| Christian Fluthmann: ‘Norwich are a model club — I’d love to do what Danie 00:28 - Jun 29 with 2675 views | Rock |
Christian Fluthmann: ‘Norwich are a model club — I’d love to do what Daniel Farke has done at an English club’
Michael Bailey
“Going back on it in my mind sometimes, it plays like a movie,” says Christian Fluthmann.
The 39-year-old smiles a lot during his Zoom call with The Athletic from Essen, Germany. He appears to be a man appreciating what he has and where he has been, with a glint in his eye over what the rest of his career has in store.
Fluthmann has a particular place in the Norwich City chapter that began with the arrivals of sporting director Stuart Webber and head coach Daniel Farke in the spring of 2017: he is the only member of the German coaching set-up to have left.
It happened in November 2018, with Norwich’s promising Championship start threatening to achieve something remarkable after a challenging first campaign of transition. Fluthmann’s return to Germany after leaving his first-team coach and analysis role was a moment of personal necessity.
It led to some essential learning experiences, including as a head coach in his own right. He even came close to competing alongside Farke as a Championship manager.
Before Norwich, Fluthmann was Borussia Dortmund academy’s head of analysis and under-16 coach, a team he led to three successive titles. Now academy manager at German fourth-tier club Rot-Weiss Essen – “the Sunderland of German football,” says Fluthmann – there are a host of directions Fluthmann’s career could take from here.
“I have to decide one day on my way and what I want to do, but I’m still young and proud to learn every day,” Fluthmann tells The Athletic. “I always said I wanted to be a head coach before I was 40. I did that with Eintracht Braunschweig at 38.
“Would I want to work as a head coach again? Of course. But when the pandemic came, it felt good to work in football at Essen: somewhere I could develop myself for the coming years. I learned that from Stuart and Daniel. They have such a clear vision. They do things in a way that helps them in the coming years. That is a key to this business. A lot of people work just in the short-term way.
“The philosophy I learned from Stuart and Daniel, as well as studying economics in the past, I can bring that coaching and other knowledge to make a good philosophy for a club one day, maybe as a sporting director too.”
It was early 2017 when Farke first mentioned his plan. The Dortmund II head coach was out of contract in the summer and aware that if a move came, he wanted Fluthmann to come with him.
Although the pair were at Dortmund, their paths only crossed with a shared meeting once or twice each week. Come May, Farke told him, “It’s time”.
“’Time for what?’ I asked,” recalls Fluthmann (circled below). “He told me he was moving to England but he never said which club – just that the colours would be interesting because yellow was still in. I looked at the Championship clubs with yellow and asked him if it was Norwich. He sent me a smiley face.
“It was a big step, a first time at professional level, going abroad but with my family still in Germany. I didn’t think for a minute about it because it was a huge chance to work in England as a young coach. It was clear I had to go, especially with Daniel. He was a head coach I could move abroad with.
“It’s the way he leads a group. His relaxed atmosphere. He has clear ideas and is calm. That was impressive for me. Also his style of playing was important because if I was analysing games and I had a different way of thinking about football to him, it doesn’t work.”
Fluthmann was one of the trickier Dortmund staff members for Norwich to get – partly because Farke’s Dortmund II assistant Eddie Riemer and fitness coach Chris Domogalla had agreed to the move, but because of how high Dortmund regarded Fluthmann. After three weeks of negotiations, Norwich could announce Farke’s backroom team.
Fluthmann’s team of four included Lee Dunn – now Norwich’s head of performance and recruitment analysis.
“In the beginning, Daniel had to do more things and also explain to me what was important for him, especially in the match plan,” says Fluthmann. “Then after 20 games I could come into the office and say, ‘Daniel, look, this is the opponent, they play this style and we have to do this against them’. It was really interesting.
“After each game we had these benchmark principles to see if we played the last game the way we wanted. Things like playing good counter-pressing, the chances we created. We would analyse it, take some clips and add them into our database that showed our principles for how we play, as Norwich, that we could then show later as perfect examples.”
It was not an easy start. What sticks out to Fluthmann is a 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa and the following 4-0 defeat at Millwall in Norwich’s opening month, a game that Riemer admitted to The Athletic he locked himself in the away dressing room toilet after full-time “for some minutes just to get it all out of myself, the disappointment; it felt devastating”.
“We had a bad run at the beginning,” Fluthmann says. “But Daniel was really strong in his body language and the players realised he wasn’t just a good, calm guy but that he could also go the other way. The international break (that followed) was interesting because they expected us to make changes but we stuck with our playing philosophy. We worked harder on it. The senior players felt it wouldn’t work with us but in some situations Daniel would say, ‘Look, you have trust in this style or you are on the bench’.
“Daniel deserves credit for that, deciding everything just on his style of play; it was never personal. They were difficult moments but it was also so important that Stuart stuck with Daniel. It all helped.”
So was the rest of that first season. Norwich stumbled to 14th place, behind Ipswich Town and Leeds United on goal difference. That summer they sold their standout player, James Maddison, to Leicester for a club-record £24 million and still found the recruitment they needed to improve. Norwich won the Championship the following season; Fluthmann had left the previous November.
“Regrets? No. It was a personal situation,” says Fluthmann, who joined Braunschweig’s coaching set-up on his return to Germany. “It was absolutely fair on my family that I had to leave. We were on our way to promotion and that would have been good for my career and experience. But it was my first time to say that while the football business is important for me, my personal situation and family was more important. I would do it every time again in the same situation.
“Going from the top of the Championship to the bottom of the German third tier with Braunschweig, it was a big gap but a big experience and we did some historic things. We were nine points off safety, which is a huge gap after 16 games. In the end, we were the first club to stay in the league from that position.
“Watching Norwich since I left, I see the typical principles of Daniel and it’s nice to see, but especially with the dominance of last season. It looked absolutely normal for the players to do what they were doing: their positional play, moving the ball forward with low passes. It was very impressive.
“The Premier League will be different and they will need to adapt. Emiliano Buendia is hard to replace because he has huge data (impressive stats) but also the type of personality he is: so positively aggressive, so focused. He is an absolutely professional player and worked in the international breaks just on his body and individual condition.
“I’m absolutely thankful for my time at Norwich.”
It is one thing watching a head coach and preparing for the gig in future, and another to do the job.
Having helped Braunschweig survive in the German third tier as assistant manager, Fluthmann was promoted to the club’s head coach role that summer following Andre Schubert’s move to Holstein Kiel. Braunschweig were top of the table after six wins from Fluthmann’s opening seven games. A subsequent run of one win in eight saw Fluthmann fired.
“I learned so much,” Fluthmann tells The Athletic. “The decision-making was totally different. As an assistant or youth coach was absolutely easier! I never imagined as a head coach you would think about such small details and take so long to make maybe one decision. I’ve had to learn to trust your feeling. I would ask my staff; you have to know their opinion. But you take the decision.
“Managing up with a board of directors is interesting. Some are clear on your philosophy and calm, but some are emotional and see only the result.
“My style is to play out of the back four, have ball possession, aggression, playing vertical passes with good positional play. But I knew from working as assistant that you couldn’t play that with that Braunschweig squad, I had to adapt.
“We stayed compact, tried to win the ball and then play in those high-transition moments with counter-pressing, and it worked. But then the opponents adapted to that. They analysed our style and we didn’t create as many chances. They gave us the ball and we had no options or ideas anymore, so we started the process to my style: good positional play, good structure, overloading the centre.
“But that takes time and you rarely get time in football at the professional level. We didn’t lose two games in a row but we weren’t getting the same positive results. I had to stick to my philosophy. If you’re not authentic in what you’re saying to the players, they feel that. If you’re a coach with such high standing and experience, so many titles, then maybe you can do what you want. But as a young coach, it is hard.
“That’s why Norwich are a role model in having a clear philosophy, playing with trust, giving people time to stick to their ideas. That first season we had a bad run and everyone was talking about how the ball possession was shit and it didn’t work like in Germany. But Daniel and Stuart said no. This is our vision. We were convinced the second season or one after, we would be promoted.”
Last October, Fluthmann could have managed in the Championship and coming up against Farke.
“It was also unrealistic, to be fair,” smiles Fluthmann, who received a surprise call from Barnsley chief executive Dane Murphy. “He noticed I’d been at Norwich and they were looking for a young, foreign coach. We had a chat on Zoom for two hours. He talked about his philosophy for Barnsley, their view on transfers, working with data. Then he asked me about my philosophy, my typical way of working as a coach and a leader. It wasn’t like an interview; more a totally relaxed chat. It was a good atmosphere.”
Fluthmann was informed after a couple of days he was in the final two, before later being told Barnsley would be going with the other candidate: Valerien Ismael.
“I’m proud I got to that point,” adds Fluthmann. “Barnsley are a good example that if you have a clear idea of playing and squad planning, you can have a good chance to get higher.”
It remains to be seen how Brexit will impact such moves for foreign coaches in future, but Fluthmann is a rare German coach for one reason: he completed his Pro Licence in England.
“It was a topic here. The German course is known to be good but it is also 10 years old and they want to see what they could bring in from England. The German federation asked me what advantages there were for me to do it in England and what they were doing.”
Fluthmann finished his course in June 2020 alongside Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Kolo Toure, former Mexico head coach Juan Carlos Osorio and Chelsea first-team coach Anthony Barry.
“You go work and learn together; it was outstanding,” says Fluthmann. “Frank was one of the best players in the past but completely open-minded. He would say he had to learn as a manager, day by day. He never felt he could do that job immediately and in a perfect way. He was really interested in Norwich because of coming up against us while he was at Derby, and also in the German course.”
Fluthmann has laid a lot of foundations. He remains in contact with those he joined at Norwich and others who left. Another job in England is an aim after his “brilliant” experience with Norwich, while he also appreciates the chance he has to build something at Essen – a club situated within easy reach of Dortmund, Koln and Gelsenkirchen (as well as the club where Farke will always be considered a legend: SV Lippstadt 08).
“The football business is special and you don’t know what will happen in the coming days but I’m happy to be working and I’ve learned so much from the past,” says Fluthmann. “I’m calm and convinced things will come and I’m fine with whatever comes next.” |  | | |  |
| Christian Fluthmann: ‘Norwich are a model club — I’d love to do what Danie on 08:36 - Jun 29 with 2198 views | Catullus |
This isn't a Norwich board mind! |  |
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| Christian Fluthmann: ‘Norwich are a model club — I’d love to do what Danie on 10:37 - Jul 27 with 1823 views | Rock |
| Christian Fluthmann: ‘Norwich are a model club — I’d love to do what Danie on 08:36 - Jun 29 by Catullus |
This isn't a Norwich board mind! |
Haha true, Catullus.
Just putting up an option that we could turn to for our next manager, and Fluthmann is a definite up-and-comer in the game and someone we should have our eyes on. Thanks to Cooper finally leaving it gives us the opportunity to wipe the slate clean, make the right choice and begin anew moving into the next stage of our journey as a ‘Championship’ club again. A reset button. The parachute payments are over and much of our spine during Cooperball is now gone. We tried to get up playing his football and building our XI around young loanees, and that clearly isn’t the way forward.
Cooper did a few reasonable things, though. He got us to the playoffs and then the finals, which kept our profile high, even if recent memory shows us as massively negative and disappointing on the big stage. He also showed that top PL youngsters will come to Swansea and can actually enjoy living and playing here, albeit temporarily with his recruits. These could serve us well over the next couple of years, with a new manager and with Scott continuing to rejuvenate our squad with young players with potential and re-sale value.
Appleton would be a pretty good choice, well-respected and connected within the game and has had Lincoln playing excellent football with some exciting young players. He has a great contact list and could keep the PL youth pipeline open while improving the quality of the football immeasurably. Unfortunately, he has a personal issue that will ensure football is not his priority right now, and he will want stability in his life at this time. Honestly, wish him all the best. Russell Martin would also be a good choice for all the above reasons, and it looks he is now in the running to take over. If it’s down to Jody Morris, Martin or Toshack, I’d rather we choose Martin.
But I think Fluthmann would be a really impressive choice. He is very intelligent, has excellent pedigree, highly rated working his way up Dortmund and Norwich, he is the type of young manager that is just waiting for an opportunity and that we have done well giving one too, and I think he could have a similar effect on us as Farke has had on Norwich. He was Barnsley’s second choice after Ismael last year and he was in the discussions for the job this year after Ismael left for West Brom. The coaching carousel has been ridiculous this summer, it’s been difficult for many clubs. Let’s make the move.
I believe Winter and Scott will have him on a shortlist for us, as well, as Winter was chief executive at Huddersfield when they hired David Wagner, which was a very similar situation. Fluthmann wants to play positive, possession football that looks to exploit space by creating overloads and pressing from the front, like Farke and Wagner, and it would be amazing to see that dynamic style of football back at the Liberty again. It would be a risky move, for sure, but those are the ones with the highest payoff and you have to take chances in life. Either way, I have high hopes we can get back to the Swansea Way and a return to our principles and our choice for manager is the biggest part of that. Fingers crossed we’ll make the right call. | | | |
| Christian Fluthmann: ‘Norwich are a model club — I’d love to do what Danie on 10:47 - Jul 27 with 1783 views | Catullus |
I've not seen him mentioned anywhere? I'm not so sure Winter is looking that far afield, he seems to be operating off a list of "usuall suspects" and possibly names that are already known to him.
If nobody is applying for the job, maybe we are in a mess? Or maybe football is in a mess? | |
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| Christian Fluthmann: ‘Norwich are a model club — I’d love to do what Danie on 11:55 - Jul 27 with 1682 views | Rock |
| Christian Fluthmann: ‘Norwich are a model club — I’d love to do what Danie on 10:47 - Jul 27 by Catullus |
I've not seen him mentioned anywhere? I'm not so sure Winter is looking that far afield, he seems to be operating off a list of "usuall suspects" and possibly names that are already known to him.
If nobody is applying for the job, maybe we are in a mess? Or maybe football is in a mess? |
I haven’t either, Catallus, but Marco Silva’s name was never attached to Fulham until it was confirmed, either, so that’s not always the best barometer for what is taking place behind the scenes.
Fluthmann is well known amongst the decisionmakers at Championship level and I have reasons to believe Winter, Scott and our owners are within that group. Whether they feel it’s the right time to make that call or he is the right guy for right now I am not too sure of.
I personally think he would be, but I’d also be happy with a different manager who has similar tactical principles and will restore us back to the Swansea we used to know.
The coaching carousel has been ridiculous this summer for many clubs, and it’s been difficult to get a read on a lot of movement before it takes place, as so many moving pieces because of Covid and finances have upended so many different aspects of football. We are no different, and I think Winter has actually handled it pretty well so far given the circumstances.
Patience is a virtue for a reason, and many haven’t had that this summer, but taking a little more time to bring the right manager in is the best decision for us at this point, as it could make or break us the next few seasons. Glad Eustace pulled out in that respect, as he’d be the first guy to jump ship if clouds start to form. Definitely not the guy you want manning the sails when a storm breaks out. | | | |
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