Bayern has a man for special tasks. She is a woman so good that Guardiola wanted to shake her up

Contrary to the stupid superstition that a woman in a soccer dressing room brings bad luck, Kathleen Krueger has been successfully working in. She is the team manager – she organizes trips to matches and training camps, takes care of the selection of appropriate hotels, reserves restaurants for players, constantly asking if they are missing something.

– Which player would you ask to change the wheel if you had a flat tire? asked Krueger, the journalist who hosted the FC Bayern podcast. – Gnabry or. I have the best contact with them. They often come by to talk before training – she replied. But more likely the players would ask her to help change the wheel. At Bayern, he’s a special task man. From organizational to private matters. Need to find a kindergarten for a footballer’s son? Krueger. Book a hotel? Kureger. Plan a training camp in Qatar? Krueger. The player’s passport has expired and he is not allowed to fly to the game? Krueger.

This work is invisible to the fans, but it is crucial for the team. The players call her every few minutes. Krueger can be seen during matches informing the technical referee about the changes, and in times of coronavirus he additionally holds a board with the numbers of changing players. She is the liaison officer between the coach and the medical staff throughout the match. Bad luck does not come: since he is sitting on the bench, Bayern wins the championship in series and.

She hasn’t been seen recently. She was pregnant and took a short vacation at the end of the previous season. She gave birth to a son, and from January she returned to work. The life of footballers has become easier again. Her assistant, Bastian Wernscheid, who replaced her in recent months, has been well received by the team, but what Krueger is Krueger. When the new coach – – offered to come to the club with his proven team leader, the Bayern bosses immediately put the idea out of his head. They have a manager and they know that they will not find a better person for this position.

“I have never felt special because I am a woman in a male environment”

She has been associated with Bayern for many years. First as a fan from the mill, who borrowed from her older brother for large club shirts, and then as a football player. She appeared in the women’s Bundesliga, but after six years of professional play she hit the wall.

– It required a lot of effort, and we got very little pocket money. I had to make a living because I was studying at the same time – she told Bayern’s official website. She was a fan from an early age – her dad took her and her brother to matches. They sat in the stands with the most die-hard fans, and Kathleen planned to play herself in a stadium full of fans someday. She gave up her dreams in favor of studying international management and working after hours. – What I missed the most was the cloakroom atmosphere. I always felt at home in it – she said in interviews.

After five years, she unexpectedly returned to the club to do internships in the logistics section of the women’s team. The breakthrough came when Christian Nerlinger, Bayern’s former sporting director, took her on as his assistant. “I’ve always wanted to work for the football team, but I was a realist: it’s a very attractive industry, there are few jobs, men dominate,” he notes. – One day the president came up to me and asked if I would like this position. I went through a three-month application procedure and got the job. Since I have been working in Bayern, in my beloved club, in such an important position, I feel as if I won the lottery – she said. When Nerlinger left Bayern in 2012 and Matthias Sammer became sports director, Krueger was promoted to team manager.

– I have never felt special because I am a woman in a male environment. I don’t think I’m treated differently. We are all professionals and we want to be successful. This is what we focus on – he says seriously and then smiles: – Sometimes, when footballers don’t really want to participate in some marketing or sponsorship events, I wink an eye at them and try to convince them somehow.

Only her players joined their group on WhatsApp

Krueger has his office on the second floor of the sports complex on Sabener Strasse. Competitors pass by its door several times a day: on their way to a cafe, conference rooms or a rest room. They usually drop by to ask for a bureaucratic matter to be dealt with. Sometimes they also want to take advantage of her coaching tips. He has a special education in this field and experience gained from the field.

– From the beginning of my work, I was close to the players. I try to see things from their perspective. The players know that I used to play football, but I never dare to analyze their games. Well, maybe when I’m sitting on the bench and mumbling something under my breath, the footballer sitting next to him has heard my thoughts – he laughs. – Kathleen brings our team together. We can come to her with any problem. She is our friend and confidant – he said in “Sport Bildzie”.

The players themselves decided that he belongs to the team. They invited her to a group on WhatsApp that no one else outside the team has access to – not even the coaches. Soccer players and she, nobody else. – Indeed, it is a privileged position, but I am also there to send them plans for each day. Of course, the group is full of jokes, lots of funny photos, but the players know that I will not get anything from it – she said. She has always been loyal. Even when he urged her to move with him to Manchester City and take up the same position there, she refused. It was great to work with the Catalan. They immediately found a common language. Guardiola’s assistant Domenec Torrent, leaving the club, wrote on a blackboard in her office: “You will always be in our hearts.”