The Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle points to his neck when explaining why he never took football for granted. He suffered from a tumour at age five, an illness that left him unable to move his neck properly. He says that this experience is what taught him the value of health and the importance of following his dream.
“I had a tumour when I was five years old,” Jaissle told BBC Sport. “Here in my neck so I couldn’t move it anymore. That was a period where I already learned a lot about life, how important it is to be healthy, and how grateful you can be to be healthy and to follow your dream.”
The Injury That Changed Everything
A serious knee injury cut short Jaissle’s football career when he was just 20 years old. Medical experts doubted he would ever play again. Yet Jaissle refused to accept their verdict. He held onto his dream for longer than the doctors expected him to.
His career ultimately ended a few years later, in 2014. He had been close to a senior call-up to the German national team before the injury struck. The setback curtailed his playing days, and he retired soon after.
The wounds he carried shaped him. “That makes you the person you are, whatever aspect it is, with the belief you can overcome every obstacle,” he says. “Every setback also has a positive side. If you overcome these challenges then you become stronger, more resilient.”
From Defender to Coach
Ralf Rangnick was the one who altered Jaissle’s course. The former Hoffenheim manager invited him onto a training programme at RB Leipzig, where Jaissle was due to be redeployed every six weeks. That is how Jaissle ended up coaching rather than following the career he had originally intended.
Jaissle began his coaching career as a youth team assistant under Sebastien Hoeness, who now manages Stuttgart. He was supposed to work alongside the club’s sporting director and people from its administrative, commercial and marketing teams, though those arrangements never came to pass.
“After two weeks, wow, I felt joy back in life,” he says. “I didn’t move on.”
The pleasure pointed him toward Newcastle, where he worked his way up the coaching ranks. Along the way, he collected trophies with Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg and Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli. Those around him found his intensity and work rate striking.
“Since the first meeting, it was clear this was our guy,” a senior Newcastle source says.
The Newcastle Debut
Eddie Howe stepped down from his role, and Jaissle took over as the club’s manager in the Premier League. It marked his first managerial spell in English football’s top division, and he inherited a team with little time to settle in before the campaign began. With just three weeks between Howe’s departure and the opening fixture against Liverpool, Jaissle had no prior experience of managing at this level to fall back on.
Newcastle had lined up a deal worth £75m to send Captain Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal before the club instead signed eight fresh faces, all aged 24 and under. The signings turned one of the most seasoned squads in the Premier League into one of the youngest almost instantly.
“There have also been a spate of injuries to key players, but Jaissle has only lost one of his opening seven matches in all competitions, a chastening 4-1 defeat at Leeds United,” the report reads.
“I think there were elements in games where we saw a lot of the things we were looking for,” he says. “There were also phases in games where we were not happy and satisfied, so there’s still a lot of potential that we can improve.”
He admits it has been tougher than expected to “get stuff into the players’ heads” given pre-season was “so short and packed with friendly matches we couldn’t change”. Still, he says, “but considering all these things, we’re doing good”.
Settling In On Tyneside
Tyneside is where Jaissle now calls home, having recently left a hotel behind for a new residence earlier this week. He has begun checking out the city’s eateries, though he only does so to mark victories.
After the 2-1 victory against Hull City at St James’ Park, he even paid for a supporter’s birthday meal.
“I really love the fans and the people here,” he adds.
The team’s numbers tell a mixed story:
- Newcastle have made the most errors leading to shots (12) in the Premier League this season
- Jaissle’s clinical side have averaged little more than three efforts on target per match
Given how young the squad is, it seems likely that there will be both highs and lows along the way. Jaissle has been struck by the backing of supporters and has settled into life on Tyneside quickly.
A person who understands what fighting for one’s own future entails is before us here.
Source material: “Jaissle learned a lot about life after tumour aged five,” the BBC.
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