Kees van Wonderen: Coach glutton Schalke? “I’m not afraid of that”

At the beginning of October, Kees van Wonderen was appointed coach of FC Schalke. In the interview, the 55-year-old Dutchman talks about his difficult mission at the traditional club that crashed.

Ask: Mr. van Wonderen, as a player you were what you shouldn’t be as a Schalke coach: a late starter!

Kees van Wonderen: As a player it was like that. I’ve played football all my life, since I was three or four years old. I remember when my parents had the facade of our house painted. The painter hadn’t left the yard yet when the imprints of the ball could be seen again on the white wall. I was small – and really talented. Until I was 15 years old.

Ask: What happened?

of Miracles: The other young people have grown and become stronger, but I remained little Kees. Suddenly I no longer had a chance on the football field. I often sat at home in the evenings feeling sad and just frustrated. My parents felt sorry for me and tried to build me up. My father in particular always said the opposite of what I felt. If I was euphoric, he brought me back to the carpet. If I was sad, he motivated me.

Ask: What happened next?

of Miracles: At 18, I finally grew.

Ask: How much?

of Miracles: Around twelve centimeters per year. So 24 centimeters in two years. I was finally able to prove myself on the pitch again! When I was 20, I played at the highest amateur level with my village club. Then after a few months I was discovered and I signed my first professional contract in Nijmegen at the age of 22.

Ask: You have a successful career as a central defender behind you. In 2002 you won the UEFA Cup with Feyenoord Rotterdam in the final against Dortmund. Her last professional year, 2003/2004, was anything but easy.

of Miracles: That’s correct. I had problems with my Achilles tendons on both sides. When I got up in the morning I could barely perform because they contracted overnight. I had to wear Velcro splints on both feet that held my joints at 90 degree angles. After my career I had an operation and the problems have gone away since then.

Ask: Wouldn’t it have been better if you had stopped earlier?

of Miracles: After our UEFA Cup victory, our team fell apart and we got a lot of young players. And I should lead the way as a leader. I did this because of my close ties to the club. Today I’m glad that it happened this way. Actually, my plan was to go abroad again. Italy, Spain, that was my wish. But I stayed. In October 2003 my mother became very ill, she had cancer. She died just seven weeks later. I was glad I was there.

Ask: Hard cut into the here and now. How did you find out about Schalke 04? There has been a lot of chaos here for several years, and the last ten head coaches only lasted an average of less than a year each.

of Miracles: I can’t say anything about the past few years. I had many conversations with Ben Manga (Schedule planner; d. Ed.)Matthias Tillmann (Boss of the Board) and also Youri Moulder (supervisory board member). I immediately had the good feeling that I spoke to very intelligent people who could assess the situation at Schalke very realistically. They want to lead the club back up with a clear plan. This can’t be done at the push of a button, but of course we have to collect points quickly.

Ask: The clear goal is to gain promotion in the 2025/26 season.

of Miracles: That is the club’s wish. Our motto is: We want to have a team that is at the top next year. But currently our focus is on the here and now, on the game against Fürth.

Ask: Before you signed, you watched all of Schalke’s games this season. Can the team now be at the top in terms of quality?

of Miracles: I’m holding back a little bit, but I need to get to know the league better. On Saturday in Hanover (0:1) was just my first game. I recognized a lot in the video analysis in the first few games. But it’s the view from the outside. As a coach, you have to experience this yourself: What did I give to the player? How does he react to changes? How does he react when I cheer him on? This has to develop. We learn from day to day.

Ask: Schalke 04 is also called “coach eaters”.

of Miracles: I heard that too.

Ask: Does it bother you if there is already speculation from outside about how long you can keep your job here?

of Miracles: It’s a challenge that I like. I also spoke to Huub Stevens. He also said to me: “Good luck! It’s not easy!” But honestly: I don’t want to come to a club where everything is perfect. I want to design. And I’m not afraid of it, it just motivates me even more.

Ask: Schalke is extremely fast-paced. So a few quick questions.

of Miracles: Okay.

Ask: Frikandel or Currywurst?

of Miracles: Currywurst.

Ask: 1-0 win or 4-3 win?

of Miracles: 1:0.

Ask: Jacket or tracksuit?

of Miracles: Tracksuit.

Ask: WhatsApp or call?

of Miracles: Call.

Ask: Jogging or strength training?

of Miracles: I have to say: both. And: I should actually take more time for it. For the past few months I’ve had a training plan with my wife where we did circuit training in the weight room. Then I felt how good it was.

Ask: Sparkling wine or seltzer?

of Miracles: I hope champagne.

Ask: Money or success?

of Miracles: Fun, because when we have it, we are successful.

Ask: From March 2018 to December 2019 you were assistant coach of the Dutch national team alongside Ronald Koeman. What was your most formative event during that time?

of Miracles: I would rather speak of the most formative game. It was here, in the Arena at Schalke. We played against Germany in the Nations League. Back then, Jogi Löw often changed tactical formations and we didn’t know exactly what to expect, but we assumed a 3-4-3 system. We asked the team: How do we solve this? The players said: We’ll play as we always do – in our 4-3-3 system.

Ask: And then?

of Miracles: I said to Ronald: We need a plan B in case it doesn’t work. We thought about it: In this case, we’ll change things – and play system against system. So in the same formation. This could cause problems for Germany.

Ask: Germany quickly led 2-0.

of Miracles: Correct. And we have already made the switch. Things got better. But we didn’t score. We, the assistants, came up with an all-or-nothing tactic in the second half, with Virgil van Dijk as striker. We wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to Koeman. But he said: “We’re not making any changes yet!” Shortly afterwards we scored the next goal. We gave him the note back. Then he switched. We equalized through van Dijk in stoppage time. Football can work like that too.

Ask: Koeman then became coach at FC Barcelona, ​​then national coach again. Did he ask you if you wanted to accompany him again?

of Miracles: No. Because I didn’t want that myself.

Ask: Why not?

of Miracles: During my time as an assistant coach, I noticed: You’re no longer in charge! It happened that I wanted to go left, but he wanted to go right. I told him early on that it was difficult for me and that I wanted to decide for myself. At some point I finished it myself. Being assistant coach of the Netherlands was a great experience, but then it didn’t feel right to me anymore.

Ask: What is the most important rule in your list of penalties?

of Miracles: I don’t want to present a collection of rules. I only showed the team one slide in my presentation that featured Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo and Roger Federer. I wrote what I expect: “Be a professional!” That you try to become a better player every day – like Jordan, Ronaldo and Federer.

Ask: What exactly do you expect?

of Miracles: This means, for example, that the players in a video analysis don’t sit in the back row and just have something told to them. No, they should stand up, go forward, ask questions, make suggestions.

Ask: Are you a strict trainer?

of Miracles: I experienced many setbacks in my playing career and always fought back. I also expect this commitment. But I might as well put my hand on your shoulder. I still remember: When I was a coach in Holland with the Go Ahead Eagles, we formed a discussion group in which each player had to tell something about his life. Something funny, something beautiful, something sad, it doesn’t matter. A player then said that he felt like he was being treated racistly by society every day because of the color of his skin – and started crying.

Ask: How did you react?

of Miracles: Something like that hurts a lot. And at the same time he shared his innermost being with the entire team. At the end of the round everyone went to him to support him and offer him help. I have rarely experienced such unity. We managed to stay in the league with the lowest budget in the first league in Holland. Something like this only works with such solidarity. And that’s what I’m calling for here too.

Ask: A final question that became more apparent with each of your answers: Why do you speak German so well?

of Miracles: I attended a business school in Arnhem. My parents had a shoe and sports store that I might have taken over otherwise – but that probably wouldn’t have made me happy. Back to your question: I had German lessons at school for seven years. You could take the exam in German or English, I chose German. Now I notice that things are getting better every day through communication.

The article was written for the Sports Competence Center (WELT, SPORT PICTURE, BILD) written and first published in SPORT BILD.