Jens Scheuer’s ferocity and enthusiasm for English football will begin in a village in south-west Germany.
In 2010, Scheuer took on his first full coaching position with Bahlinger SC, an amateur regional league team that was established nearly a century ago in an agricultural region with a population of less than 4,000.
It marked the beginning of a career that has resulted in record points totals, a title victory that was nearly unbeatable, and an eight-goal thriller against Chelsea in the Women’s Champions League semifinals.
The first German manager in the WSL is now working to make Brighton & Hove Albion a better team.
Scheuer takes over for Powell as manager of Brighton. Scheuer wants Chelsea to get back at ‘amazing’ Brighton.
He inspires people’
Scheuer had been a trainee at SC Freiburg as a teenager under the then-youth coach Christian Streich, who is currently the club’s men’s team manager and has been there for 11 years, making him the longest manager in the Bundesliga.
Scheuer never played for Freiburg and spent most of his playing time with Bahlinger. However, a few years later, at a Christmas party, he met Streich again, which gave him the idea to play.
Scheuer made the decision to make Streich’s meticulousness a hallmark of his own after learning precisely when he worked with him, his position, and subsequent clubs.
Dennis Buhrer, the current Bahlinger manager whom Scheuer signed as a player in 2011, told BBC Sport, “Jens did everything at this club.”
“He brought the balls, did the video analysis, and did everything in addition to being the coach. It’s difficult at a small club in a small village. However, it was very beneficial to his growth.
“Jens has a lot of football-related ideas. He is always thinking about football outside of training.
Because he wants to win every time, he is a motivator. He taught me that I want to win every game at the weekend and every one in training.
“Under him, we won the first game 11-1. Then, we believed that our club was the best in the division. Overwhelming expectations were placed on us.”
“We had to work really hard”
For Scheuer, authenticity is essential. He admires Megan Rapinoe’s outgoing personality, Miroslav Klose’s down-to-earth sense of fun, and players’ growing willingness to speak out against homophobia.
He has admitted that after witnessing a ridiculous handball go unpunished at the 2011 World Cup, he discounted working in the women’s game and felt “immediately annoyed” for being “so negative” while watching Freiburg women play.
When Scheuer was hired by Freiburg in 2015, he was the first manager in the Frauen-Bundesliga. He led a team that included Germany forward Lina Magull to third place in 2017-18, their highest finish ever, and the DFB-Pokal cup final a year later.
Scheuer was in charge of ending Wolfsburg’s four-year hold on the title after Bayern Munich hired him.
In Scheuer’s first season, Bayern finished eight points behind Wolfsburg. By the end of his second, they had outscored the champions by 19 goals, scored 82 times, given up nine, and lost once in 22 matches.
Buhrer, who remains close to Scheuer and chuckles at his friend’s desire for English lessons in recent years, stated, “He has a lot of self-confidence.”
He will coach extensively. He can be very emotional at times. We needed to work hard.
“Because he is extremely professional and does everything for football, I anticipated his success. He is coming to Brighton for this reason.
“It’s a big chance for him to do everything for football every day and every hour. It’s all about him.”
Conversations in depth – and vengeance for Chelsea?
According to Buhrer, Scheuer has learned to relax. The 44-year-old enjoys mountain walks, admits to being a bad tennis player, and occasionally enjoys a glass of wine. However, it appears that the majority of his recent spare time has been spent focusing on Brighton’s position as the WSL’s most porous team.
At the beginning of January, the Seagulls brought in defenders Zoe Morse and Guro Bergsvand, as well as midfielders Brianna Visalli and Dejana Stefanovic, in just four days.
Scheuer wants “close connections” and “deep conversations” with his players, who will be accustomed to his intense training sessions by Sunday’s favorable match against Leicester, a team in the bottom half of the table.
Additionally, he is preoccupied with altering the club’s culture to the point where dropping points against teams like Chelsea and Arsenal would be regarded as a source of profound dissatisfaction.
Scheuer has stated that beating Chelsea is the most important thing, and he is only half-joking about it because he remembers how hurtful his last meeting with the WSL leaders was.
In 2021, Bayern won the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Emma Hayes’ team. In the return match at Kingsmeadow, they only fell behind for the first time in the tie in the 84th minute.
Buhrer ponders Scheuer’s strategy and says, “I like talking with him about football.” He needs to play great football first – not just lengthy balls and kick-and-rush.
He will want to observe Brighton’s situation. He can change. He will choose the ideal philosophy for Brighton.
