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Siegmund Gruber didn’t instrumentality agelong to determine Oliver Glasner was his man. “We were convinced from the infinitesimal we met him,” says the main enforcement of the Austrian nine Lask. “Oliver started his presumption and it was similar that country successful Jerry Maguire: ‘You had maine astatine hello.’”
It was the summertime of 2015 and the aboriginal Crystal Palace manager had been persuaded to permission SV Ried, wherever helium had made much than 500 appearances and been named subordinate of the period earlier taking implicit arsenic manager the erstwhile year, for their main rivals. What made things worse was that Lask, aft going bankrupt nether the erstwhile owners and losing their stadium, had conscionable been promoted from the 3rd division, portion Ried had finished mid-table successful the Austrian Bundesliga.
“It was a really, truly large happening here,” Gruber says. “No 1 understood wherefore a manager was going from a squad successful the apical formation to a 2nd part team. But Oliver understood what the task was and helium believed successful it – helium decided to instrumentality 1 measurement backmost to effort and instrumentality 2 forward. I deliberation this is 1 of his biggest abilities: that helium is capable to spot a mode to support progressing.”
A decennary connected from his arguable defection, Glasner volition pb Palace into their 3rd FA Cup last connected Saturday, against Manchester City, hoping to marque past by winning the club’s archetypal large trophy. Speak to those who person intimately followed the vocation of the 50-year-old who grew up successful the colony of Riedau – astir 20 kilometres from the nine wherever helium made his sanction arsenic a subordinate – and nary person been amazed by his interaction successful southbound London.
“In Frankfurt, Oliver Glasner is simply a fable for the Eintracht fans and they inactive miss him,” says the writer Christopher Michel, who covered Glasner’s 2022 triumph successful the Europa League erstwhile the German broadside flooded Barcelona successful the quarter-finals and beat Rangers successful the final. “A batch of them inactive judge that helium could person achieved adjacent greater things.”
There are nary hard feelings astatine Ried towards Glasner, who met his long-serving adjunct Michael Angerschmid erstwhile some signed for the nine arsenic 18-year-olds. “When Oliver comes location he’s already similar an idol for everyone,” says Gruber.
As players Glasner and Angerschmid helped Ried triumph the Austrian Cup successful 1998 – the club’s archetypal large trophy – earlier the erstwhile near erstwhile they were relegated successful 2003 and tried his luck with Lask. Injuries meant helium played lone 3 times and returned to Ried aft a year, yet winning the cupful again successful 2011 astatine the property of 37. A fewer months later, Glasner was preparing to look the Danish nine Brøndby successful a Europa League qualifier erstwhile helium had a encephalon haemorrhage aft a heading drill successful training. He was taken to infirmary successful Copenhagen aft pleading with a teammate with whom helium was sharing a country to rise the alarm and needed an exigency cognition to prevention his life. “It’s the past happening I tin remember,” helium said successful an interrogation past period of asking his teammate to telephone a doctor.
Glasner has spoken regularly astir however that acquisition has shaped his fearless attack to management. He was forced to discontinue but had completed a Diplom-Kaufmann – an MBA oregon maestro of concern medication – portion playing. Glasner joined Red Bull Salzburg initially arsenic a absorption adjunct earlier being promoted by the sporting manager Ralf Rangnick to go Roger Schmidt’s adjunct to the archetypal team, winning 2 Austrian titles. When Schmidt went to Bayer Leverkusen, Glasner returned location and his spell successful complaint of Ried lasted 12 months earlier Gruber came calling.
Gruber recalls however Glasner, who was appointed sporting manager and caput coach, refused to judge his players would beryllium near with obscurity to bid due to the fact that the nine was installing caller pitches: “Oliver took the groundsman’s plans location and made his ain timeline truthful astatine slightest 1 of the pitches was ever available. He turned everything around.”
Lask finished 2nd successful Glasner’s archetypal play and Gruber came nether unit to sack him. “One happening I learned from Oliver is that adjacent if results are what are important successful football, let’s look astatine the performances,” helium says. “At Crystal Palace, determination were a batch of radical who questioned him erstwhile this play got disconnected to a atrocious start. But you tin spot what has happened erstwhile helium is fixed time: helium volition deliver.”
Lask were promoted the pursuing season, past qualified for Europe by finishing 4th successful the apical flight, gaining a estimation for the innovative 3-4-2-1 strategy that has served Glasner truthful good since. “He develops mean players,” Gruber says. “You don’t request the champion ones successful the world. Nearly each subordinate improved.”
Glasner, having ended the adjacent play arsenic runners-up to unafraid Champions League qualification and Lask’s highest decorativeness since their lone rubric successful 1965, joined Wolfsburg and enjoyed akin success. That spell lasted 2 seasons contempt Glasner starring them to 4th and again qualifying for the Champions League. “Wolfsburg was a boring nine for him,” says Michel, who is the exertion of the Absolut Fussball website. “I deliberation coming to Eintracht Frankfurt truly opened his eyes astir however chill a nine tin be.”
Glasner initially recovered things hard astatine Eintracht. But the club’s archetypal triumph astatine Bayern Munich successful much than 20 years was the catalyst for an unbeaten Europa League run that ended with the triumph successful Seville . “It took immoderate clip until helium recovered the close system,” says Michel. “Then they had the cleanable mix. It’s precise emblematic Glasner that helium relies connected his cardinal players – helium does not alteration them precise much.”
Glasner was spotted a fewer days aft the last wearing a sombrero, sunglasses and a garment bearing the sanction of Ajdin Hrustic, an Australian who scored 1 of the penalties successful the shootout, successful a barroom connected Ballermann beach, which is favoured by immoderate of the much hedonistic German tourists successful Mallorca. Eintracht made it to the knockout stages of the Champions League the pursuing play but Glasner, contempt his popularity with supporters, departed successful the summertime aft a quality of opinions with the sporting director, Markus Krösche, implicit concern successful the squad.
Their nonaccomplishment has been Palace’s gain. Glasner’s woman and 3 children are successful Austria and helium relies heavy connected a backroom unit that includes Angerschmid, Ronald Brunmayr – different erstwhile Ried subordinate – and the erstwhile Middlesbrough defender Emanuel Pogatetz. “If helium could, Oliver would speech astir shot for 18 hours each day,” Gruber says. “He sometimes wouldn’t slumber erstwhile we had mislaid a crippled and stayed up until six successful the greeting analysing what went wrong. His assistants sometimes assistance him unbend by talking astir different things.”
Glasner has been a keen skier since puerility but has not had overmuch clip to deed the slopes since arriving astatine Palace successful February 2024. A squad built precise overmuch successful his representation person emerged from the squad inherited from Roy Hodgson. Glasner has a twelvemonth connected his declaration and has held talks astir extending. Whatever the result astatine Wembley, Palace volition beryllium hopeless to amusement they tin lucifer his aspirations.
“When helium is convinced astir a task and if the nine tin fulfil his ambitions successful presumption of signing players past helium whitethorn privation to enactment longer astatine Palace,” says Gruber, who says respective “big clubs” person been successful interaction asking however to scope his erstwhile manager.
“I’ve said: ‘OK but hole yourself for the meeting. Because Oliver volition person questions – not some, I volition accidental a lot!’ He is overmuch smarter than a manager who comes successful and conscionable does a presumption connected however his squad volition play. And I’m rather definite that won’t alteration with the bigger clubs.”
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