Head coach Ole Werner in part two of his interview with WERDER.DE

WERDER.DE: Watching you during your day-to-day work, you can see that you’re really focused and don’t let yourself get distracted. Is that something you have had to work on or is that something that comes easily to you?

Ole Werner: It’s something that comes easier to me than it did two years ago; you learn it over time. I don’t spend time in morning thinking about what I’m going to do during the day. It gets more difficult to do that when there is more going on around you in busy times. There are a few things that help you focus on the work you are doing. For me in my role, it is important for me to remain close with the people who can also assess things. It's a much smaller circle than you might think at first. That's the team, the coaching staff and the backroom staff. In addition to Frank (Baumann, editor's note) and Clemens (Fritz), these are the people who are decisive for me. What is written or reported somewhere is not relevant for me. That's part of it and I enjoy it, but the circle that influences whether we win games is made up exclusively of these people. And that's why it's not hard for me to focus on this circle.

WERDER.DE: Are there concrete strategies that you use to focus?

Ole Werner: I pay attention to mental and physical health, to giving myself free space every now and then during the day. I don't open my laptop in the evening, and when I'm at home I really take a day off and don't work at all, but rather do sports, for example. But that is part of everyday life. It’s something that I’ve learnt and developed as my daily routine.

WERDER.DE: What does a day off look like for you?

Ole Werner: I don’t have one singular hobby that I can do and instantly switch off and feel relaxed. I’d probably sleep half an hour longer and then go and have breakfast somewhere nice and read the newspaper in a bit more detail. Or I’d go somewhere and read in the sun.

WERDER.DE: We heard you like reading the newspaper and Russian literature. Is that right?

Ole Werner: I read a book from time to time, but I’m not at the level where I’m reading one book per month and usually only read when I have the time to do so because it demands concentration. If I have less time, I might watch a film or a television series. I don’t exclusively Russian literature, but I’Ve read Tolstoi and Dostojeswki, among others. I’ve studied German literature too and just find literature accessible. I'm more interested in 19th and 20th century literature than the current, pop-cultural things. But picturing me as a literary expert in a reading chair would be far from the truth.

WERDER.DE: We recently read that “If you look up 'unpretentious' in the dictionary, you'll find a picture of Ole Werner”. Are there other areas of your life where you really treat yourself, for example where you might spend a lot of money?

Ole Werner: No. Honestly, not at all. (Thinks for a long time) I don't have any luxury items, I don't even have my own car at the moment – just a work car from the club. The only thing that could perhaps be said, and this is something that several people have given me criticism for in the past, is that every now and then I forget to pay a bill, then I get a reminder and have to pay more fees. I'm really structured at work, but sometimes I'm not structured at all in my private life. Some people would put that down as wasteful and unnecessary spending, but it’s always a financially manageable amount. Otherwise, there’s nothing that I collect, that is materially important to me or that I spend a crazy amount of money on.

WERDER.DE: How about holidays or food?

Ole Werner: Oh yeah, I eat out a lot because I’m bad at cooking. But we even have a cook here at Werder, which is a big advantage. I also like going away on holiday but I don’t have to fly in first class or stay in the best hotel available. I like to travel and spend money doing so, but so far I’ve not been on any luxury trips.

WERDER.DE: Does anything intimidate you or throw you out of character?

Ole Werner: There’s nothing that really scares me. Of course, there are things that worry me or concern me, such as family things or when someone close to me is not well in terms of health. Also, when you look at what's going on around us, how things are developing politically, it worries you. But I don't panic or get hectic in those situations though, because it’s not something I can usually influence. In general, I'm not the most patient person, so I sometimes get wound up. But apart from that, there isn’t much that is enough for me to get worked up or lose my head over. Most of the time you can think about what’s happening and then try to find the right solution together with the people who can help you.

WERDER.DE: Does anything intimidate you or throw you out of character?

Ole Werner: There’s nothing that really scares me. Of course, there are things that worry me or concern me, such as family things or when someone close to me is not well in terms of health. Also, when you look at what's going on around us, how things are developing politically, it worries you. But I don't panic or get hectic in those situations though, because it’s not something I can usually influence. In general, I'm not the most patient person, so I sometimes get wound up. But apart from that, there isn’t much that is enough for me to get worked up or lose my head over. Most of the time you can think about what’s happening and then try to find the right solution together with the people who can help you.

WERDER.DE: Is there anyone that you would be nervous to meet?

Ole Werner: “Of course there are celebrities that I have a lot of respect for. I could probably think of hundreds, such as people from the worlds of politics or show business. Or sport, such as Franz Beckenbauer or Pelé, for example. I have a lot of respect for them. I think I would be excited to meet them first and foremost and would want to find out what kind of people they are.”

WERDER.DE: So you weren’t nervous before Kiel’s game against Bayern, but were excited instead?

Ole Werner: “You’re always excited ahead of a game. You could maybe describe it as nerves, although in my opinion, being nervous means being out of control because you’re no longer focused on what matters. That’s not really what it is, it’s the exact opposite, in fact: you’re very much in control and focused on what you can control. I don’t tend to get nervous or lose my head when it comes to sports. Sometimes it’s easy to explain things away as being due to nerves, when the root causes of what went wrong are actually something entirely different. For example, things like the wrong formation, physical fitness or just a lack of cohesion in the team. It might appear as though everyone was running around without a clue of what to do, but I don’t think nerves are usually the reason. Feeling nervous and out of control only happens when you feel like what you’re doing isn’t working. In my opinion, it’s often the result of that, not the root cause.”