a key part in bringing the league title, DFB-Pokal and European Cup back to Bavaria. More trophies arrived the following term, as the young coach added the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup to his CV, as well as another Bundesliga crown. In the 2020/21 close season, his career trajectory moved upward once more, joining Flick’s staff for the Germany Men’s national team.
Together they were tasked with qualification for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar alongside improving performances before the tournament, a process which began with a 10-match unbeaten streak. Rohl helped his country in qualifying for the finals tournament, but Germany failed to perform when it mattered, bowing out in the group stage for the second World Cup in succession. The man from Zwickau left his position with the national team this September and the following month was entrusted with keeping Wednesday in the Championship, bringing a high-pressing, expansive style of football to South Yorkshire.
Rohl experienced a short and injury-hit playing career, operating in the German lower leagues between 2007 and 2010. The defender turned out for FSV Zwickau, FC Sachsen Leipzig II and FC Eilenburg during a three-year on-field spell before retiring to begin work as a coach with Leipzig.
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