By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The German Bundesliga is heading for a new record ahead of the 2019-20 season. With pre-season training only a few weeks away, a surprisingly high number of clubs are counting on new faces in charge, with eight of the 18 club's coaches making their Bundesliga debuts.
Only five of the eight have gained experience in one of Europe's highest leagues. David Wagner (FC Schalke 04) took charge of Huddersfield Town in the Premier League, while Oliver Glasner (VfL Wolfsburg) previously led Austrian side Linz. Marco Rose (Borussia Monchengladbach) was at the helm for RB Salzburg, Urs Fischer (Union Berlin) managed three teams over several years in Switzerland, and Alfred Schreuder (TSG Hoffenheim) coached in the Dutch Eredivisie for FC Twente.
Achim Beierlorzer (FC Cologne) said his new role was a dream come true after he left second division side Jahn Regensburg, while Hertha BSC is relying on its erstwhile reserve coach Ante Covic and newly-promoted SC Paderborn is sticking with its 47-year-old incumbent Steffen Baumgart.
Equally surprising as the number of coaching newcomers is the amount of coaches that have a connection to either RB Leipzig or 60-year-old Ralf Rangnick, who is taking up a new role as head of sport and development responsible for all clubs under the Red Bull umbrella across the U.S., South America and Europe.
"Ralf Rangnick has highly influenced all the clubs he worked for, and we have to recognize and appreciate that," Wolfsburg's CEO Jorg Schmadtke emphasized.
Eintracht Frankfurt coach Adi Hutter is one who was shaped by the "Rangnick basics" such as aggressive attacking, a robust dynamic forward game and intensive pressing.
Wagner also came to know Rangnick's working patterns as one of Hoffenheim's assistant coaches.
The former Schalke and RB Leipzig seems a role model for all clubs trying to close the gap to the two leading sides Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. "To close the gap, we have to find smart and strategical decisions considering global football trends," Rangnick commented.
