“We Have A Clear Idea,” Says Baumann

FC Schalke 04 presented their new head coach Miron Muslic on Friday (20/6). Frank Baumann, who has been in his role as board member for sport for a couple of weeks now, also answered questions at the press conference, touching on the decision to hire the 42-year-old, the decisions informing the club’s squad planning and the make-up of the squad for the new season.

Frank Baumann on…
…the decision to hire Miron Muslic:
The questions we asked ourselves were as follows: what fits to Schalke? What do we need in our current situation? What sort of football do we want to be playing, and what sort of players do we need in order to do so? When we were looking for a coach, we considered a wide range of skills, with a focus on certain key traits. With his methodical expertise, Miron brings something extremely important to the table in terms of the intense and aggressive style of football that we want to play. He also possesses certain character traits that can help us. He stands for a culture of high performance and is capable of inspiring and exciting people. He expects a lot from the players and the staff, but can also inspire them, which is exactly what we need.

He stands for a culture of high performance and is capable of inspiring and exciting people.

…the division of duties when it comes to squad planning:
During my official presentation I’d said that I want to have a strong leadership team in place in our sporting department, and we’re now very well set up with Youri, Ben and Miron. We want to be in agreement when it comes to our squad planning and transfers, in addition to presenting a united front to the outside world. That’s why Youri and Ben were also involved in our hunt for a new head coach. Youri is sitting up here today because part of his responsibilities include our first-team performance centre and our external communications. Ben is responsible for scouting, recruitment and transfers, and we communicate regularly.

…the shape of the team heading into next season:
We’ve got a clear idea of the individual player profiles we’re looking for, as well as the mix we want in our squad of leaders, team players and individuals who can provide that something special on the pitch. We still need to bring in some reinforcements at centre-back and are speaking to potential candidates, but I won’t be providing any current updates just yet.

Schalke04.de