Danny Rohl, 34, takes first managerial role having worked as an assistant at RB Leipzig, Southampton, Bayern Munich and with the German national team; Sheffield Wednesday are bottom of the Championship having sacked Xisco Munoz following a 10-game winless start
Friday 13 October 2023 17:52, UK
Sheffield Wednesday have appointed German coach Danny Rohl as their new manager, with the 34-year-old becoming the youngest boss in the EFL.
The Championship club, who were promoted last season, sacked Xisco Munoz last week after he failed to win any of his 10 league games in charge.
Rohl has taken his first managerial role having worked as an assistant at RB Leipzig, Southampton, Bayern Munich and with the German national team.
Sheffield Wednesday are bottom of the Championship with three points from 11 games. U21s boss Neil Thompson took charge of last Saturday's 0-0 home draw against Huddersfield.
Rohl becomes the youngest manager in the EFL, being seven months younger than Bradford City caretaker Kevin McDonald, and Wednesday's 11th permanent boss in the last 12 years.
"I've prepared the last 10 years for this situation and now the dream's come true to be here," said Rohl at his first news conference on Friday. "I am very prepared. I have a clear identity and philosophy in my mind. This is the reason why I'm here now. We have to create the identity of how we want to play, this is very important for me.
"It's a pleasure to be at this amazing stadium. Yesterday was my first time here and I felt immediately the good atmosphere in the stadium, the good energy.
"We have a massive fanbase. I watched some videos from the promotion and so on and saw a lot of energy in this club. It is unbelievable what happens here and it's a good foundation to build up and start a new journey with this club."
The German moved into coaching at RB Leipzig after his lower-league playing career was plagued by injury. He eventually moved into the first-team set-up under Ralph Hasenhuttl and then followed him to Southampton.
Rohl departed in 2019 for Bayern Munich where he worked under Hansi Flick and then Niko Kovac before joining Flick with the German national team.
Flick was sacked in September following a 4-1 thrashing against Japan and Rohl was also dismissed.
Now he is tasked with keeping Wednesday in the Championship and will be calling on his time with Southampton when they were in the Premier League relegation zone at the time of Hassenhuttl's appointment in 2018.
"It's very helpful that I had this experience with Southampton, nearly the same situation there," said Rohl, who helped keep the Saints up. "Now it's up to us to show them what we want to have.
"It's not about speaking about systems or formations, it's about how we want to play. I'm a coach, I'm very convinced about the team.
"I want to play forward. We want to play aggressively, we need high intensity in our game and we have to push out. This is what I want and this is what I demand."
Wednesday saw manager Darren Moore leave the club in the summer following their promotion to the Championship.
Supporters protested against owner Dejphon Chansiri last month by throwing tennis balls onto the pitch against Middlesbrough.
Chansiri then issued a statement saying he would not put any more money into the club and was unhappy with the treatment towards him and his family from some fans.
Sky Sports' Laura Hunter:
This is a gamble from a Sheffield Wednesday perspective, but somewhat of a calculated one. Clearly, appointing a first-time manager to a head coach post when you're bottom of the league is a risk, but it does at least mean the only way is up.
Whether Wednesday have hit rock bottom, after an 11-game winless streak, is yet to be determined but Danny Rohl is the type of young, enthusiastic character to turn such misfortune on its head.
The 34-year-old, a former video analyst and coach at RB Leipzig and assistant manager at Southampton, has received a solid education in how to coach. He's also worked at Bayern Munich and with the German national team, applying his very detail-oriented, hands-on approach in every previous post with good success.
He's worked alongside some of the most well-known managers in world football and been entrusted to lead on training structure and tactical application, implementing a high-pressing game with an emphasis on expansive football.
When Rohl left his position at Southampton, during Ralph Hasenhuttl's era, things fell apart. It was Rohl out on the training pitch every day, teaching and instructing, and the Saints players responded. He was Hasenhuttl's right-hand man and when he left at the beginning of the 2019-20 season for Bayern, it spelt the beginning of the end for Hasenhuttl himself.
He's highly thought of by the players who work with him, and his meticulous style and positive persona may be just what Wednesday need to drag them out of the mire.
October 21: Watford vs Sheffield Wednesday - kick-off 3pm
October 25: Plymouth Argyle vs Sheffield Wednesday, live on Sky Sports Football Red Button - kick-off 7.45pm
October 29: Sheffield Wednesday vs Rotherham United - kick-off 1pm
November 4: Bristol City vs Sheffield Wednesday - kick-off 3pm
November 11: Sheffield Wednesday vs Millwall - kick-off 3pm
November 25: Birmingham City vs Sheffield Wednesday - kick-off 3pm
