Matthias Jaissle: The smart Swabian at Red Bull Salzburg – football
The only 33-year-old Matthias Jaissle did it with Red Bull Salzburg, his predecessors Jesse Marsch and Marco Rose were denied: the entry into the Champions League round of 16. Now the smart Swabian is waiting for history against Bayern around Julian Nagelsmann.
“Guys, stop that shit!” Matthias Jaissle Tigert in his training clothes with a whistle across the pitch and repeatedly gives his young squad instructions and tips in words and gestures. Nevertheless, he exudes a certain nonchalance. A cold, wet winter’s day in the Taxham district of Salzburg gives an insight into why companions describe Jaissle, who was born in Nürtingen, as extremely ambitious, clever and approachable. Salzburg’s sports director Christoph Freund even ennobles the only 33-year-old as “one of the greatest coaching talents in Europe”.
2013 “Training Group 2” in Hoffenheim – 2022 CL Round of 16 with Salzburg
Indeed, it is the miraculous rise of an extremely young coach whose former career as a talented central defender ended in his mid-20s. After a cruciate ligament injury and consequences at TSG Hoffenheim, the comeback no longer wanted to succeed. Nine years after Jaissle was still a member of the famous “Training Group 2” at TSG Hoffenheim, he coaches his talented squad against the big FC Bayern. Champions League round of 16, that’s all.
After just six months as head coach in Salzburg, Jaissle has managed to do what no coach in Austria has been able to do before: the replacement for the last 16 in the UEFA Champions League. He didn’t have to pinch himself, “but I’m humbled enough to know that it was a special year. I’m very grateful for the club’s trust, because it’s something special and makes me a little bit proud,” Jaissle said in an interview with SWR Sport.
In everyday working life, the Swabian who grew up in Neckartailfingen is – as is usual in Salzburg – stronger Talent scales around star striker Karim Adeyemi to disposal. Average age: 22.5 years. Only the veterans Zlatko Junuzovic (34), as well as Andreas Ulmer (36) and substitute goalkeeper Alexander Walke (38) are older than himself.
Matthias Jaissle enjoys the trainer domino deluxe
Matthias Jaissle also has a curious coaching domino to thank for the job of head coach in Salzburg: Mainz 05 got the ball rolling, where the dismissed Jan-Moritz Lichte was appointed by Bo Svensson at the beginning of 2021, until then coach at the Red Bull cooperation team FC Liefering in the second Austrian league. Jaissle got the confidence after previously shaping talent at the Salzburg Academy from 2019.
Then in April last year, the next coaching news: Bayern Munich announced the commitment of Julian Nagelsmann, the next coaching domino was initiated. Jesse Marsch was presented as Nagelsmann’s successor in Leipzig in April and Christoph Freund, Salzburg’s sports director, took the bold step and signed “No Name” Jaissle for Salzburg – not without one or the other critical voice in the environment. But Freund was certain: “I was sure that his way and how he ticks as a coach and as a person would work well,” said Freund, who has already steered stars like Erling Haaland and Dayot Upamecano to Salzburg.
In five years from Leipzig’s U17s to the Champions League round of 16
Before his engagement in Salzburg, Jaissle first taught in the Leipzig youth under Sebastian Hoeneß, in 2017 ex-VfB coach Alexander Zorniger brought him to the Danish Brondby IF, in 2018 they were far from the home of Danish cup winners. Zorniger describes his former assistant coach as “very smart and 100 percent reliable”. And his looks as his quirk.
Still a VfB member – sponsor Ralf Rangnick
In fact, the 33-year-old Swabian comes across as very smart when he appears for an interview with SWR Sport in the Salzburg stadium after training. Brown coat, stylish scarf, accurate hairstyle, clear and humorous statements from Matthias Jaissle. He also has Ralf Rangnick to thank for the fact that he has become a “man of the world”.
Today’s Manchester United coach was Jaissle’s coach in Hoffenheim when TSG furiously made the transition from the regional league to the Bundesliga. “Ralf advised me to gain initial experience with the young teams.” He is ahead of Rangnick’s advice, who already thought highly of the player Jaissle.
Today a trainer in Salzburg, Jaissle still has ties to his Swabian homeland, even if he doesn’t often make it to Neckartailfingen because of the distance and the stressful trainer’s job. He also still has a connection to VfB Stuttgart, where Jaissle once played under Thomas Tuchel in his youth. “The heart is of course still at home, no question about it,” said the 33-year-old. “I went to boarding school in Stuttgart and enjoyed my training at VfB.”
Country instead of city – Jaissle enjoys nature
In Salzburg, Matthias Jaissle, who used to go on vacation with his family often in Austria, enjoys the lakes, the nature and the mountains around the Mozart city. As before at TSG Hoffenheim, where, unlike his teammates, he lived in Sinsheim instead of chic Heidelberg, Matthias Jaissle does not live in Salzburg today, but a little outside. “The Swabian has to make sure that the rent is cheap. Heidelberg is expensive, Salzburg is expensive,” jokes the 33-year-old.
2.4 points per game – a top value
So far, he has also sold himself at great expense. His record in Salzburg has been almost flawless since taking office in July 2021: 26 wins, six draws and only three defeats make an average of 2.4 points per game. He is expected to surpass both his predecessor at Salzburg, Jesse Marsch (2.18 points per game), and his predecessor Marco Rose (2.35).
Jaissle’s philosophy: Pushed up, dressed smart
And Jaissle’s game philosophy reads as if the “RB Bible” had been learned by heart: “We always attack as high and as early as possible in order to stress the opponent as much as possible. We want to create chaos in this way in order to get in front of the opposing goal as quickly as possible after winning the ball.” Meanwhile, sports director Freund reveals that Jaissle places a little more value on ball possession phases and game control than his predecessor Jesse Marsch.
Ideally, game control is also needed on Tuesday in Munich, when Salzburg want to trip up the big favorites after the 1-1 draw in the first leg. His coaching colleague Julian Nagelsmann, who is about a year older than him, had already crossed paths with Jaissle in tranquil Hoffenheim: when Jaissle was still a player, Nagelsmann was already working as a coach with Hoffenheim’s youth team. At the time, neither of them would have thought it possible that they would see each other again as coaches on the big stage of the Champions League around a decade later.
The Champions League suit suits Matthias Jaissle best
Even if Salzburg doesn’t pull off the small miracle and make it to the quarter-finals of the premier class, you can still expect a lot from the 33-year-old coaching talent in the future. The Champions League suit fits the smart Swabian – how could it be otherwise – at least for a while. “High pressed, smartly dressed” is how Matthias Jaissle likes it.