As a child in goal: Schmidt's personal connection to Munich
Coach Frank Schmidt of Bundesliga club 1. FC Heidenheim also has a personal relationship with upcoming opponents FC Bayern Munich. In his childhood near Heidenheim, he and other boys always played Bayern against VfB Stuttgart, there was nothing else back then, said the 49-year-old one day before the promoted team's match at the record champions in Munich on Saturday (3.30 pm/Sky).
The children kicked between the garages and he always belonged to the "Bayern camp". "I was the youngest and therefore had to be in goal." The fact that he is now allowed to play for points in the Allianz Arena for the first time as a Bundesliga coach is "incredible".
When Schmidt was a child, Heidenheim still played in amateur soccer leagues. The town of 50,000 inhabitants is a good 70 kilometers away from Stuttgart and is therefore also a catchment area for five-time champions VfB. It is also close to the border with Bavaria.
As an FC Bayern "player", Schmidt has one thing in common with his colleague Christian Streich from SC Freiburg. He is almost nine years older and looked up to Gerd Müller as a youngster. In the D-youth of his home club in South Baden, he always wanted to play with the number 13 because Müller wore it in the national team at the time, Streich once said.
Despite growing up in a town close to the Bavarian border, Schmidt's youth soccer team always chose to emulate FC Bayern Munich, often playing against imaginary VfB Stuttgart opponents. Interestingly, Schmidt often found himself in goal during these childhood games, as the youngest player. Now, coaching 1. FC Heidenheim, Schmidt is set to lead his team against FC Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena for the first time in the Bundesliga.
Source: www.dpa.com
