Martin Demichelis has been coaching the reserves at FC Bayern Munich for over a year. In an interview with SPOX and GOAL, the 41-year-old talks about his current job – and looks back on his youth in Argentina and the early days as a player in Munich.
Mr. Demichelis, training players or promoting them: What is more important in Bayern’s reserves?
Martin Demichelis: Of course we try to be champions. But the priority is to develop talent. After last season, eight of our players became professionals at different clubs. I’m proud of that. For me as a coach, that’s a good feeling. We also have interesting guys in the current team. But we need patience. We’ve scored well so far, but we haven’t played as well as I would like.
After the departures of Nicolas Feldhahn and Maximilian Welzmüller, Timo Kern is the only veteran in the team. Should more experienced players come? Rico Strieder recently offered himself in an interview with SPOX and GOAL.
Demichelis: No, otherwise we could have brought in Diego Contento, for example. He is currently without a club and trained with us last spring. He is a very likeable person and a good player. But the club has a different philosophy. In the reserves, we are focusing more on young talent than before.
You complete your trainer training in Italy. Why? And what’s the status?
Demichelis: I’ve played in Argentina, Germany, England and Spain. But Italian football has always interested me. Italy have outstanding defenders. The most interesting training exercises for defenders come from Italy. I wanted to get to know this football culture. Last year I was at the trainer school in Coverciano for three days a month, followed in June by three intensive weeks of eight hours a day each. At the beginning of September I will take my final exam.
Martin Demichelis: His previous coaching positions
| Period |
function |
| 2017 to 2018 |
FC Malaga (assistant coach with the pros) |
| 2019 to 2021 |
FC Bayern U19 (coach team with Danny Schwarz) |
| since 2021 |
FC Bayern reserves |
Arminia Bielefeld is said to have tried to help you in the summer. When do you want to work as head coach of a first team?
Demichelis: My contract with FC Bayern runs until next summer and I really enjoy working here. I soon had my UEFA Pro license and thus also the formal requirements for being able to coach a first team in professional football. We’ll see when it comes to that.
You have worked with many great coaches throughout your playing career. Who inspired you the most?
Demichelis: I am grateful for working with everyone. If I have to tell about every coach, we sit here for a whole week. Unfortunately I’ve never worked under Pep Guardiola but I’m a big fan of his. He has a huge impact on football. You could recognize a Guardiola team regardless of the kits.
Do you think that still applies to teams from other coaches?
Demichelis: I would also recognize a Manuel Pellegrini team in different kits. I worked with him at River Plate, Malaga FC and Manchester City. Not only is he outstanding as a coach, but also as a person.
