Farke Interview for ''Welt'....

[DrDublin 0]

Had to use google translate so doesn''t read perfectly but hey ho...

"I felt like an adventure"

By Lars Wallrodt |Stand: 01:45 clock | Reading time: 7 minutes

Unplanned is the German Daniel Farke has landed as a coach at Norwich City. Now he should help to make the ascent with a young team

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D as with shopping Daniel Farke has quickly changed his mind again. Actually, the 41-year-old wanted to lead a free life in Norwich, a sympathetic university town in the east of England. Just as he was used to from Dortmund , where he trained the amateurs of BVB until the summer of 2017 . But as Norwich City coach, things are a little different. When he pushed his car through a supermarket shortly after taking up his duties one evening, it ended in a middle chaos. He was recognized, the fans rushed to him: Selfies here, autographs there - he did not come only for shopping. "I severely restricted my supermarket activities afterwards," he says and laughs.

In Germany hardly a football fan would recognize Farke on the street, despite his striking three-day barb and long hair. In Norwich, however, he is a star, after all, he is the first foreign coach of the 116-year club history. A coach with a complicated task. The "Canaries" (Norwich City''s crest) played four of the past six seasons in the Premier League. In 2016, they went down to the second-rate championship, failing to rejuvenate immediately, and the club was stupid, with an outdated team and a huge salary budget.

"That''s a special pressure. The club had previously played in the Premier League for a long time, so the claims are extremely high, "says Farke. Was previously padded, the German coach could not even spill. League rivals such as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham, Sheffield or Bristol invested tens of millions in their squad. Norwich made â € "forcibly â €" twenty million euros in profit, sold top performers and brought in young players: â € œWe were the oldest team in the championship last year and now we are one of the youngest. That was an extreme change, an enormous challenge, "says the German coach.

A change that had to be made under the glass of the public. When asked at home about how Norwich City is emotionally appraised, he has the answer immediately: "I like to compare the club with 1. FC Köln , because he is very rooted in the region and the people are very focused on him. "That means above all: extreme mood swings of the fans. "The standard of aspiration is to rise and immediately become English champion," says Farke and winks: "Seriously: Of course it is complicated to lead the club through these changeable times. An absolute mammoth task. But if you get that, you do not have to worry about anything in this industry. "

The fact that Farke has ever landed in England, he would not have imagined a few years ago. Actually, he wanted to become a manager, after all, he had studied business administration while kicking in the fourth league, including in Wilhelmshaven , Meppen and Lippstadt . In Lippstadt he was to become sports director, but because a coach was absent, he jumped in - and won nine of the first ten games. He remained on the coaching post and did his job so well that Borussia Dortmund brought him in October 2015 as coach of the second team. There he was succeeded by David Wagner, who now plays with Huddersfield in the Premier League.

"I never had a career plan in my head and 15 years ago I could not even imagine working as a coach. Now I am with body and soul. Life sometimes has surprises in store, "grins Farke. In Dortmund, he quickly made a name for himself within the industry. In the summer of 2016, asked the VfB Stuttgart, whether Farke would not take over the Bundesliga relegated, in the winter was then the SV Darmstadt, then lagged behind the Bundesliga, interested. Previously, Arminia Bielefeld should have requested.

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But Dortmund did not leave Farke - for a good reason. At the same time, Thomas Tuchel coached the BVB pros, and it quickly became clear that there was no harmony between him and the club''s management. The Dortmund bosses needed Farke as a potential substitute. But Tuchel won the cup final. Farke, who was well versed with Tuchel, did not want to speculate on the dismissal of his colleague, did not extend his contract and opted for England.

Also because of Stuart Webber, who came just before Farke as sports director to Norwich. "He asked me if I did not want to follow him. I flew over and met the people in charge and the owner family. And the more I learned about the club, the more I knew: that''s it, here you want to go. "Previously, Webber had worked in Huddersfield - and brought David Wagner there.

"It was the most exciting and biggest challenge from the overall package. I felt like an adventure, not the next logical step in my career. It would have been easier to take on a task in Germany, there were also some interesting requests. But going to Norwich appealed to me enormously, "says Farke." Here you can see that football is one step higher than in Germany, where football is already enormously important. The appreciation here is extreme, people live football. "

Norwich City is indeed a remarkable club. He does not belong, like many other English clubs, a foreign investor, but Delia Smith, a prominent TV chef on the island. The 76-year-old, together with her husband for 30 years in the possession of the club. "She leads him with an incredible amount of heart, warm and family. But it does not pump absurd sums of money into it, as a Chinese or Arab investor would, "says Farke.

That it is "only" the championship in which he now works, does not bother him: "The second English league is, as far as the global interest is concerned, the number three - after Premier League and Bundesliga. Since she is still ahead of the Spanish and Italian league, "says Farke. He plays 46 games per season with his team in the 24-league, plus League Cup and FA Cup. "Around 55 competitive games a year - that''s the level of Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund when they come to the Champions League semi-final and DFB Cup final," says Farke.

Speaking of which, in the two cup competitions he had high opponents - and drove the Chelsea FC and Arsenal each on the verge of defeat. "Against Arsenal, we got the equalizer in the 88th minute and were eliminated unhappy. We were the better team against Chelsea, and we re-enforced a replay with a 0: 0 in which we lost to their best line-up on penalties, "said Farke.

In the league, the "The Canaries" are in the middle of the table - after the radical break not a bad result. "At the moment we are bathing a bit the sins of the past and want to create the basis to have room again and again to be able to buy even quality players," says Farke. Internally, the current ranking is estimated to be very realistic: "For the first places, the change was simply too intense. We do not have to worry about relegation, that''s the most important thing. How fast we can make this great change, and then again to contemplate the Premier League, will show. "

Overall, the quality in the second division "extremely high", the differences compared to the Erstligaklubs lower than in Germany. "We sometimes play in front of 40,000 or 50,000 spectators," says Farke. Starting coach Rafael Benítez, who raced with Newcastle last year, has already crossed paths, as did former Russian coach Leonid Sluzki (Hull City) and English football legend Harry Redknapp (Birmingham), both of whom have since been dismissed. "The financial level is high when compared to other leagues. However, you do not measure yourself here with the second German league, but rather the Premier League and the competitors in the championship. And then you realize already, what is here for financial power in it. It''s hard to survive. "

That''s why Farke looks around in Portugal, in Holland - and of course in Germany. Seven German players are in the squad of Norwich, but this winter the coach brought three players from his home country. "We are looking for creative solutions," he says. Mostly he will find it.

[TCCANARY 263]

''Bathing in the sins of the past.''

[TIL 1010 4,722]

[quote user="TCCANARY"]''Bathing in the sins of the past.''

[/quote]I just love that term.[Y]

[Guest]

So the board appear to be satisfied with the progress. That is fair enough I suppose, if indeed their expectations were lower than many supporters were.

But obviously SW and DF are bound to say to the owners they are progressing.

And of course supporters are entitled to their opinions as well.

It is what it is. It was easier to get upset with Alex Neil at the end as he had spent, or should I say wasted, a lot of money.

DF is working on a relative shoestring of course and the performances reflect that.

We wait for next season wit our expectations tempered by this season''s performances and hope that his obvious joy at coaching us helps to transform us.

[Branston Pickle 3,638]

Good article - I love some of that translation, too :-)

[andrew norwichcity 8]

Good article but also makes it read as though we''ve taken a total punt on someone. The summer should be interesting again... wonder if we''ll bother signing a striker?

[ron obvious 1,501]

Dr. D - is that you from off of that there WOTB?

And many thanks for the article.

[DrDublin 0]

Most certainly is I! Thought I''d share it on here as i went to the huge trouble of pressing the ''translate'' button. :)

[ron obvious 1,501]

DD I think whoever translated it invoked the ghost of the late Stanley Unwin!

Brilliant interview though, & the translation only adds to the entertainment value! Ta again.

[Len 74]

Interesting. It appears that Farke has these same strange turns of phrase when speaking in German.

[Mello Yello 2,281]

.....Umleitung.....

[Rock The Boat 1,326]

[quote user="TIL 1010"][quote user="TCCANARY"]''Bathing in the sins of the past.''

[/quote]I just love that term.[Y][/quote]

Certainly more poetic than "pissing it against a wall"

[Barclay seats 4849 the 3rd 0]

Made more sense than the British press 😂