Martin Lanig still remembers that evening more than twelve years ago. At the time he was playing for <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/eintrachts-jakic-smolcic-would-be-a-good-fit-for-frankfurt-bundesliga/" title="Eintrachts Jakic: "Smolcic would be a good fit for Frankfurt" – Bundesliga“>1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga, things were rather mediocre, but that day the team won, out in Müngersdorf, in this stadium, which for those who support FC is much more than that just a stadium. It is a place of pilgrimage and refuge, and so when Lanig entered a restaurant after the game, everyone suddenly applauded him because he had given people a victory that afternoon. Giving a win is actually how people see it in Cologne, where football is something personal.
Lanig laughs as he tells the story. After all, it was pretty bizarre that people were applauding him at dinner. “I don’t even know if everyone knew why they were clapping,” says Lanig. “It made me pretty uncomfortable.”
One afternoon this week, Martin Lanig, 40, is sitting on the terrace in front of the Würzburger Kickers office and has a good view down into the stadium. Here, at Dallenberg, he has been on the sidelines twice so far since he joined the Kickers as the new coach at the end of September. For the first two games he was responsible for, there was no applause like there was back in Cologne: 1-1 against TSV Aubstadt, 1-1 at SpVgg Hankofen-Hailing. Most recently they managed to win 3-0 against TSV Buchbach: Würzburg are still unbeaten under Lanig, but the two draws have increased the gap to the league leaders – and they are also called FC Schweinfurt 05 and are the Kickers’ worst rivals. So how does Lanig classify the first few weeks? How is it so far?
Lanig snorts and, as he does with most questions, takes a few seconds before answering. He weighs his words, then he doesn’t reply “good” – Lanig says: “Extremely tiring.” It takes an enormous amount of energy to get to know so many people at once, to understand processes and to get an overview, says Lanig and explains then what he is primarily concerned about in his first weeks in Würzburg. “It’s an issue of creating closeness from a given distance,” says the 123-time Bundesliga player. He means the training ground on Sieboldshöhe, where the coaching locker room is a good 200 meters away from the team cabin – and the meeting room is on the other side. This needs to be overcome and pulled together, especially in a figurative sense.
The Rothosen, as the Kickers call themselves, have recently become a little grayer in people’s eyes. Although it’s not as gray as the knitted sweater that Lanig is wearing on the terrace that afternoon, a certain degree of isolation can still be seen. The fans are withdrawing, last week against Buchbach only 1060 came – fewer than ever since the Corona times.
Last season, the Kickers marched through the regional league before failing in the promotion games against Hannover II. Although: It was more like a walk than a march, because the team’s performances had something light about them, something relaxed and also something majestic, which has hardly been noticeable so far this season. Last year, Würzburg played so thrillingly that an average of almost 2,500 people came to the games – now there are sometimes less than half as many.
Proximity and distance are a big topic that Lanig has to deal with in his first few weeks. If the Kickers no longer manage to pick up people, everything loses its value and meaning. Many in the city have turned away, even though this season is, as is often said, the last chance the club has left. If promotion doesn’t succeed this year either, even more fans could withdraw, sponsors could lose patience and players would be more likely to go to clubs that can offer them more planning security. So what does it do to Lanig that he is now something of a last resort?
Lanig pauses, then says: “I concentrate on what I can influence – and that is working with the team.” He has signed until 2026, and if promotion doesn’t succeed in the first attempt, he’ll just take a second one with the Kickers. It’s not like they would stop playing on the Dallenberg just because they had to add a fourth year of the regional league. And pressure? Lanig knows pressure anyway. He played for VfB Stuttgart, for Cologne, for Eintracht Frankfurt, big clubs that are always under the microscope. From that point of view, he knows how to deal with pressure.
Lanig is an analyst who carefully considers things before making decisions
A coach is something other than “just” a player, but the path that lies behind him has given him something that makes him appear extremely calm today. Lanig is not a loudspeaker anyway, not one for grandiose announcements, but rather an analyst who carefully considers things before making decisions – even if it’s just how he answers a question. Lanig is a chess player without actually playing chess, more like golf, but right now it’s all about football for him.
Martin Lanig comes from Lauda-Königshofen, a good half hour’s drive from Würzburg. With the Kickers he wants to bring professional football back to the people on his doorstep. Time is running out, but Lanig remains calm. And if he actually succeeds in his promotion, there could be applause again – possibly even in a restaurant.
