by To offer an example of how Oliver Glasner wanted his Wolfsburg team to pressure their opponents, his three centre-backs would often train without a goalkeeper behind them. “We want to protect in such a way that we hardly need them,” Glasner explained. And why would a surprise goal be a problem for a team that knows so much gegenpressing?
Glasner arrives at Crystal Palace this week looking to quickly turn their fortunes around after a couple of defeats since November, but the Austrian will have little time to train his players in their ways. His success in German football involved pre-seasons when he shaped his team on the training pitches, with attractive results.
At Wolfsburg he qualified for the Champions League and succeeded when Erik ten Hag failed to get the better of Wout Weghorst. Then at Eintracht Frankfurt he followed a similar pattern for two years in terms of leading them to success – the Europa League after defeating Rangers in the final – and then suddenly disappearing.
In both cases, he was thought to be unhappy with the level of investment in his teams, so his first comments on Palace’s long-term future will be interesting. They have a lot of respect for players in the Premier League. Not just Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze, their young midfielders. They also have Marc Guehi, who goes through games unheralded, often overlooked by the TV actors but admired by Gareth Southgate and the recruitment teams of the top Premier League clubs.
Glasner currently has the resources to get them higher than the 16th place they were when his appointment was announced. Palace receiving a disciple of Ralf Rangnick, who he hired as an assistant coach at Red Bull Salzburg. He is a more developed version of Rangnick with his intense style of football and training. Those who have spoken to him about jobs say he is more adaptable than Rangnick, rather than rigidly sticking to his principles, which may have been a strength during his early days in English football.
He was watched by Nottingham Forest before their pursuit of Nuno Espirito Santo, and Tottenham also spoke to him once. He is keen on Premier League football and although he has no experience, he could turn to former Middlesbrough defender Emanuel Pogatetz as his right-hand man.
Glasner’s own playing career saw him play more than 500 games for SV Ried without receiving an international cap, and he retired after suffering a brain haemorrhage. His style is not far from that of his predecessor, Roy Hodgson, as he expects his coaching career to be short. “I don’t want to be a coach until I’m 65, probably not until 60 either,” said the 49-year-old.
At Eintracht he would stand on the sidelines of the training ground watching, dressed in Nike Premier 3 boots with a stopwatch and a whistle around his neck. Hands behind his back, he would watch his first-team coaches in warm-ups and early sessions before doing the drills himself. He invented the ‘Vier gewinnt’ which is a sprint version of Connect 4.
He has a presence on the training pitch that will be felt by the Palace players this week. His training is more technical than physical but his work is rigorous. At Wolfsburg he joked that his apartment was where he slept, but that was it. The rest of the time he was working. As his goalless session suggests, his preferred formation is 3-4-2-1.
Palace can also expect a manager who will speak his mind, not only on the direction of his club but while protecting his players. Against Hoffenheim last season he was sent off, which raised eyebrows at his own club, then went into bat for Makoto Hasebe when there were questions about the then 39-year-old centre-back. “He’s almost p—— blood at this point because he’s so exhausted and he’s still playing,” Glasner said.
His departure was announced before the end of last season and it was a huge shock. The previous season they had won the Europa League against Steven Gerrard’s side but also saw Martin Hinteregger and Filip Kostic make the squad. Among the players who improved under him was French striker Randal Kolo Muani, who earned a move to Paris St-Germain after his season with Glasner. “We signed him because we saw great potential in him. We saw right away that it was very fast,” Glasner said.
Another important aspect of Glasner’s teams is bonding in the squad. Palace already that. They are definitely united. But one of Glasner’s first tasks will be to assess the mood.
“I don’t forgive when someone creates a bad vibe in the dressing room because that is something that can be avoided and we can influence it,” he said. “It’s about how we get on with each other, how respectful we are of each other: that’s team spirit.”
