During the interview appointment in a VIP box in the stadium at the Alte Försterei, Oliver Ruhnert drinks non-carbonated water. The life of the Union Berlin manager is just sparkling enough. The Bundesliga leadership of the iron astonished the football nation.
The title of his forthcoming book “The Secret of His Success, From Sauerland to Schalke to Union” is a little uncomfortable for Ruhnert.
What could be easier, writing a book or making a clever transfer like Andras Schäfer’s, for which you are admired in the industry?
Oliver Ruhnert: This book got on my nerves more. With the other things you are prepared for the fact that anything could happen at any time. The Andras Schäfer transfer was easier.
With Union you are on the big wave of success. What three words come to mind first?
Ruhnert: “Completely crazy story.” Those are the three words. Let’s take the title of the book. “The Secret of His Success”. That really bothered me. That was an issue I had trouble with. When we started, we weren’t even in the Conference League. And finally the Europa League came on top, that the whole thing has developed successfully. These are things that are very difficult for you to grasp.
Where are the structural limits of Union?
Ruhnert: You always have to be careful. We’re dancing at three weddings now, if you take the league, the European Cup, the DFB Cup. That’s crazy. The structural limits are due to the fact that the stadium capacity is still limited, as far as the financial possibilities are concerned.
So will the crash inevitably come at some point?
Ruhnert: We are in the fast lane and have been for several years. You have to leave this fast lane at some point because you will be overtaken. Of course we’re trying to keep our foot on the gas pedal for as long as we can, but we also know that the tank will eventually run out in the three competitions. That must be clear to the people involved. This is the only way we can sensitize the team and the environment. This is the only way we will be able to continue to grow healthily.
You’re not talking about the title. But when is the season a success for you?
Ruhnert: I always look at the points and not at the place in the table. Even if you don’t want to hear it, it’s a beautiful snapshot. But you only have some of what’s behind, with the points. We have to stay focused enough that the goals that are posted in the dressing room that the team has given themselves to get that 40 points are mentioned as the very first goal.
You are also politically active in your home town of Iserlohn. Would you also have ended up in Berlin – that is, in the Bundestag – if you had made a career in this area? And what office would they hold?
Ruhnert: Somewhere I would have had a great desire to. In politics, some people get jobs because that’s how it has to be in party representation. Actually, it is our most important body, the Bundestag. It affects the lives of all people, which decisions are made there. But we don’t have scouting there, anyone who feels called to do it can take on a position.
What do you mean?
Ruhnert: When I put a chimney into operation, someone who is certified for it does it. If a toilet is clogged, I don’t call the butcher. And with us you might even become a minister without having to be technically qualified. Those are things I don’t understand. I don’t know what position I would be in, I would at least know that I would not be somewhere in the large circle of MPs, but wanted to be heard and would find people who would like to take a course.
So is a career in the Bundestag still conceivable?
Ruhnert: I’m not ruling that out. I’m not 40 anymore, I’m not even 70 yet. Yes, no question. I think the likelihood of doing that again is low, especially since I would then have to change again after Berlin. If there is anything to complain about in this super liaison with Union, it is the physical distance to my Sauerland.
In your book, your party colleague Sahra Wagenknecht talks about the different worlds of politics and football. Is she right?
Ruhnert: There is the bubble of professional football, where we move in an elite space. The bubble often means forgetting about the problems of others. If five euros isn’t a lot for us, we have to know that eight or twelve euros is a lot of money for others who come here to watch football. It’s no different in politics. It has to be said that both areas sometimes lose touch with reality. So I think there are parallels. Both have a huge social impact.
You were politically socialized by your mother in a social-democratic environment. To what extent does this still determine your work in football today?
Ruhnert: We all grew up somehow, the things we saved shaped us. I get a lot of invitations to galas where I never would have been before. It’s nice things, there’s good food, but I still don’t feel very comfortable in the circles. I do not need that. I want to live well, I want to travel and enjoy the world. But I have learned that you try to treat everyone equally. There are no first or second class people. I want to keep that, even if I appear to be in a privileged position.
Do you feel like an outsider in professional football?
Ruhnert: Not as an outsider, I also believe that I am very much respected by my colleagues. I feel more like a dying breed the way I got into the field. I feel like someone who questions things much more often, things that aren’t easy.
Do you feel like Union as a Bundesliga club?
Ruhnert: Maybe that would have been the case at the beginning. After the ascent, our president always said it was like sitting at a table. Then the others said, fine, they’ll be there. Now we are no longer at the cat table.
Are you currently the best Bundesliga manager?
Ruhnert: I have many colleagues who I really appreciate and who also do excellent work. Sometimes I ask myself what are you actually good at. I don’t know how and what my manager colleagues do. Of course you bring a different experience with you. I didn’t play in the Bundesliga and had the experience of taking a penalty in front of 60,000 spectators. But you bring the experience that you know how teams work in the basics.
You have never left a club of your own free will. Are you a loyal soul?
Ruhnert: I never go anywhere with the aim of leaving. That has never been the case. Colleagues have often told me you have to leave now. At Union two years ago. You are at the point, more is not possible. That may be the case in many people’s minds. That’s not mine. I enjoy my work and I earn good money here. I don’t need to go anywhere else to earn more. It might make me richer, but not happier. I never cared about what comes next. It always came on its own.
And what comes after Union Berlin?
Ruhnert: I can very well imagine that Union Berlin as a manager, as I do now, is my only station in professional football.
How do you relax?
Ruhnert: What is far too short at the moment is that I have gaps between games. I don’t get to whistle as a referee. I realize now how important that is to me. To come out on Sundays to referee a game for the amateurs. That’s a wonderful cut. Switching off for me at the moment is sitting on the sofa and watching TV. Otherwise, after November 14, when the World Cup break starts, I’ll try to go out and take a vacation. You have to refuel sometimes.
Which biography of a colleague manager would you like to read?
Ruhnert: I would be interested to read how my colleague at Bayern Munich feels about things. I would also like to know and read how colleagues who have become German champions, like Horst Heldt at VfB Stuttgart, think.
Do you sometimes think how your life would have been if you had become a teacher and not a football manager?
Ruhnert: When reading the book, I sometimes thought you were really lucky. There were many points where you thought, go to school. I would have had fun there too. Because in between you were in a situation where it was financially tight and you had to see how you could make ends meet. But if you go to school now, you won’t have football anymore. It’s all very irrational.
And what book are you reading at the moment?
Ruhnert: At the moment I can’t even read a book. Switching off is trivial, just sit in front of the TV and watch some nonsense and then fall asleep, wake up and not be able to go back to sleep. That’s more of a problem, because then everything goes through your head again.
To person:
Oliver Ruhnert (50) made it as a footballer in the reserve team at Schalke 04. After coaching positions in Gütersloh and Iserlohn, he later became chief scout and head of the Knappenschmiede youth academy at Königsblau. At Union Berlin in 2017, he first became chief scout and later managing director of professional sports. With him, the Irons managed to climb from the second division team to a participant in the European Cup and leaders in the Bundesliga. In addition to his work in Berlin, Ruhnert is also the leader of the Left Party parliamentary group in the Iserlohn city council and an amateur referee.
