The relegation play-off between VfL Bochum and Fortuna Düsseldorf has also grabbed Friedhelm Funkel. He gives Heiko Butscher his personal accolade.

Friedhelm Funkel enjoys a vacation at the Robinson Club Jandia Playa with his wife Anja after securing relegation with 1. FC Kaiserslautern. But as we all know, you are never completely alone.

It so happens that RS employee Günther Pohl spends his vacations in the same hotel as the veteran coach. They know each other, so it’s no problem for the 70-year-old Funkel to squeeze in a short interview on the roof terrace on the tenth floor of the main building of the complex before Germany’s match against Switzerland at the European Championships, which we have split into two parts.

Because even on the Atlantic, he can’t quite put soccer to one side. His expertise on the European Championships is in demand from his fellow travelers. Here is part two of the interview.

Friedhelm Funkel, you were coach at Düsseldorf and Bochum. You also watched the relegation. What was going through your mind during these two games?

When asked who I would like to see win, I always said both. I really enjoyed working for both of them. When asked who was the favorite, I said that I thought the odds were 60:40 in favor of Fortuna based on the current situation before the two games. I felt vindicated after the first leg because VfL had no chance of winning the game there. After that, I was 100 percent sure that Düsseldorf would be promoted. But then came the second leg. I’ve very, very rarely experienced games like that.

Can we pick up on that? I’m sure you mean the miracle at the Grotenburg when Bayer Uerdingen lost the first leg of the European Cup against Dynamo Dresden 2-0 in 1986, went 3-1 down in the second leg and then won 7-3, right?

Exactly, that was such a miracle. But I still didn’t believe it would turn out like that in Düsseldorf because Bochum had already made a bad impression in Bremen, then the squabbles about goalkeeper Manuel Riemann. I would never have thought this outcome possible. Heiko Butscher must have done an incredible job to build up the team so that they believed in themselves and were able to make up for the 3-0 defeat in Düsseldorf. That was a magnificent performance. And Bochum believed in the miracle from the very first second. You could see that, Kevin Stöger was the outstanding man on the pitch, who I coached myself in Düsseldorf. A great player and person. The way I saw him running around, it must have been 15 or 16 kilometers. He never stopped running. When the score was 1-0, you could see how VfL’s belief grew and Düsseldorf became more and more insecure. Even then, I couldn’t believe that they would turn it around. A big compliment to the team and the coaching team for the way they turned it around.

They have experience of relegation themselves. Once with a negative outcome, once with FC Köln with a positive outcome. What’s going on in people’s heads these days?

These are enormous burdens. There are also financial implications, whether you play in the 1st or 2nd division. There are millions at stake and employees who may lose their jobs. The pressure is huge. Unfortunately, I lost the relegation with VfL against Gladbach, but it was different with Cologne against Holstein Kiel, where we won 5:1 in the second leg after losing at home. It’s impossible to describe the sense of relief I felt there

What did you do with FC back then after the club had already been written off after the first leg of the relegation play-off against Kiel?

We calmly analyzed the first leg. We weren’t bad, but we weren’t that good either, so the defeat was deserved. But I also made it clear to the boys that we could win the second leg. From then until the second leg, I only spoke positively. And the team accepted the belief and we showed that in a great way. Jonas Hector came out of the dressing room and, as captain, gave a speech before the game that the coach usually does. He came to me before the game and asked if he could do it. I let him do it and he gave such an emotional speech that the whole dressing room was shaking. That’s how the team came out and we took the lead after 30 seconds. Then Kiel scored the 1:1, the team was completely unimpressed and we led 4:1 by the break. It was clear to me then that we wouldn’t let that be taken away from us. The belief was there from the very first minute – just like at VfL in Düsseldorf. It’s important to have that belief and keep calm when the environment is already very unsettled and nervous.

Let’s move on to the current situation. The European Championship is underway in Germany, who will be the four teams that make it through to the semi-finals?

I think Germany is one of them, France too, they have a great team. I also had England on my radar, but after the first two matches I have my slight doubts as to whether this team can improve as much as they have to if they want to become European champions. Spain have been the most convincing so far. Belgium can do even better than what they’ve shown so far