After his professional coaching career, Peter Neururer worked as an official at various clubs. The cult coach talks about his former club SG Wattenscheid 09.
It was a reunion with old acquaintances. On July 24, the Westfalen-Oberliga club SG Wattenscheid tested against the professional footballers of the VDV selection, who are without a club. The VDV training camp is coached by former Wattenscheid official Peter Neururer.
After his last coaching job at VfL Bochum, Neururer ended his career as a professional coach. Since then, the former head coach has been seen on TV time and again as a TV pundit. However, he was never able to completely leave the professional soccer business.
“After my role at VfL, it was clear to me that I would no longer work as a professional coach. I want to give something back to soccer with my work at VDV. It’s nice to be able to help the players,” Peter Neururer told RS.
It was the hardest hour I’ve ever experienced in professional soccer.
Peter Neururer
The coach, known as a fireman, was introduced as the new sporting director of the then regional league club SG Wattenscheid in March 2019. The short-lived collaboration ended after just five months. SGW’s finances were in a bad way and the club filed for insolvency.
“I got to know the club during a difficult phase. For me, it was the hardest time I’ve ever experienced in professional soccer. The downfall of Wattenscheid 09 was not due to the players or the fans. It was due to completely different things,” explained the 69-year-old.
Insolvency proceedings were opened in October 2019. After an unsuccessful search for sponsors, the club ceased playing in the Regionalliga West. This meant that Bochum were the first team to be relegated from the top division.
Neururer reports on the time: “I wanted to give the club something and tried to implement a few things. In the end, the money was cut off. I had no influence on that. That hurt my soul at the time. I saw what would have been possible with this club.”
Neururer on the current situation
In the meantime, the situation in Wattenscheid has calmed down somewhat. The insolvency proceedings have now been concluded. Last season, the club finished 13th in the top division. The Bochum team has a new coach on the sidelines in Christopher Pache.
Neururer assesses the current situation as follows: “The squad is currently in a good position. Wattenscheid has a new coach and a new objective. The club should develop healthily and then return to its former strength as quickly as possible.”
The Lohrheide Stadium is currently being modernized and expanded. Once the work is complete, the stadium will have a capacity of 16,387.
“The new marketing opportunities must be recognized and exploited. It would certainly be the most modern stadium in the Oberliga and Regionalliga. That must be an incentive for everyone involved,” emphasized the VDV coach.